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Learning English with CBC Listening Lessons for Intermediate Students Based on the podcast “Manitoba This Week”

Broadcast date: February 23, 2008 Teacher’s Edition: Lesson 20 Level: Benchmark 5 and up Topic: Weaving History Skill areas: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing Language tasks: Listening – listening to a short interview for main

ideas, details and inference; listening to an information hotline

Speaking – participating in a group discussion; expressing opinions; describing an item in detail, introducing a guest speaker

Reading – summarizing a newspaper article; reading background information and following instructions; finding information on a website

Writing: writing a letter of appreciation; taking notes Language competencies: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Listening and Speaking

Strategies, Sociocultural/sociolinguistic Competence

Extension Activities: Reading and discussing CBC news story about Louis Riel’s sash

Reading more about a weaver’s work; introducing her to the class (this activity is not part of the self study version)

Writing a letter of appreciation Researching a field trip to a Museum Essential Skills1: Computer use, writing, reading text, working with others, thinking skills,

oral communication

Worksheets2: 1. Listen for the vocabulary in context – a gap fill exercise 2. From quoted speech to reported speech – what changes and when? 3. Use adjectives to describe an item of clothing from your culture 4. Write a letter of appreciation 5. Find the information - research a field trip to a Museum Appendices: Transcript of the podcast CBC news story: Louis Riel’s sash returns to Manitoba The Lance newspaper article: Carol’s Busy Weaving History 1 Essential Skills are the skills required to successfully participate in the Canadian Labour Market and they are a natural extension of EAL lessons. In 2008, the Essential Skills that are included in Learning English with CBC lesson plans will be noted on the cover page. 2 Answers to worksheets are in the self-study version of the lesson plan.

Manitoba Memo

This year, Manitoba celebrated a new winter holiday called Louis Riel Day. Louis Riel is a famous and somewhat controversial figure in Canadian history. He is considered by many to be the Father of Manitoba. He fought for Métis, French and religious rights and his story is part of a dramatic and exciting era in the province’s history. Louis Riel Day is also a celebration of Métis and French Canadian culture. The Métis are people of First Nation and European ancestry. Traditionally the Métis spoke a language called Michif, a version of French that is quite different from what is spoken in Quebec or France. You can learn about the Métis and French Canadian culture at Festival du Voyageur, an annual event held in Winnipeg in February. Or you can visit the St. Boniface Museum and see its growing collection of artifacts and exhibits. To help newcomers learn more about the history of their new province, the Manitoba Museum has launched a program called Call it Home. The program offers special tours and resource kits for English as an Additional Language classes.

Pre-listening activities

1. Brainstorm to get students thinking about the topic

Discuss the following questions as a class: Has anyone been to Festival du Voyageur? Do you know what cultural

traditions the festival celebrates?

Tell students that Festival celebrates French Canadian and Métis culture during the time of the fur trade. Festival du Voyageur features many cultural symbols, including the brightly coloured sashes worn at that time, fiddle music (violin music often accompanied by jigging, a type of dance) and tortière (a meat pie). Ask students:

When there are festivals and celebrations in your country, what kinds of cultural symbols would you expect to see? What kind of dress, music, food?

Other than at Festivals, where do you see cultural symbols? Do you have them in your home, in Museums, at important family celebrations like weddings?

Are these symbols important to your culture? Why?

Is weaving a cultural tradition in your country? For example, do people weave sashes, fabric, clothing, rugs or other items?

Lesson 20: Weaving History Learning English with CBC of 22

Vocabulary Elicit/present key vocabulary that students need to understand prior to listening to the podcast (see suggested vocabulary and explanations that follow). You may do this by writing the words on the board and eliciting possible meanings from the class. You may want to break students into groups and give each group a few words to review. Groups can then present the vocabulary to the rest of the class. You can also ask students to come to the board to mark the syllables and stress for each word, identify word families and practise pronouncing the words. You may want to ask students to think of sentences that use the new vocabulary. If your students keep a vocabulary journal, they can copy the vocabulary into their journal. Vocabulary

cinched up When you cinch up a sash or belt, you pull it tightly around something (for example, around your waist).

replicas A replica is an exact copy of something. It is not original.

