Please note that several NWT communities are still under evacuation alerts or orders due to the wildfire situation: see more information about the affected communities.
A sash of their own
A sash of their own
Designed by Lisa Hudson, a Métis woman born and raised in Fort Smith, this is the official sash of the Northwest Territories Métis.
Hudson picked each chevron colour to symbolize different aspects of the North – magenta for fireweed, cerulean for the NWT's waterways, gold for the sun, deep green for the boreal forest, and more.
Her handiwork is part of a long tradition in Métis culture. The Métis sash – originally dubbed the L’Assomption Sash after the settler town in Quebec where it was first produced – is that culture’s most notable traditional garment.
Almost 10 percent of the North's people identify as Métis, with particularly large populations in South Slave communities such as Hay River, Fort Resolution and Hudson's hometown of Fort Smith.
Come to the Northwest Territories to experience true Northern hospitality and learn all about NWT Métis culture, lifestyle and history.
Where's a good place to start? Every June 21 on National Indigenous Peoples Day, a statutory holiday in the NWT, the North Slave Métis Alliance hosts a massive fish fry and stage show in Yellowknife's Somba K'e Civic Plaza. The day-long event features fiddle music and jigging and it's a sure bet you'll see more than a few people wearing the official sash of the Northwest Territories Métis.
