A Blush Pink and Métis Sash Newborn II Session in Calgary
Chanel's baby girl slept through almost every frame of her Newborn II session. The first setup was all blush pink on a clean white backdrop — a soft lace headband, a gauzy wrap pooled around her, and those chin-on-hands portraits we never get tired of taking.
Then came the colour. For the second setup she was wrapped in a Métis sash — la ceinture fléchée in French, sayncheur flayshii in Michif. It is the finger-woven, arrow-patterned sash with long fringed ends that is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Métis Nation.
There is a lot of history in those few metres of wool. The finger-weaving technique has deep roots in Eastern Woodland Indigenous traditions; wool came later through trade, and the L’Assomption variety was woven in Québec and carried west along the fur-trade routes. Voyageurs wore the sash as a belt and used it as a rope, a tumpline for hauling heavy loads, a first-aid sling, a washcloth and a key holder — and when they were out on the land, threads pulled from the fringe became a sewing kit. Métis families took it up as their own, and by the 1800s it had become a marker of identity worn with pride. Today the Métis Nation awards the Order of the Sash to people who have given something back to their communities.
Patterns and colours vary from family to family and from homeland to homeland, so no two sashes carry quite the same story. Being trusted to photograph a newborn wrapped in something that means that much to her family is a privilege, and those frames are among our favourites of the whole session.
The session closed in soft grey, with the people who had been waiting for her. Mum, dad and grandma took turns holding her close, and the frame of her parents forehead to forehead over their sleeping daughter is the one we would print first.
If you are dreaming of timeless portraits like these, learn more about our Calgary newborn photography sessions, or browse our newborn photography FAQ. Every session is photographed in our cozy SW Calgary studio, with all wraps, props and tiny-detail shots included — and family heirlooms are always welcome.
Thank you to this little one’s family for sharing the meaning of the sash with us. This post first described it as a blanket, and we have updated it to name it properly.