finger weaving Finger weaving is a method of weaving where you use your fingers and a loom to weave the wool into a pattern.

voyageurs In French, voyageur means traveller. In Canadian history, the voyageurs were the people who worked for the fur companies to transport goods and supplies.

obsessed with If you are obsessed with something, you think or worry about it all the time.

authentic Things are described as authentic if they are made or done in a traditional way.

arrowhead design The kind of sash that the voyageurs wore had a pattern consisting of arrows all pointing in one direction. This is called an arrowhead pattern.

ceinture fléchée In French, ceinture means sash and fléchée means arrow. A ceinture fléchée is a sash with an arrowhead pattern.

Manitoba Museum The Manitoba Museum is the largest museum in Manitoba. It houses information about the province’s history and is located in Winnipeg.

tux Tux is short for tuxedo. A tuxedo is a black jacket that men wear for formal occasions like weddings.


Douk’s mixture When Carol describes her heritage as part Douk’s mixture, she likely means that some of her ancestors were Doukhabors who came from Russia.

chevron pattern The chevron pattern describes a particular weaving pattern. This pattern is common in many countries of the world.

special order If you want to buy a sash from Carol, you have to place an order and she makes one specially for you, with the pattern you have requested. This is called a special order.

2. Predict whom Carol makes sashes for Tell students this podcast is about a woman who does traditional finger weaving and makes sashes. Ask students to predict whom Carol makes sashes for.

Provide some sentence starters and examples on the board, as follows:

I think she makes sashes …to sell at Festival du Voyageur. I’m sure she makes sashes…for her family. Maybe she makes them for… Possibly she makes them for… I don’t have any idea who she makes sashes for.

While-listening activities

1. Introduce the podcast Tell students that in this podcast, they will hear three speakers. They will hear:

Marcy Markusa – host and interviewer Terry MacLeod – interviewer Carol James – finger weaver Play the podcast for the first time.

2. Listen for the vocabulary in context Hand-out Worksheet 1 and review it with the class. Ask students to work with a partner or in small groups to complete it. Play the podcast as many times as needed. Take up the answers as a class.


3. Re-call part of the story in detail

Step 1: Play the podcast again and ask students to listen carefully to the part of the story where Carol talks about why she began to make sashes (lines 20-27). Ask students to note key words and phrases they hear which will help them recall what she says. Step 2: Ask students to work with a partner. Their task is to write a transcript of Carol’s story about why she began making sashes. This means they need to try to recall exactly what she said. You may want to note that this task isn’t easy, even for first language speakers, but it helps students develop strong listening skills and draws attention to patterns in spoken English. Students can use each other’s notes and work together to get as close as possible to what was said. Play this section of the podcast again (or read it aloud if that’s easier) before the pairs begin their work. Step 3: Have the pairs form groups of four to compare what they have written. At this point students can further revise to get as close as possible to what Carol said. This may require some negotiation! Play or read the section again if students are having difficulty. Step 4: Ask a member of each group to read their text aloud. Ask the groups what was the hardest part of this task and discuss their observations as a class. Step 5: Provide students with the transcript so they can see how close they came to what Carol said.

Post-listening activities

1. Review pre-listening predictions

Ask students to quickly review their pre-listening predictions. Did they correctly predict who Carol makes sashes for?

2. Quoted and reported speech Tell students that when we don’t understand someone, or when we want to get information, we often ask people to re-tell what someone else said. This is called reported (or indirect ) speech and it is not written in quotation marks. When Carol tells us about how she began to make sashes, she recounts her conversation with her husband in direct or quoted speech. Here’s an example:

He said, “I am wearing black pants, a white shirt and a sash to the wedding.”

Ask students what verb tense is used in this example.(present continuous). If Carol had used reported speech to re-tell the story, she could have said:


He told me he was wearing black pants, a white shirt and a sash to the wedding.

In this example, the verb tense changes to past continuous. This is what would be used in formal English. However, in spoken or more casual English, the tense would not change. In casual English, Carol would likely say:

He told me he is wearing black pants, a white shirt and a sash to the wedding.

