10 La ceinture fléchée fransaskoise
The Fransaskois Sash
A project led by Alexandre Chartier,
Director, Société historique de la Saskatchewan
In 2016, an initiative to design a Fransaskois sash that would represent Francophones living in Saskatchewan was set in motion. Alexandre Chartier, t director of Société Historique de la Saskatchewan, spearheaded the project. He explained how the sash or belt resembled that of the Métis and was intended to tell a story and a history with ease. The sashes were also meant to encourage people to discuss the meaning behind their colours, and the reasons for wearing one. This would then spark natural conversations about living heritage and about the genesis of the Fransaskois culture and community, all the while making the wearer proud to represent their culture in a heritage focused way. The Société Historique worked alongside Francophone organisations in Saskatchewan such as the Association Jeunesse Fransaskoise and the Conseil D’administration Fransaskois to create the sash.
Chartier explained that through the project, they wanted to represent the Fransaskois culture at large through symbolism on the sash. The relationship of the Francophone community with the Métis in Canada can already be seen in the utilisation of the sash. Although the Société Historique could have used many symbols to represent their history, the sash was chosen due to its deeply rooted history in Canadian heritage, and its use both by French Canadians and Métis. They also wanted a symbol that people could easily wear and transport. The idea was that the sash could represent the history of the Francophones in Saskatchewan by way of the wearer. This gave agency to the Fransaskois community to share their history and their cultural narrative in whichever way they saw fit. The meaning of the colours in the sash are up for interpretation for the wearer, who will be able to explain it to anyone asking about it. This recourse to oral history and storytelling goes to the essence of living heritage. Through cultural reminders and symbols, such as the newly developed sash, the story of Francophones and Francophone culture on the prairies can be passed down to other generations through personal and community interpretation.
The sash is also an ever changing symbol as there is no specific meaning written on the sash. The colours can change or be interpreted differently as the history and living heritage of the Francophones of Saskatchewan changes. Alexandre noted that their sash project was very successful and that they were already seeing the impacts the sash had on Francophone youth in Saskatchewan. For the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie Canadienne event in Moncton, all of the Saskatchewan youth participating were given a sash as an identifier of their origins and their unique culture. These youth were then able to take their sashes with them to university and to their lives out of high school. The Fransaskois sash is a primary example of how history and modernity can produce awareness of culture and belonging through living heritage:
“C’est libre à chaque personne de l’interpréter comme il le veulent.” (“Each person is free to interpret the [meaning of the sash] how they wish.”)
The Fransaskois sash represents the need and desire for story and history telling. Wearers of the sash can tell their own story as it connects to Saskatchewan and to being Francophones. As the Fransaskois community is so diverse, the sash creates a dynamic toward unity.
More about the Sash and workshops can be found on the Société historique’s website.
