BATOCHE — Honouring the Métis roots and keeping the art of sash weaving alive drives Gabriel Marchand to continue the skill he/they learned from Elder Marge Friedel. The Edmonton native demonstrated weaving skills during the Back to Batoche 2024 from July 18 to 21.
Marchand was part of the delegation of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, formerly known as Métis Nation of Alberta, where the sash's connection to the Métis people was explained and demonstrations were held for everyone who visited the delegation's pavillion inside the festival ground.
Marchand learned finger-weaving growing up. Marchand and Friedel used to go to schools to hold demos, teaching while telling stories about the sash's cultural significance to the Métis people.
However, when Friedel passed away in 2011, Marchand stopped weaving sashes but reconnected with the Métis culture and returned to sash weaving about a year ago to honour Friedel's legacy.
Marchand is part of the team for the kisihtoskatonaw: Métis Nation Arts Collective, a new initiative by the Otipemisiwak Métis Government to support Métis arts and artists in Alberta.
"One of the programs we're running is teaching 10 Métis artists how to weave, and we teach them how to use looms," said Marchand.
Using the loom saves time, as finger weaving a sash can take 300 hours to finish.
"Because you're doing one thread at a time and constantly going back and forth. Once you set it up and figure out how to use a loom, you can finish one sash within a day or half, depending on the colour complexity, patterns and how the setup goes," said Marchand.
"Expert weavers can get things done within a few days or hours. We're at a point where most of us can make sashes at a pretty decent size, about a meter and a half within a day. It is just getting that setup, process and technical stuff. It is easier once you figure things out."
Marchand decided to return to weaving sashes about a year ago and, last October, started with the arts collective. Weaving sashes reconnects Marchand with the Métis culture and its citizens.
"Weaving sashes, I think part of it is honouring [Elder Marge Friedel]. The other half is bringing more awareness to Métis sashes and culture. Historically, Métis people had different colours and patterns based on family and originality."
The sash, usually three metres long, is an identifying trait of Métis culture. It is like the regalia worn by First Nations people. According to information online, the sash is sometimes called the L'Assomption sash, Ceinture Fléchée, or arrow sash.
Red is one of the primary colours used in making the Métis sash and is a recognizable part of it, as it symbolizes the blood of their ancestors, like Louis Riel, shed while fighting for their rights.
