Métis Identity and Voice in Canada's National Parks and Historic Sites
Building strong and positive relationships with our Indigenous partners is based on a respect and understanding of the history that shapes our national parks and historic sites.
Each video in this series is connected to a Parks Canada place and gives a voice to today’s Métis communities to share their own stories of Metis history and culture.
The Metis of Fort St. James National Historic Site
Transcript
Upbeat, traditional fiddle music plays while multi-colored floral patterns are drawn on a black background.
Text displays: “THE MÉTIS OF FORT ST. JAMES”.
Traditional guitar music plays. A montage of a rustic farm settlement, body of water and mountains are shown intermittently and male narrator speaks while standing in front of one of the rustic buildings.
Text displays: “BOB GRILL SITE MANAGER, FORT ST. JAMES NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE”
Fort St. James was established in 1806 by the Northwest Company. And it was here primarily because of the water routes. So the water routes were the highways then. It’s the largest group of original wooden buildings representing the fur trade in Canada. So it’s unique that way. And then the architecture tells the story of the people who lived here.
The montage of the rustic farm settlement continues intermittently as a female narrator speaks while standing on the porch of one of the old buildings.
“LISA SHEPHERD, MÉTIS ARTISAN AND DANCER”.
Fort St. James is an incredible venue. To look around and see the buildings, you know, it’s so evident that a lot of care and a lot of love has gone into preserving this place. And when people come here I think they just feel that.
Visitors receive a tour of one of the old buildings. The tour is guided by a costumed interpreter.
When you come to Fort St. James National Historic Site, you go out on site and in each building is a costumed interpreter, and those interpreters all talk about the history of the site.
Visitors approach interpreters in an outside yard who are cooking over an open fire. A female narrator speaks while standing outside. Visitors watch an interpreter demonstrate fur trapping as she speaks in the background. Text displays: “KAREN ROUTLEDGE, HISTORIAN, PARKS CANADA”.
The site had for a long time done quite a good job of incorporating the Carrier First Nations story, but if you think of the story as just being one of Euro Canadian newcomers and local First Nations you really miss a huge part of what was going on there. There were so many Métis people who worked at Fort St. James in its history as a fur trade fort.
A montage of old, black and white photos depicting life in a rural community is shown as a male narrator speaks.
Fort St. James was mainly Métis people in 1896. That’s who operated Fort St. James. In fact, A.C. Murray was the chief factor here in 1896.
The montage continues as another male narrator speaks.
Text displays: “MIKE BENNIE, A.C. MURRAY’S GREAT-GRANDSON”.
My ancestors came to Fort St. James in the early 1800s and this is where we originated in British Columbia. It’s only the last couple of years that they’ve actually recognized that Métis people played a significant role in this area.
Two costumed interpreters talk amongst themselves while sitting on a bench on the porch of one of the historic buildings. Another costumed interpreter walks down a wooden walkway from a rustic building.
It’s very important that Parks Canada honours all the people that were part of the story. In 1896, Fort St. James had quite recently undergone a major reconstruction. The foreman of that reconstruction was Alexander Campbell Murray.
Two male narrators take turns speaking as a montage of old black and white photos is shown. The montage includes; a man with a sword holstered at his side; three men with a small child; three men and two women standing outside an old building with fur pelts hanging from the wall; a well dressed man with his hand on the shoulder of a worker; and three men holding rifles sit outside on a log with three dogs.
He was raised at Fort Garry and he went to St. Jean’s College in the Red River settlement. And in 1867, he joined the Hudson’s Bay Company and they sent him west right away, he didn’t hang around and he came here, he came to this area. A.C. Murray didn’t identify himself as Métis. He identified as a Scot. He didn’t dwell on that aspect of his lineage. He just rolled his sleeves up and got the job done.
A montage of a rustic settlement is shown as a male and female narrator take turns speaking.
A.C. Murray rebuilt the post in the 1880s. And inside the fur warehouse you can see the meticulous work that he did. He actually hand-planed the ceiling boards in a warehouse.
