UNB Student Creates Indigenous Clothing Line
SAINT JOHN — A University of New Brunswick student has created a clothing line to celebrate Saint John’s Indigenous roots. Hayden Hovey came up with the idea through the Social Science in Practicum course at UNB Saint John.
The fourth-year student named the clothing line Menahqesk, which is the traditional land name for Saint John.
“It translates from the Wolastoqiyik to mean ‘the place of the sea taking the land’ and it was considered a place of gathering,” Hovey said in a news release.
Hovey worked with Todd Ross, the Indigenous advisor at UNB Saint John, to help turn the idea into a reality.
In a phone interview, Ross said the project comes as the university works to increase Indigenous visibility on campus.
“The clothing line and the other products that Hayden came up with was one of the ways to really introduce Indigeneity on campus,” he said.
Ross has a background in retail and provided Hovey with guidance on selling the clothes, he said.
The unisex hoodies and t-shirts are available at the UNB Saint John campus bookstore and online. Ross said the response has been fantastic and sales have been very good so far.
“I love walking around the campus now and seeing people with the t-shirts that say “UNB Saint John Menahqesk” and on the back on the t-shirts you see the land acknowledgment,” he said.
Hovey, who recently became the first Indigenous representative on the UNB Saint John Students’ Representative Council, said he hopes the clothing line will pique curiosity to start a conversation and help educate the community on Indigenous land history.
“There is a misconception that reconciliation is the responsibility of Indigenous Peoples, but the truth is it falls to everyone. It’s about an ongoing relationship between equal nations which can be supported through conversation,” he said.
“By wearing a hoodie or t-shirt that says Menahqesk, we are showing Indigenous students that they are represented on our campus and also giving non-Indigenous students the opportunity to learn.”
A portion of the sale profit goes toward funding UNB’s Indigenous student groups on the Saint John campus.
Brad Perry is the news director with CHSJ/Country 94, Huddle content partners.