A narrative inquiry of Canadian aboriginal women's dress and identity: Change and continuity

A narrative inquiry approach explores two Aboriginal women's dress adaptations in bicultural environments. In the study, the topic of dress becomes the medium for storytelling which stimulates Aboriginal women's descriptions of their life and experiences as they adjust to the influences of changes in both the Canadian mainstream and the Aboriginal cultures. Autobiographical researcher narratives also depict bicultural experiences and the influence of intermarriage on dress and identity. Thoughts and memories in storied form place articles of clothing and personal belongings in situational contexts that yield more than descriptions of artifacts and material goods. Values and beliefs inherited from cultural interactions, family relationships and childhood experiences resound throughout the participants' descriptions of their dress and changing environments. By focusing on the topic of dress and bicultural experiences in the participants' lives, themes of cultural change and plotlines of continuity became evident.