NorthA beaded carry belt created by Indigenous artists in Aklavik has made its way back to the Northwest Territories with the help of an Ontario Métis leader.Métis leader Tony Belcourt presented the belt to Premier R.J. Simpson CBC News · Posted: Oct 09, 2025 8:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 10Tony Belcourt, right, presents a beaded belt to N.W.T. Premier R.J. Simpson on Wednesday in Ottawa. The carry belt was created by Indigenous artists in Aklavik, N.W.T., more than 60 years ago. (Fred Chartrand)A beaded carry belt created by Indigenous artists in Aklavik has made its way back to the Northwest Territories with the help of an Ontario Métis leader.Tony Belcourt has safeguarded the belt for more than 50 years.He presented it to N.W.T. Premier R.J. Simpson in Ottawa this week during Simpson’s visit with the Council of Leaders.Simpson called it “one of the highlights of my time in politics.”“It was very moving, I have to say,” Simpson told CBC of the experience.“As a Métis premier, standing there with Mr. Belcourt – the territory owes a lot to him. And I personally owe a lot to him. Because any rights the Métis people have, you know, he played a very large part in that.” Belt created for the 100th anniversary of ConfederationThe belt was created to mark the 100th anniversary of Confederation in 1967, according to a news release issued by the territorial government on Thursday. It’s a little over a metre long and about 15 centimetres wide, and has flowers, a maple leaf and the years 1867 and 1967 on it, Belcourt said. It was originally presented to former N.W.T. commissioner Stuart Hodgson.Hodgson gifted it to Belcourt in 1972 after a showdown over federal funding of Indigenous organizations, Belcourt said.Premier R.J. Simpson, centre, stands with Tony Belcourt, fourth from right, and territorial leaders after the presentation of the belt. (Fred Chartrand )The government of Canada at the time had begun making funds available for First Nations and Inuit to organize, he said. Hodgson protested the move in a scathing letter to then-Indian Affairs Minister Jean Chrétien. An outraged Belcourt then held a news conference and released the letter to the media, causing a stir. Months later the two men were in Hay River for the founding of the Métis Association of the Northwest Territories, and after spending time on opposite sides of the room not talking to each other, Hodgson invited Belcourt for a scotch to “settle this thing,” Belcourt recalled. “We had quite the conversation, and the next day, he took a 180-degree attitude and announced that he was going to support the new organization.”’I’ll return it in good time’Hodgson invited Belcourt to the legislature, where Belcourt spotted the belt in Hodgson’s office, he said. “And at one point, he picked it up, and he threw it across my shoulder, and he said, ‘Well here. It’s yours,’” Belcourt said.“And so I took the belt thinking, ‘Well, OK, I’ll return it in good time. And that was 53 years ago, and one thing happened after another, and I just never got around to it.”Belcourt was recounting the story to the national president of the Métis National Council three or four weeks ago and realized he needed to do something, he said.He ended up presenting the belt to Simpson on the anniversary of the letter sent by Hodgson to Chrétien. Belcourt called it “a full-circle moment.”“I said, ‘Well I’m going to do this in the same fashion as Stu [Hodgson],’” Belcourt said. “I picked the belt up and I threw it across the shoulder of the premier.”Simpson said he intends to gift the belt back to the legislature, though the plans have not yet been made.The government also wants to try to locate the belt’s makers or their ancestors, he said. Belcourt hopes the belt will be appropriately displayed so people can see it.“I’m hoping that our people who showed such love and respect when they created this belt will get a chance to see it again or their descendants will,” he said.
‘A full-circle moment’: Carry belt beaded by Aklavik artists returns to N.W.T. after more than 50 years
