Shin Gwi'ik / Summer outfit

Among the Dene, ornamentation on clothing was both an expression of cultural aesthetics and an invocation of spiritual power. The quilled, beaded and painted designs on their garments were intended to please and honour the spirits of the animals they hunted, thereby ensuring the success of the hunt. An animal whose spirit was honoured would give itself up willingly to the hunter. Red pigment applied along the seams protected the wearer from spirits that might try to insinuate themselves.