A female narrator speaks while sitting on a chair in front of a rustic building. The montage continues.
Text displays: “JUNE HEDDON, ELDER”.
I can imagine. They brought the trees from across the lake and they started building it. And these trees are all hewed by hand. There was quite a few Métis that helped build the buildings.
As the narrator speaks, another montage is shown displaying; the inside of a rustic log cabin home; an antique iron bed; a fur rug on the floor; a sewing machine; some yarn; and hand sewn art work.
Some local Métis groups had approached the site and asked why there wasn’t more Métis content. We were able to get more funding to do a bigger exhibit that would incorporate Métis themes as they should be at the site.
An exhibit in a building on the historical site shows; antique tools and artifacts behind glass displays; an old canoe with fur and blankets draped over it; a large movie screen with black and white footage of the Métis life plays in the background; a collage of old photographs hanging on a wall; an old violin; and a needle with traditional art beads in a bowl.
We started that winter on the display room and during that time while we’re starting to build, we also met with the local New Caledonia Métis people and people from Prince George. Most visible when you walk in the room is probably the family photo wall that has photographs of A.C. Murray, his wife Mary Bird and his daughter Annie Murray and some of their relatives and we also have some Métis artifacts. When we chose the artifacts for the site we had Métis people choosing artifacts that they felt represented them.
An outdoor show featuring traditional music and dancers is shown as the narrators speak.
I always love going to Fort St. James. Everyone I’ve encountered there has just been so nice and so passionate about the site. The Nak’azdli Elder Society has been a long time collaborative partner of the site. There’s no way that we could have done this project without the Nak’azdli and Métis advisory groups.
A montage shows costumed interpreters and visitors engaging in various activities at the historical site. A female narrator speaks from the porch of a rustic building.
I think something that Parks Canada is doing really well is that they’re allowing the Métis to tell their own story.
A montage of old, black and white photos showing women in a rural setting is shown. A male narrator speaks as a costumed interpreter is shown sitting on the steps of a rustic building.
My grandmother was born here in 1896. She loved Fort. St. James and she often talked about the sunsets here and how beautiful it was. I learned from her it’s important to retain the knowledge you have about your family and pass it on. So I do that with my grandkids, I tell my grandchildren, our ancestors were some of the earliest pioneers in British Columbia. We should be proud of that.
Three people sit on the porch of an old building as three other people sit on a log on the front lawn. A female narrator speaks from the porch of a rustic building.
Connecting people to this place, this land that we’re on. I think that that’s just really important. It just makes for a healthier community.
The tourists sit on picnic tables, have lunch and watch an outdoor show that features traditional dancers.
A flower lined, white picket fence is shown with its gate opening to a large river.
The Métis of Fort Walsh: Fort Walsh National Historic Site and Cypress Hills Massacre National Historic Site
Transcript
Upbeat, traditional fiddle music plays while multi-colored floral patterns are drawn on a black background.
Text displays: “THE MÉTIS OF FORT WALSH”.
Traditional guitar music plays. A montage of a vast landscape including flat lands, valleys and forests is shown intermittently as a male narrator speaks while standing outside.
Text displays: “BRENT MASON, HERITAGE PRESENTER, FORT WALSH NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE”.”
Cypress Hills are unique to Saskatchewan. When you think of Saskatchewan you think flat, but this area here was missed by the last ice age so you have a flat plateau on the top and folks around here call that the bench and then you have all these coulees and valleys and creeks and springs running through them.
A pick-up truck drives down a hill on a dirt road past a Government of Canada sign that reads: “Parks Canada - Fort Walsh – National Historic Site of Canada”. A montage showing the historic fort’s grounds plays as a male narrator speaks in front of a floral mural.
Text displays: “DARREN PREFONTAINE, RESEARCHER AND EDITOR, GABRIEL DUMONT INSTITUTE”.
A montage of old, black and white photos depicting rural life plays as male and female narrators take turns speaking.
