Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Oct 06/00) - The list of achievements continues to grow for Nats'enelu.

The Dene-inspired clothing business has earned a spot on a trade mission to Japan in March. Flare magazine, one of Canada's leading fashion publication's, has expressed interest writing about the company on its website. Canoe.com, a "webzine", wants to feature Nats'enelu as well. Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and her husband, John Ralston Saul, are among the celebrity customers.

The only problem? Board members are needed for the business. Without a full board, legal ramifications could eventually affect Nats'enelu.

"We really need them now more than ever because we're starting to do very, very well," said designer D'Arcy Moses. "We have orders coming in almost daily.

"We don't lose sight of what we're doing," Moses said. "But at the same time, we're a business. The cost of doing business up here is high. We have to make a better value-added product so people will pay more for it. I think we've identified a few products like that."

Since it opened three years ago, the business has grown to the point where it now employs nine people as well as casual home workers for beading.

Socializing and sewing

The Nats'enelu Society owns the business, Nats'enelu Ltd., according to Barb Tsetso, who has been involved with the Nats'enelu Society since its inception. The boards for both entities were amalgamated, but there's currently just one board member -- Martina Norwegian.

"We're trying to find three to five people who would be committed to seeing the business go forward and develop," Tsetso explained. "On the society side, the social side, hopefully the board would be more into the cultural preservation and passing the traditions on... organizing training workshops, that sort of thing."

The society was once strong, and a sewing group used to gather regularly to indulge in their hobby and engage each other socially, Tsetso recalled.

She said there's an immense amount of artistic and creative talent in the region. It stands to flourish if a strong society can be rejuvenated, she suggested.

"There's potential here for growth -- not only growth in terms of dollars and cents, but pride, recognition of the arts, passing on traditions and healing," she said. "I'd really like to see people get involved and help it grow."