Language Learning Tip: Sometimes what is considered correct in formal English is different from how we say things today. Language and how we use it is continually evolving. Not only do we see new words added (for example, IPOD, software), there are new ways to use language. Handout Worksheet 2. Review the examples with the class and then have students complete the questions independently or with a partner. Take up the answers as a class.

3. Describing an item of clothing from your culture in detail In the podcast, Terry and Marcy try to give listeners a sense of what the sashes look like. They are trying to help their audience picture the sashes in their minds. Ask students if they can recall some of the adjectives used to describe Carol’s sashes and write them on the board (for example, stunning, colourful, fantastically detailed). Ask students to work with a partner. Using ideas from Worksheet 3, ask students to describe a traditional item of clothing from their country to their partner. Ask students to use as many descriptive adjectives as possible so that their partner can really picture the item. Then ask students to re-describe their partner’s item of clothing to the class.

Extension activities

1. Reading and discussing a CBC news story about Louis Riel’s sash

Have students work in small groups. Hand out Appendix 2 and have students read the story with their groups. Tell students that they are reading for content, details and inference. Ask the groups to discuss the following questions that you have written on the board:

Why is Louis Riel’s sash so important to Manitoba? Where will the sash be on display?


What evidence is there that the sash belonged to Louis Riel? Do you think the Museum should take the word of the current owner of the sash when she says it belonged to Riel? Why should they believe her? Is there any reason not to believe her?

Discuss the answers as a class. 2. Reading more about Carol’s work and introducing her to the class –

a jig saw activity This activity begins with a jigsaw. Divide the class into four base groups of three to five students. If your class is not familiar with the jigsaw technique, you may want to write the steps on the board. Give each group one section of The Lance newspaper article “Carol’s Busy Weaving History” (See Appendix 2 for the article). You need to cut the article into four sections in advance and make sure each member of the base group receives a copy of their section. Ask students to read their section, discuss the vocabulary and then work together to summarize two or three main points. Emphasize that they do not need to understand every word. Their task is to find two or three main points in their section that they can share with their fellow students. All members of the group should also make notes of these main points so they will have something to refer to when they move to the next group. Students can also practise re-telling the main points to the other members of their base group. Re-group the class so that the newly formed groups have a student from each of the base groups. Ask students to share the main points from their section of the newspaper article in turn – those coming from group one speak first, group two speak second etc. This way, the information from the newspaper article will be shared in the order in which the article was written. Give the newly formed groups a second task. Tell students Carol is coming to speak to the class about her work. They are responsible for introducing Carol to their classmates. Ask each group to write a three or four sentence introduction that would tell the class a few important things about Carol. Have each group read their introduction aloud.

3. Writing a letter of appreciation to Carol Students can work individually or with a partner for this activity. Review the scenario on Worksheet 4 with students and have them use the guided writing outline to create their letter.


4. Researching a field trip to a Manitoba Museum

Option A: Using the internet Have your students use the Internet to find out information about a Manitoba museum in advance of a field trip. Students in Winnipeg can find out information on the St. Boniface Museum. Students in other locations can choose a local museum. See the Want to Know More section of the lesson plan for relevant websites. (If you don’t have internet access, print off the materials from the website for your students to use.)

Ask students to work in pairs and review Worksheet 4 with the class. The Worksheet will guide them in their search for information.

Option B: Calling a telephone information line

You may want to do this activity in addition to, or instead of the previous one. The most authentic method is to have each student call the Manitoba Museum information line (probably as homework) and answer the questions on Worksheet 5 as they listen. The number is 943-3139. Another option is to have a speakerphone in the classroom, dial the number, and have students listen to the information and then answer the questions.