Fort Walsh was founded in the mid-1870s as a result of the journey west of the North West Mounted Police to stop the whiskey traders. A lot of the Métis families like the McKays and the La Valais that worked as interpreters were connected to it and some of the daughters of the scouts and guides became wives of some of the first North West Mounted Police officers that came up and stayed at Fort Walsh.
Two women stand in front of a rustic shed. One of them begins speaking.
Text displays: “CATHY SCHNELL AND DONNA THANE, MCKAY DESCENDANTS”.
Edward and Caroline McKay had the first homestead here in the Cypress Hills way before the fort was ever even thought of. Two of the Mounties married two of the McKay girls, one of them being our great grandmother.
A woman wearing a period costume dress stands in the doorway of a rustic building and reads as a male narrator speaks.
Parks Canada has collaborated with the Métis people in the area, descendants of the McKay family who lived beside the original fort, to make sure everybody’s story is told.
Two women stand in front of a rustic shed. One of them begins speaking.
Before there wasn’t anything on the McKays, which we could never really figure out cause they were right here. And, so I’m very, very satisfied and pleased that it’s being developed.
A montage including; three children pulling a wagon on the historic grounds, visitors enjoying the grounds amongst costumed interpreters, two children bottle feeding a calf, and young boy dressed in mounted police attire polishing a rifle plays while a male and female narrator take turns speaking.
Visitors can enjoy a wide variety of activities at Fort Walsh. You have the fort itself where you can learn about the North West Mounted Police, the uniqueness of the history here, as well as a Métis trail. We have our Metis cabin and trade cabin so they can learn about the Métis people in the area.
As the narrator speaks, another montage is shown displaying: the inside of an old trading post; rustic log cabin home; a hanging antique oil lantern and cast iron pots and pans on an old wood fire cook stove.
They’ve developed a replica of the trading post which is on the site where the McKay lived.
A montage showing the interiors of rustic cabins plays. Two female narrators take turns speaking while standing in front of a cabin.
To me they have done an amazing job of putting this Métis cabin together to honour, how people lived back then. I’m not sure what it would have been like to live here in the mid-1800s. Like they had to plan all through the summer just to get enough food to make them through the winter for their animals and themselves. Had to be a lot of work. I don’t know how the women had time to do all the fancy beadwork. It was a very important part of their culture. They were known as the flower bead people, weren’t they, the Métis. It was just part of who they were.
Five women craft with traditional beads while sitting at a large table in a log cabin as two female narrators take turns speaking.
Our grandmother put beading on everything, even on the inside of her fiddle case. When we all get together and we’re beading, we talk and reminisce about being children, and our mum and dad are both gone so we talk about them and remember all the good times we had together, we’ve become even closer since we’ve been doing this.
Two women stand in front of a rustic shed. One of them begins speaking.
What makes me most proud sitting here today is that Edward and Caroline and their families are getting recognition for having been here and for what they did. It’s great. They’re honouring them.
Young people dressed in period costumes perform a traditional dance. A male narrator speaks in front of a floral mural.
The history of Métis people in southwestern Saskatchewan has been a long one, but unfortunately a lot of the history has been lost. It’s important for an agency like Parks Canada to help promote Métis history and culture because I think sometimes people forget that the Métis are a founding people of our region.
A vast landscape is shown as several people ride horses across a field.
It’s hard not to feel a connection when you come down the hill, it just takes your breath away, it kind of has a feeling of coming home.
An old-growth forest is shown. Two women stand in front of a rustic shed. One of them begins speaking.
I have four sisters so there’s five of us and Caroline and Edward McKay had five daughters that were, that lived right here. So that’s sort of cool. After all these years there’s five of us again.
Five women stand outside a rustic cabin and share a laugh.
Batoche National Historic Site – Batoche and Tourond’s Coulée: A Landscape Coming Alive
Transcript
Upbeat, traditional fiddle music plays while multi-colored floral patterns are drawn on a black background.
Text displays: “BATOCHE AND TOUROND’S COULÉE: A LANDSCAPE COMING ALIVE”.
