The Canadian-Peruvian partnership weaving cultures to create ceinture fléchées

CTV’s Michelle Gerwing has more on a popular Festival du Voyageur sash that is weaving two different Indigenous cultures.

No Voyageur outfit is complete without it—the ceinture fléchée.

Known in English as an arrowed sash, it is an iconic French and Métis cultural symbol once used by voyageurs in the 1800s to keep the cold out, tie their coats, carry heavy loads and prevent back injuries.

Today, you’re bound to see plenty of the often red sashes if you head out to Whittier Park to Hé Ho with the masses at the 56th annual Festival du Voyageur.

The ceinture fléchée’s well-worn legacy of weaving cultures together endures today thanks in part to entrepreneur Miguel Vielfaure and a partnership spanning thousands of miles and numerous continents.

The Métis storyteller started his company Étchiboy Inc., in 2007 after visiting Peru.

“We went to a town called Chinchero, and I went to the Sunday market, and the Quechua ladies there were making sashes in their culture, which are very similar to the Métis sashes over here,” he told CTV News Winnipeg.

Vielfaure, who was working with the Manitoba Métis Federation at the time, decided to order some sashes for speakers to wear at an upcoming educational conference. He made contact with a local Chinchero company and put in an order.

“They made the first batch, and we’ve been working ever since. January 2007 was the first order.”

Nearly 20 years later, Vielfaure is still selling the sashes made mostly by Indigenous Peruvian women through Étchiboy Inc. The pieces sell in Canada for between 40 and 100 per cent more than in Peru, meaning the weavers make double selling to Vielfaure than in the local market.

They also get bonuses based on profits Vielfaure makes.

Many of the weavers Vielfaure has employed over the years were once young, single mothers. They started by learning how to do small things, like making fringes, before learning how to use a loom and to bead.

“So that person builds up their skills and gets a regular pay, and then (the) first thing that happens is they’ll get an apartment with running water, and then the kids are clean. The kids go to school. Nobody’s allowed to work with me if their kids are not in school. And then, given a bit of time, they’ll buy their land,” Vielfaure said.

Over the years, Étchiboy Inc. has made thousands of products in partnership with the Indigenous artisans in the region of Cusco, from key chains to leather wallets to shoes. Still, the ceinture fléchées remain the cornerstone of the business – created from sheep wool, alpaca wool, or polyester.

Through their partnership and separated by thousands of miles, Vielfaure feels a kinship with the artisans he works with.

“I really like the idea that Indigenous people from Canada are helping Indigenous people from a poorer country,” he said.

“We’re not always the ones that need help, but we can help other people too, and we can be strong and proud and progress to the next level.”

- With files from CTV’s Michelle Gerwing