Want to know more… About sashes and weaving? You can find a photo of Riel’s sash at: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/02/14/riel-sash.html?ref=rss Carol James has a website at: http://www.sashweaver.ca/ For a description of the finger weaving process and to see a chevron pattern, go to: http://www.northwestjournal.ca/sash.html For a history of the Métis sash and the significance of the colours go to: http://mmf.mb.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=119&Itemid=135 About Louis Riel and the Métis? For stories about Riel’s significance to Manitoba, see : http://winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2008/02/18/pf-4855835.html http://www.gov.mb.ca/february_holiday/index.html The CBC Ottawa ESL website has a lesson on Louis Riel for high intermediate/ advanced learners at: http://www.cbc.ca/ottawa/esl/lessons/lesson8_introduction.html


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/02/14/riel-sash.html?ref=rss

http://www.sashweaver.ca/

http://www.northwestjournal.ca/sash.html

http://mmf.mb.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=119&Itemid=135

http://winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2008/02/18/pf-4855835.html

http://www.gov.mb.ca/february_holiday/index.html

http://www.cbc.ca/ottawa/esl/lessons/lesson8_introduction.html

You can find more information on Louis Riel and the Métis in CBC archives and teacher resources. This radio broadcast might be interesting to your students: http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/metis/ Or check out: http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-73-1482/politics_economy/louis_riel/ The website for the Manitoba Métis Federation is: http://www.mmf.mb.ca/ About Manitoba Museums? The St. Boniface Museum website is: http://www.msbm.mb.ca/english/home.html The Manitoba Museum website is: http://www.manitobamuseum.ca/ For a directory of museums in Manitoba go to: http://www.museumsmanitoba.com/dir/index.html (Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites)


http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/metis/

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-73-1482/politics_economy/louis_riel/

http://www.mmf.mb.ca/

http://www.msbm.mb.ca/english/home.html

http://www.manitobamuseum.ca/

http://www.museumsmanitoba.com/dir/index.html

Worksheet 1: Vocabulary Gap Fill

The more you use a word, the more likely you are to remember it. Now that you have heard the vocabulary words in context, select the correct words or expressions from the vocabulary list below to re-tell the story. You may use some words or expressions more than once and some not at all.

1. Carol James is a finger weaver. She makes replicas of ceintures fléchées that are the kinds of sashes worn by the Voyageurs.

2. Carol uses ____________ colours and fibres in her work. They are just like the colours and fibres used by the Voyageurs. Most of the sashes she is currently working on have an _______________ pattern. The French word for the pattern is fléchée.

3. Carol started making sashes because the man she was planning to marry did not want to wear a _________ to the wedding. He wanted to wear black pants, a white shirt and a _______.

4. Although the ceinture fléchée is part of _______ culture, Carol is not ______. Her ancestry is Austrian and _______________.

5. The sash pattern Terry MacLeod has never seen before is called a _______ pattern. Its colours are green and rusty brown and it’s common in many cultures.

6. Other than making sashes for her children and their friends to wear to Festival, Carol only makes sashes when someone places a ______________.

finger weaver authentic tux ceintures fléchées replicas arrowhead sash Métis Douk’s mixture Chevron pattern obsessed with special order


Worksheet 2: Quoted to reported speech – what changes and when? When we don’t understand someone, or when we want to get information, we often ask people to re-tell what someone else said. This is called reported speech. It is not written in quotation marks. The formal English language has a system for changing the verb tense when we go from quoted speech to reported speech. But in more casual spoken English, the verb tense doesn’t change. The following chart shows the differences in verb tense between quoted and reported speech, and between formal and casual use. Take turns reading the examples aloud to each other. Then practice what you have learned by completing the chart that follows. Verb Tense Quoted Speech Reported Speech Present Tense “I own a sash.” He said that he owned a sash. [formal]

He said that he owns a sash.[casual] Past Tense “I made a wedding sash.” She told us that she had made a

wedding sash. [formal] She told us that she made a wedding sash. [casual]

Future “I will use traditional patterns.” She explained that she would use traditional patterns. [formal] She explained that she will use traditional patterns. [casual]

Present Perfect Tense

“I have made sashes for my sons.

She said that she had made sashes for her sons. [formal] She said that she has made sashes for her son. [casual]

Present Continuous

“I am weaving a replica of Riel’s sash.”

She told me that she was weaving a replica of Riel’s sash. [formal] She told me that she is weaving a replica of Riel’s sash. [casual]

Past Continuous “ My husband was wearing a sash when I met him.”

She told us that her husband had been wearing a sash when she met him. [formal] She told us that her husband was wearing a sash when she met him. [casual]

Future Continuous “I will be weaving sashes for The Festival.”