Traditional guitar music plays.
An aerial view of a winding river is shown. Visitors enter a welcome center as a female narrator speaks in front of the building.
Text displays: “IRENE LEGATT, EXTERNAL RELATIONS MANAGER, SASKATCHEWAN SOUTH FIELD UNIT”.
A montage of the historic site’s grounds and costumed interpreters is shown as the narrator speaks.
Batoche National Historic Site is located on the South Saskatchewan River. I think it takes most people by surprise when they arrive here. They have a vision of a national historic site often as a house or a small little plot of land. So when they come to Batoche and see how large it is but also the beauty of it and the natural splendor, you certainly understand why the first people settled around here.
A montage of costumed interpreters performing farming tasks such as feeding chickens and tending to a garden is shown as a female narrator speaks while standing in front of an old church.
Text displays: “ROSE-MARIE CAREY, INTERPRETATION COORDINATOR, BATOCHE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE”.
Batoche was a beautiful spot in the 1880’s when people started to settle and build community. Dividing the lands up into long, narrow strips called river lots provided access to water and land when you wanted to start farming. That’s the richness of Batoche. It’s the land. It’s the land and the trails and the voices that people will hear.
A montage shows the grounds of the historic site as a female narrator speaks.
Batoche National Historic Site definitely speaks to the different stories, the battle and the politics and who Louis Riel is, Gabriel Dumont is. But at the site we also try to give that sense that it’s not just a battle. There was a community here before, during and after.
A male narrator speaks in front of a floral mural.
Text displays: “DARREN PREFONTAINE, RESEARCHER AND EDITOR, GABRIEL DUMONT”.
It’s the heart and soul of Métis people because that’s where the resistance took place in 1885 and that is where the big uprising against government authority occurred.
An old cemetery is shown as a female narrator speaks while seated in front of a floral mural.
Text displays: “KAREN SHMON, DIRECTOR OF PUBLISHING, GABRIEL DUMONT INSTITUTE”.
There was a lot at stake, the land and the culture and the rights of the Métis were being oppressed.
A montage of old, black and white photos depicting rural farming life is shown as a male and female narrator take turns speaking.
You have a people who wanted to belong who wanted just land and a place to grow their families, a place to settle.
A male narrator speaks while standing in front of a floral mural.
It would be a farming culture that took over. So anyone who didn’t quite fit the mould would be put in their place. So the Métis were the first group to experience that hostility in western Canada and they experienced it quite fiercely.
An old cemetery is shown as a female narrator speaks.
It’s the most sacred site to the Métis because it’s where our history changed and where our people stood for our rights and where there was a lot of loss.
A man plays somber music on a fiddle in front of the gates of an old cemetery as a male narrator speaks. A Government of Canada sign reads: “Parks Canada – Battle of Tourond’s Coulée / Fish Creek – National Historic Site of Canada”. A group of people walk up to a series of plaques in an open field. An old, black and white photo shows a woman standing on the porch of an old house.
There’s just a solemnity to the place, a very strong undercurrent of tragedy to the place. In the history books the second battle of the 1885 resistance was called The Battle of Fish Creek. However, in the Métis community memory it was called The Battle of Tourond’s Coulee. We worked with Parks Canada and Friends at Batoche to restore the name to honour the Tourond family, particularly Madame Tourond who had a very courageous life.
A grave stone is shown as a female narrator speaks in front of a fireplace inside a rustic house.
Text displays: “JACQUELINE GUEST, WRITER, BELLE OF BATOCHE”.
Tourond’s Coulee, that was where my great-great-grandmother’s homestead was, where she raised her large family. I think that the recent change back to its original name, The Battle of Tourond’s Coulee and Fish Creek, I think that Parks Canada should be commended for that. That is correcting history in a big way.
The exterior of a building is shown with a sign on it that reads: “Gabriel Dumont Institute”. A female narrator speaks while seated in front of a floral mural as a montage showing the inside of the museum plays.
