It's been many years since Lisa Hudson designed the official sash of the NWT Metis Nation, but it's an achievement she is still very proud of.
"It feels like a great accomplishment, actually," she said. "I'm very proud of it."
Hudson, who lives in Fort Smith, designed the traditional Metis sash in 2009 SA国际影视传媒� without any idea of the significance it would ultimately come to have.
At the time, Hudson had just met a Metis woman from Ontario who designed a sash using specific colours to reflect the geography of the province. She thought it was "a pretty cool idea."
"I thought, well, what would that look like for us here in the NWT?" she said.
She later decided to make her own sash, using colours that represent the natural characteristics of the NWT, such as the northern lights, the boreal forest, the waterways, and the fireweed.
Several years after completing the piece, she caught wind that the NWT Metis Nation was seeking submissions for its official sash, and submitted hers.
It was ultimately selected, and she was overjoyed.
"It was accepted, and I was very please about that, for sure," she said. "I had to sit down [when I got the news]. It was very big, in my mind."
Hudson has worked on several other pieces since creating the NWT Metis Nation's official sash, but admits she hasn't had much time for crafting lately.
"I'm so busy at work in here in Fort Smith, I hardly have time to be creative right now," she said. "I like the loom, and I like weaving, but it's a complicated process SA国际影视传媒� especially setting up the loom."
With retirement from her position at the community's Health and Social Services Authority office fast approaching, however, she hopes to get back behind a loom soon.
"I do think about retirement," she said. "I'm hoping to get back into crafts and art.
"It's rather relaxing [to create]."
Getting back to sash-making will also help Hudson keep the tradition alive. That's important to her, though she isn't particularly worried about the tradition disappearing, thanks to the regular workshops facilitated by the NWT Metis Nation.
"Thankfully our organization did take the time to create those workshops, and hopefully they keep it up," she said.