She said that she would be weaving sashes for the festival. [formal]

Past Perfect “I had already decided to make a sash for my husband when he asked me to.”

She told her husband that she had already decided to make him a sash. [no change]

Imperative I said, “Wear your sash.” I told him to wear his sash. [casual and formal]


Now it’s your turn. For each of the examples of quoted speech, write formal and casual reported speech sentences. The first one is completed for you. Verb Tense Quoted Speech Reported Speech Present Tense “I own a fiddle.” He said that he owned a fiddle. [formal]

He said that he owns a fiddle.[casual] Past Tense “I made my own fiddle.” He told us that he__________________.

[formal] He told us that he __________________. [casual]

Future “I will play traditional music.” He explained that he ________________________________. [formal] He explained that he ________________________________. [casual]

Present Perfect Tense

“I have played the fiddle for many years.”

He said that he ________________________________. [formal] He said that he ________________________________. [casual]

Present Continuous

“I am playing a new song this year.”

He told me that he ________________________________. [formal] He told me that he ________________________________. [casual]

Past Continuous “My wife was playing the fiddle when I met her.”

He told us that his wife_____________________________. [formal] He told us that his wife ________________________________. [casual]

Future Continuous “I will be playing the fiddle in a tent.”

He said that he ________________________________. [formal]

Past Perfect “I had already decided to play the fiddle before I met my wife.”

He told us that he ________________________________. [no change]

Imperative They said, “Choose a traditional tune.”

They said to _____________________. [casual or formal]


Worksheet 3: Describe an item of clothing in detail

Build your vocabulary and your knowledge of descriptive adjectives. Describe a traditional item of clothing from your culture to your partner. Your description should include the colour(s) of the item, as well as other adjectives that will help your partner picture what it looks like. You can use some of the adjectives from the suggestion box below to help you. Suggestion Box stunning colourful intricate beautiful dark light long short flowing detailed loose-fitting close-fitting elegant bright heavy attractive delicate ornamental beaded embroidered woven wide narrrow


Worksheet 4: Write a letter of appreciation

Scenario3 Background Carol James has been volunteering one afternoon a week with Manitoba Artists in Healthcare at St. Boniface Hospital. Manitoba Artists in Healthcare work with healthcare workers, patients, and visitors to improve their mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health.

Mahatma Gandhi believed that spinning and weaving are the highest forms of meditation and the meditative benefits are not limited to the spinner/weaver. Carol James provides relaxation, cultural awareness, mental escape, and healing to those who watch her weave. Carol has also shown patients and visitors how to weave and let them try weaving on her loom.

Your task

Your aunt has been a patient at St. Boniface Hospital for two weeks. When you visited her, you both went to the atrium of the hospital to watch Carol at work. Both of you enjoyed the experience and it seems to have helped your aunt focus on getting better. Using the framework below, write a letter of appreciation to Carol on behalf of your family. Hint – you can find Carol’s address on her website: www.sashweaver.ca under contact.

3 For a photo of Carol at work at St. Boniface and for more information on this project, visit her website www.sashweaver.ca


http://www.sashweaver.ca/

Carol’s address ________________________________ (name) ________________________________ (street address) ________________________________ (city or town, province) R __ __ __ __ __ (postal code)

Fill in today’s date

___,_____________,_______ (day, month, year)

Who are you writing to?

Dear ________________:

Start with why you are writing the letter

We would like to thank you for ___________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ Watching the weaving helped ___________________________ ___________________________________________________

Provide additional information

Our family really appreciated ____________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________

Close the letter Once again, we __________________________________ Yours ___________, (sincerely or truly)

Sign your name

___________________________________


Worksheet 5: Researching a field trip to a museum Your class is planning a field trip to a museum in the month of March. Using the museum website or telephone information line, find out the following information. 1. Where is the Museum located? What is the street address? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ 2. Which days of the week is the Museum open? _____________ 3. What are the Museum’s hours on weekdays? _____________ 4. What is the cost of admission for adults? ___________ 5. Is there a special family rate? What is it? ____________ 6. Is there a special group rate? What is it? ____________ 7. Can you take a guided tour of the Museum? _________ 8. Is there an extra charge to take the tour? ____________ 9. Does the Museum have a gift shop? _______________ 10. If you are on the Museum’s website, look at the collections and exhibits which are housed at the Museum. Do you think they will be of interest to your class? Why or why not? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________


Appendix 1: Transcript

Lesson 20: Weaving History

Speaker Podcast Line

Marcy Hi, I’m Marcy Markusa and you’re listening to Learning English with

CBC. It’s Festival du Voyageur time in Manitoba – have you

cinched up your sash? Well you’re about to meet Carol James, a

finger weaver who makes stunning replicas of the kinds of sashes

worn by the voyageurs.