The Gabriel Dumont Institute has a dual purpose, which is the education and training of Métis people in Saskatchewan and also the preservation and promotion of Métis history and culture. And so the Batoche National Historic Site is a natural ally and partner for us.
The inside of a welcome center is shown. Visitors tour the facility and view the displays.
We work very closely with the Gabriel Dumont Institute in the development of interpretation programming, special events, educational projects.
A montage containing: a woman in period costume setting a dinner table in a rustic house; the interior of a historic church; a man playing the fiddle outside a cemetery; and visitors enjoying the grounds of the historic site plays as a male narrator speaks.
The relationship between Parks Canada and Gabriel Dumont Institute has been exceptional. We do a lot of good work together. We help promote Metis history and culture. I think all Canadians should see Batoche.
Stories of Connection: The People of Jasper National Park
Transcript
Upbeat, traditional fiddle music plays while multi-colored floral patterns are drawn on a black background.
Text displays: “THE PEOPLE OF JASPER NATIONAL PARK: STORIES OF CONNECTION”.
Traditional guitar music plays. A river winds through the mountains. Two people cycle across a steel bridge as a female narrator speaks while standing on a riverbank. Footage of the river and surrounding woodlands is shown as she speaks.
Text displays: “JULIE-ANNE WEAVER, PROGRAM OFFICER, CHANGING RELATIONSHIPS: PEOPLE OF THE UPPER ATHABASCA VALLEY”.
The Jasper Valley has been a natural gathering place for hundreds of years. In the beginning there were many aboriginal groups that traveled through the area. They would come to Jasper House, the trading post here. It was a provisioning post for people that were trying to travel across the Continental Divide.
An old, black and white photo depicting three hunters standing outside a mountainside cabin is shown. A female narrator speaks against a background of mature trees and mountains.
Text displays: “LAURA VINSON, MÉTIS SINGER-SONGWRITER”.
The first people to actually settle in the park were the Métis. The Mountain Métis are different than the Red River Métis in that they had the Red River carts and the big buffalo hunts and we had the little skinny trails through the mountains so we had pack horses.
Mountain scenery is shown. A male narrator speaks from a pebbled mountain riverbank.
Text displays: “LYLE CAMPBELL-LETENDRE, KELLY LAKE MÉTIS SETTLEMENT SOCIETY”.
The Métis people of Kelly Lake migrated everywhere, but also settled in a lot of places like Jasper House. Our history shows the families of Kelly Lake as being interpreters, guides, chief negotiators for the Hudson’s Bay and the North West Company. And my grandpa used to always say we were the Hudson’s Bay.
Mountain scenery continues and fades into a view of the tree-lined river. A female narrator speaks from a riverbank. A montage including: an old black and white photo of a family; cars and trucks drive on a main road, past a Government of Canada sign that reads: “Parks Canada – Jasper National Park of Canada”; a very rustic cabin in the woods; and people approaching the cabin on foot is played intermittently as she speaks.
With the closing of Jasper House and the decline of the fur trade a lot of people actually left to other areas, other hamlets nearby, but there was a small group of homesteading families who decided to stay here and who were still here when Jasper National Park was created in 1907. The homestead sites are all located along the Athabasca River. They are a significant example of how people lived in the valley at the turn of the 20th century.
Two people walk in a clearing around the rustic cabin. A man and a woman stand in front of the cabin. A male narrator speaks.
Text displays: “RON AND IDA PELLETIER, DESCENDANTS OF JOHN MOBERLY”.
Two people walk away from the cabin.
They were good, hardworking people. Our people were the entrepreneurs of the valley, they were the guides, they were the storekeepers. In the spring, they’d all get together and make sure everybody had enough hay for the winter and just worked as a team. They just lived life, free and happy.
A female narrator speaks from a riverbank. An old black and white photo depicting four people sitting in an old car is shown.
With the creation of the national park, policies were in place that homesteading families had to leave these protected areas.
A wooden cross with a plaque on it that reads: “SUZANNE (KWARAKWANTE) MOBERLY 1824-1905”.
