With the aim of celebrating Métis culture, UFV’s Métis Awareness Day took place in Evered Hall on Nov. 7. The event had a number of activities and entertainment, including a Métis fiddler, a jigging presentation, storytelling, a traditional Métis lunch, and cultural crafts such as beading Métis flowers and finger weaving. Tables displayed authentic Métis artifacts including a miniature Red River cart, slippers, washing boards, tools, toys, and snowshoes. Métis Elder Joe Smith, presiding over these artifacts, happily imparted their history and significance on event attendees. As well, elders Joe Smith and Jim Middleton presented on the Métis sash and its cultural significance, and the Capote — a long coat fashioned from a wool blanket.
“Unfortunately, many people grow up, especially Métis, not having a clear view of their own identity,” said Brodie Douglas, research historian and database records clerk. “Métis Awareness Day is a chance to share who we are as a people, not just with non-Indigenous people, non-Métis people, but also with our own people.”
Métis Awareness Day was designed to celebrate Métis culture and promote awareness of Louis Riel Day on Nov. 16, which was created to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Métis leader Louis Riel, who was executed for treason due to his involvement in the 1885 resistance to encroachment on Métis lands.
This year’s Métis Awareness Day featured a presentation on the history of Métis people with a focus on how their history of opposition with the Canadian government has been erased. This includes the experiences of Métis children in residential schools — in the Residential School Agreement, First Nations and Inuit peoples were compensated, but not the Métis, who suffered alongside them. According to Douglas, Canada openly went to the war with the Métis twice, and the government of Canada authorized the American military to test their weapons on the Métis.
“No one learns about our history, no one learns about our struggles, and that serves Canada’s interest,” said Douglas.
This history of erasure is what makes the sharing of this culture so important. The Métis people have endured through adversity to become, according to Douglas, one of the largest Indigenous populations in Canada, with over 500,000 self-identified Métis people according to the most recent census.
However, many Métis individuals have been kept in the dark about their culture, their history, and even their identity as Métis. According to Douglas, Terry Fox — Canadian hero and cancer research activist — was Métis but never knew it, and this only came to light after his death, when his family tree was traced back to his Métis ancestors.
“Our people don’t know who we are. Canadians don’t know who we are,” Douglas stated. This is why events like Métis Awareness Day are essential: we must learn the parts of our history that have defined our country and left their mark on members of our nation who have fought to solidify their identity and refuse to let their culture be stamped out.
