Common Book inspires Ghost Dance Dress

Nipissing’s popular Common Book Common Ground program is meant to inspire students to think critically and provide common intellectual ground to facilitate discussion and friendship.The program is reaping unexpected returns as well, namely a work of art created by professor Janet Stahle-Fraser titled Ghost Dance Dress. Ghost Dance Dress is a finely crafted dress hand-made out of layers of paper made to resemble buckskin and decorated with highly symbolic charcoal drawings, feathers and survivor’s stories. Stahle-Fraser was inspired to create Ghost Dance after reading the stories in this year’s Common Book, Speaking my Truth: Reflections on Reconciliation and Residential School. Ghost Dance Dress is currently on display at Nipissing’s Muskoka Campus. Recently, Muskoka Life magazine featured a in-depth story on Ghost Dance Dress.You can check it out here.