Text displays: “CHARLIE DELORME, ELDER”. A male narrator speaks in his native language from a field beside a river.
My grandfather used to tell me about when they were forced to leave and at first they didn’t leave. It wasn’t until their guns were taken and they couldn’t hunt that they left.
A man and a woman stand in front of a rustic cabin in the woods. The woman speaks. A montage shows mountain scenery.
It must have been hard on them. It’s kind of sad. How did they take everything? It couldn’t have been easy.
A river is shown as a male narrator speaks while standing on a pebbled riverbank.
It still hurts. That part hurts. It really does. We’re trying to understand it in my generation, but the people that would tell the stories are all gone now.
Two people read a plaque that sits in an open field adjacent to a rustic cabin. They explore the cabin as a female narrator speaks. Three hikers walk across a clearing.
It is so important that we build our relationships with our aboriginal partners here in the park, especially because of the history that has happened here. We want people who happen to stumble across these sites to understand that these aren’t just fields, that at some point in time, somebody lived there.
A man and a woman stand in front of a rustic cabin. The man speaks. A mountain river is shown as he speaks.
The river’s only about a half mile that way. My great-great-granddad, he lived here at one time. For me, you feel like you’re at home when you come to Jasper. It’s not just a tourist town. To us it’s home.
A montage showing an aerial view of a mountainous landscape along with its various flora and fauna plays as a female narrator speaks from a riverbank.
I’ve learned a lot about the way that people identify themselves and how critical the land is to that identity. Above anything else the people that I’ve worked with identify as people of the Upper Athabasca Valley, people of the Rocky Mountains, the Assiniwitchi Winiwak.
A montage of mountain scenery continues as a male narrator speaks from a pebbled riverbank.
Our history’s here. This is part of my life, this is part of my family’s life. This is part of what I can tell my grandson, my great-grandson.
A montage of mountain scenery continues as a female narrator speaks against a background of mature trees.
The land is everything to aboriginal people. It’s the mother, it’s where your soul is. I’m really happy to be home.
A man speaks in his native language while seated in a clearing beside a river. A montage showing mountain flora and fauna plays as he speaks.
When I come here I feel a wellness, knowing that my grandfather lived here. The connection is strong. Some of my uncles died and were buried somewhere here. That’s what I feel when I’m here.
The man walks across the clearing, away from the river.
The Rocky Mountain House Métis: Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site
Transcript
Upbeat, traditional fiddle music plays while multi-colored floral patterns are drawn on a black background.
Text displays: “THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE MÉTIS”.
Traditional guitar music plays. Visitors approach an old walled fort. A group of people walk along a pebbled riverbank. A male narrator speaks while standing in a wooded area, in view of several large, white tents.
Text displays: “TRAVIS WEBER, INTERPRETATION COORDINATOR, ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE”.
A montage showing costumed interpreters performing various tasks at a working hunting and trapping camp plays as he speaks.
Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site was the site along the North Saskatchewan River where the Hudson’s Bay Company and North West Company established forts from 1799 to 1876. They were trading with nine different aboriginal groups, eight First Nations and the Métis. You had a huge mixing of cultures, lots of activity was happening. People were establishing their campsites, staying overnight, doing trade ceremonies, trading the next day, constantly there was an influx of people coming in and out to do business with the Europeans.
A male narrator speaks from grassy riverbank.
Text displays: “PAT MACDONALD, HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR”.
A woman is shown working near an open fire in front of a teepee as he speaks.
These posts were considered Blackfoot territory. The Cree were more like the middlemen, the negotiators. And in between that became the rise of the Métis. They were great business people. Supplying the posts with pemmican and supplies and food.
A male narrator speaks while standing on a grassy plain, in beside two teepees.
Text displays: “WARREN FAY, MÉTIS INTERPRETER”.
Costumed interpreters perform traditional tasks in a hunting and trapping camp setting.