5

Terry Now you’re obsessed with replicating the authentic colours and

fibres that the voyageurs used, right?

Carol This is true, yes.

Terry Now ah for those who can’t see them, we’re going to take photos

and put them on the web eventually, describe some of the ones

that you’ve brought in because these are fantastically coloured and

fantastically detailed.

10

Carol Yes, they are, ah the sashes I’m working on are based on research

at the Manitoba Museum. They ah most of them figure an

arrowhead design down the middle, that is why the French call

them ceinture fléchée, ceinture means belt, fléchée refers to the

arrowhead pattern and the arrows come from the method of

weaving. Um they have a lot of colours in them.

15

Terry How did you come to start making these?

Carol Well I met this man from Quebec and ah when we were talking

about getting married he said, I thought a normal fellow would rent

a tux, but he was going to wear black pants, a white shirt and a

sash and my family kind of thought this was quite unusual but

anyhow I said, “Fine wear your sash just make sure you show up

on the right day at the right time. Wear your sash, I don’t care.”

And he said ah, “No, I don’t own a sash, we are going to make a

sash.”

20

25


Marcy Wow! And your background then is not Métis.

Carol My background is Austrian, fifty percent Austrian immigrant and

fifty percent what my Dad called Douks mixture.

30

Terry Now some of these ones are ah colours that I have never seen

before. And I’ve seen a lot of ceintures fléchées. That one that’s

lying on the table beside you with green and kind of a rusty brown

and a tan colour. We were talking outside the studio. You said this

kind of pattern is seen not only in Manitoba but all over the world.

35

Carol Yes, this is a chevron pattern and the pattern happens just by the

way the threads move. There are many different cultures that have

this pattern as their typical sash Latvian, Palestinian, Japanese,

Indian and this pattern is known all over the world.

Marcy So what do actually do with your sashes Carol? 40

Carol Well um I have made some of them that my sons or my children’s

friends wear for Festival. There are others, see I keep thinking I’m

crazy, I gotta quit doing this and as soon as I decide I’m gonna to

quit, somebody calls and says, “Would you please, please, make

me a sash? I really need one because I want one dadadadada.”

So um they’re… any more I just do them on special order.

45


Appendix 2: Louis Riel's sash returns to Manitoba

Last Updated: Thursday, February 14, 2008 | 5:22 PM CT

CBC News

A ceremonial sash owned by Louis Riel has returned to Manitoba from B.C., just in time for the first annual holiday bearing the Métis leader's name.

Marion Hackworth, who lives in Dawson Creek, B.C., said the ceinture fléchée had been in her family for generations, and finally came to the attention of Métis officials during a cultural celebration in B.C. late last year.

Hackworth's late husband's great-grandmother was given the sash by Louis Riel himself a few months before he was arrested during the North West Rebellion in 1885 in what is now Saskatchewan, Hackworth told CBC News on Thursday.

"She had hidden him in her cellar during this uprising, and for hiding him, he gave her his sash," she said. "They just had it in a drawer or in a cupboard or whatever, a cedar chest, through the generations."

The sash will be on display at the St. Boniface Museum starting on Monday.

Museum director Phillippe Mailhot has seen the sash and said it is authentic.

"It's a wide sash. It's wider than the ones you usually see people wearing around Festival du Voyageur, and the age is right," he said, referring to Winnipeg's annual winter festival.

"It seems to be in excellent condition, which is quite surprising, so it was obviously well taken care of. Which again supports the tradition, because if you had Louis Riel's sash, you would probably take care of it."

Mailhot described the sash as "impressive."

