Arthur Milnes
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (Jul 03/98) - Three years ago, D'Arcy Moses was sitting in his high-powered fashion design office in Montreal when the phone rang.

When he picked it up, little did he know that his life was going to change forever.

And, just who was on the phone?

The Liidlii Kue First Nation office in Fort Simpson. They'd seen him on CBC documentary that had chronicled his astounding success in the fashion field. Not only did they want him to come North to hold a workshop, the voice on the phone also had news for him.

It was during that phone call that Moses, now 32, learned of his biological family in Wrigley and area.

Raised in the south near Edmonton, Moses had not known of his Deh Cho roots. However, he was well aware of his aboriginal heritage.

He came North for the workshop and was moved by what he saw.

"It was a very rewarding experience," he says of his first trip to the home of his biological parents. "I met relatives and cousins who looked like me... It filled a void in my life."

Moses' career exploded in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had used his skills as a designer to successfully incorporate Canadian First Nations cultural and environmental themes into contemporary women's and men's fashion. The designs caught the eye of the fashion world at a time when the country was becoming more aware of the richness of aboriginal culture.

Moses was one of a group of young aboriginal artists who benefitted from this changed attitude.

And he never forget his indebtedness to his own heritage. So, he returned to the Deh Cho last fall and became manager at Nats'enelu, a business which designs and manufactures clothing and accessories inspired by cultural motifs.

"It's important for me to be able to give something back to First Nations people," he says. "We're employing local women who are very talented, but are considered unemployable... We've accomplished a lot in a very short time."

Right now, Nats'enelu has eight full-time staff and 15 home workers. And through Moses' contacts, a local Fort Simpson youth, Joey Tsetso, is currently in Toronto learning the fashion trade from one of the country's leading designers.

As D'Arcy Moses would tell you, the opportunities are endless when you harness the spirit of the Deh Cho.