Parks Canada Partners with the Gabriel Dumont Institute at Batoche
The sash, a Métis symbol © Parks Canada
The Gabriel Dumont Institute, a Saskatchewan-based educational institution, is dedicated to preserving Métis culture. This same goal is held by Parks Canada, as is evident by the efforts of Parks Canada at the Batoche National Historic Site.
Batoche was declared a national historic site in 1923, and commemorates the site of the armed conflict between the Métis and the Canadian government in 1885. The cultural and natural resources of the site include historic buildings, military encampments, and numerous plant and animal species, to name a few.
Since 1996, Parks Canada has worked closely with the Gabriel Dumont Institute in an effort to preserve this national treasure. The Gabriel Dumont Institute, through training efforts, heritage programming, and publications has helped foster greater public appreciation and understanding of the 1885 events that occurred at Batoche, as well as promoted Parks Canada within the Aboriginal community as a whole. In exchange, the work that Parks Canada has done at Batoche has resulted in increased interaction between it and the local Métis community.
This month visit Batoche National Historic Site and witness its many dynamic partnering efforts first hand.