Ian Colman

Cassidy Copenace

“Whenever I was struggling with the thought of wanting to hurt myself, or wanting to go out and drink, I would bead until I didn’t feel that way anymore,” said Cassidy Copenace, a 21 year-old living in Naotkamegwanning First Nation. “Even if I was beading all night, and if I was tired, I would just keep going until I was either super tired, or I just didn’t feel the way I did before I started doing my beadwork.”