Parks Canada in our area in Rocky Mountain House has been doing a really good job at collaborating with the Métis. We’ve had a phenomenal amount of visitors to come and learn about trapping, and learn about the furs, learn about skinning hides.
A male narrator speaks from the hunting camp.
Text displays: “MARCIEN LEBLANC, MÉTIS TRAPPER”.
He is shown demonstrating his fur trade to visitors.
We explain to the people about the fur trade and the voyageurs, the way that the Métis used to live, the way that they would tan hides and about the traps that they used.
A male narrator speaks from between the shelves of a library.
Text displays: “SCOTT STEPHEN, HISTORIAN, PARKS CANADA”.
A woman performing a traditional dance to live musicians is shown as he speaks.
Rocky Mountain House is one of my favourite examples of Parks Canada working with community organizations. It’s a case of people, communities, families, coming together and each finding significance in a site.
A female narrator speaks while standing in front of a tent.
Text displays: “PAM PICHE LASHMORE, MÉTIS DANCE INSTRUCTOR”.
A small cemetery in a large field is shown as she speaks.
When I walk down on the path here at the park here in Rocky Mountain House and I go past those old forts, I kind of ponder the past and were any of my relatives here. I like the trees, I like the river and I like the essence of the past.
Costumed interpreters fire muskets and cannons in a large field as visitors look on. A montage shows visitors taking part in various activities on the grounds including: a young girl playing on a swing; visiting a heard of bison and a family walking down a wooded path. A male narrator speaks while standing in the hunting camp and a family is shown carrying their sleeping bags into one of the teepees.
We have lots of activities for the visitors throughout the day. We have a play fort, a bison herd, about three kilometres of walking trails throughout the site. One of our projects here at the site was the heritage camping. We have trapper’s tents in the woods so we have this woodland trapper’s village and then on the other side more of a prairie teepee area where people can camp.
A male narrator speaks from a wooded area.
Text displays: “JOSEPH PIMLOTT, VICE PRESIDENT, REGION 3, MÉTIS NATION OF ALBERTA”.
A montage depicts: visitors actively participating in activities such as, starting fires from scratch; crafting dream catchers; wrapping bannock on a stick; and enjoying a campfire meal as a male narrator speaks.
It’s one of the cool things that I like about this particular project is that you get to have all the old style pots and pans and you have to start your fires from scratch. What makes this site special is not only its natural beauty but the people who were here. To understand those people you have to understand their culture so the purpose of the workshops is to immerse people in the culture; one’s a dream catcher workshop, we have a traditional games workshop, bannock-making workshop. I think this heritage camping is something dynamic. And over the years, you’re going to see different experiences and new projects and each time you come here something will have changed and there’ll be a new experience.
Children do beaded crafts while seated in a teepee and two elders talk amoungst themselves on a bench outside as the narrator speaks.
Parks Canada has been instrumental in making sure that cultural component is accurate, and discussing it with our elders. They’re just an amazing group of people to work with.
A montage shows visitors actively participating in activities at the site.
We’ve created that template for working with the Métis and First Nation community members in this area. And I think we’ve established a good relationship with them to continue to offer a product that reflects the people who it should be reflecting, the aboriginal people.
A female narrator speaks while seated near a path in a wooded area.
Text displays: “MARLENE LANZ, PRESIDENT, REGION 3, MÉTIS NATION OF ALBERTA”.
A woman in period costume plays a fiddle outside a white tent.
I’d just like to congratulate the National Historical Site for recognizing the Métis and helping us keep the Métis culture alive. I’m really pleased that this place exists.
Two children play in a large, grounded rowboat. Other children participate in demonstrations of traditional hunting and trapping camp related tasks.
Text displays: “DOREEN BERGUM, ELDER, REGION 3, MÉTIS NATION OF ALBERTA”.
More children actively participate in other traditional tasks.
For the young ones. For the youth to carry it on. That’s why it’s so important - sharing our culture, our music, our dance, our food so they can be proud of their culture and find the connection and the balance between past and the present.
A young girl hangs a dream catcher from a tree branch and walks away.
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