"Here you have this sort of ultimate symbol of Louis's Métis background, Métis culture, and so to have that come to light after all these years, I think it's pretty significant," he said.

The sash is now in the possession of the Louis Riel Institute, but it will be handed over to the Manitoba Métis Federation at a special ceremony on Monday, Manitoba's first Louis Riel Day.

Hackworth, who is not herself Métis, will travel to Winnipeg to attend the ceremony.

"I think it's going to be wonderful," she said. "I'm looking forward to it."


http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html

Appendix 3: Carol's Busy Weaving History

By Josiah Thiessen, The Lance, June 1, 2005

Group 1

Who would guess that two blocks from the grounds of the Festival du Voyageur, a quiet fiber-artist’s nimble fingers spin, twist and weave a garment with as long and curious a history as Fort Gibraltar itself?

Fingers are the only machines capable of intertwining the brightly dyed threads and tiny beads Carol James uses to create the distinct arrow pattern on the traditional Voyageur sashes, known as ceinture fléchée.

"It’s my passion, says James, about the craft she’s been researching for 10 years.

"This is not craft-show kind of stuff. It has to be of the quality of heritage or art or it’s not worth my time."

Time is definitely a factor when it takes between 100 and 300 hours of labour to produce one mid-section masterpiece.

Group 2

Seated at her spinning wheel in a blue dress and half-moon spectacles James could pass for a fairy godmother.

"The amount of time you spend to get anywhere at all-" she says with a shake of her head. "Most people would say ‘forget that."

James holds up a heavy, eight-foot long belt, beaded and patterned like a gaudy python. These belts are of a different caliber than the imitation Voyageur sashes festival goers sport every February in St. Boniface.

It’s priced at $3,000. A smaller, six-foot belt without beads goes for $600. "In justice, I can’t spend 300 hours on something and sell it for $50," says James emphatically.

But it’s doubtful if anyone would fork over $3,000 for a strip of cloth to keep one’s pants up unless it came with a long history.

As old as the Canadian fur trade itself, the sashes were likely patterned after aboriginal buffalo-hair belts, but made with bright European thread.


Group 3

For the Voyageurs, they served a dual purpose, she says.

The wide, colourful sashes provided a certain amount of identification with aboriginal culture as well as back and abdominal support to Voyageurs who regularly hauled 90 pound fur bales on their backs and often died of ruptured abdominal hernias, says James.

Eventually the ceinture fléchée became popular as fashionable gentlemen’s wear.

Originally from Nebraska, James had never heard of a ceinture fléchée until she married a Québecer, Richard Sparling, 20 years ago.

"I thought a normal person would wear a tux (to the wedding)," says James.

"But he said, ‘No, I’m going to wear black pants, a shirt and a sash. I don’t own a sash," he said. ‘We are going to make a sash.’ He said, ‘you can figure it out.’"

James still has the ceinture fléchée her husband proudly wore at their wedding.

She wove it herself, with some coaching from an instruction booklet and her husband’s cousin in Montreal.

Since moving to Winnipeg in 1990, James has been refining her craft.

The difference between an authentic, hand-woven sash and one produced on a loom is easy to see.

Loom-woven fabric is built on a framework of cross-threads called a weft, but in a ceinture fléchée the vertical threads, known as warp, take turns being the weft.

The result is a pattern that drifts across the belt, uninterrupted by the cross-hatching left by a loom.


Group 4

After scrutinizing a real voyageur-worn belt behind glass at the Manitoba Museum, James concluded that her yarn was too coarse.

Now she orders it from Scotland, soaks it, and re-spins it on a wooden spinning wheel.

While her husband teaches microbiology at the University of Manitoba, James packs her three children off to school and sits down to weave at the kitchen table.

James says her craft is rare but not unheard of.

Some years ago a group of women had a ceinture fléchée-weaving club in Winnipeg, she says.

James performs her craft at the Festival du Voyageur every year and does demonstrations at schools and other festivals including Folklorama.

She sells about five belts a year, mostly by word of mouth.

To make her belts more accessible to the public, James designed a $100 cummerbund with one foot of real ceinture fléchée in front.

James fashions an array of other woven works, including wall-hangings, watch bracelets and gauzy silk military sashes.


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