Of all the symbols associated with the Metis culture, the sash is perhaps the most widely recognized and best known. L'Assumption Sash was an intricate part of Metis dress. Sashes were a popular trade item manufactured in a cottage industry in the village of L'Assumption, Quebec. The Quebecois and the Metis of Western Canada were the biggest customers. Sashes were also made by local Metis artisans. Sashes of Metis manufacture tended to be of a softer and looser weave, frequently incorporating beads in the design.

In the west, the name Assumption Sash gave way to Metis Sash. With the formation of Manitoba and the delay in giving local residents land rights, many Metis left the area. This spread the wearing of the sash further west and south and the almost exclusive use of the sash by the Metis in those parts of North America where they settled. Of interest, only one European area has a similar form of weaving, this being Scandinavian countries. In my opinion, this lends credence to the fact that the Metis Nation began when the Vikings visited North America (Newfoundland) in the 1300s.

The sash is a finger woven belt made of brightly coloured wool and/or plant fibres approximately three metres long. (This technique is also used to create garters.) Wrapped about the midsection, the sash was used to carry belongings during fur trade duties, but had many uses. Traditionally it was tied at the waist to hold a coat closed. It has fringed ends and the threads in the fringe served as an emergency sewing kit when the Metis were out on the buffalo hunt. The fringe might also have a key tied to some threads, a key that opened a chest left at home and which contained the valuables of the owner. Into this are thrust the buffalo knife behind, and the fire bag at the right side. The sash served as a tourniquet for injuries or to wrap a broken bone, as a wash cloth, as a towel, as a saddle blanket, a bridle and a marker left on a killed buffalo to identify it as the property of the shooter. It could lash your canoe, like a rope, for a portage. The sash used in the past could be upwards of 12 feet long and was utilized as a rope or pulley to assist the free traders to haul the trade goods up, down or along. It acted like a scarf, and the colours helped identify your allegiance.Click here to see some examples.

The Metis share the sash with two other groups: who also claim it as a symbol of nationhood and cultural distinction. It was worn by Eastern Woodland Indians as a sign of office in the 19th Century. It was worn by French Canadians during the Lower Canada Rebellion in 1837. It is still considered to be an important part of traditional dress for both these groups.

In more recent times, the Manitoba Metis Federation began a ceremony called "The Order Of The Sash" and has been emulated by most Metis groups. A sash is presented as a thank you to and honor for outstanding cultural, political and social contributions to the Metis Nation. Presentation of a Sash is considered a great honor and it is worn with pride and esteem. Today, the sash is worn by all members of the Metis Nation as a symbol of nationhood and pride. Metis women occasionally wear it over the shoulder, while others wear it the traditional way, around the waist and tied in the middle, with the fringes hanging down. The sash has been the most persistent element of traditional Metis dress, worn long after the capote and Red River coat were replaced by European styles.