Metis community celebrates its culture and history

Page 1

Some show-stopping performances and a foot-stomping good time was part of the annual Metis celebration held across the province in November.

The Edmonton Metis Cultural Dance Society and the Metis Nation of Alberta again held separate events to honor Metis culture and historical leader Louis Riel. The dance society kicked off the celebrations with Metis Fest 2003 with the Louis Riel Gala on Nov. 13. The evening's event included the presentations of the annual Joey Gladue scholarship awards-$500 and a certificate each to Shaw Beazley of Edmonton, and Nicola Acuna of Calgary-and the Delia Gray awards-to Elizabeth Ferguson of Lethbridge and Heather Wifladt of Edmonton.

Each year, the late Joey Gladue is honored by the society.

"Joey was a big part of our group. He started dancing when he was nine years old. At that time he was too small for our main group, but he hung around the big guys and every time we used to practice and go on the road, he used to come along with us. The first dance that he really enjoyed the most was the duck dance, so he always wanted to be included in that one. He always wanted to be the best Red River jigger around, and Joey practised and practised until he became a six-time Canadian Red River jigging champion. He was very proud of that. Of course, his family was, and the group was very proud of him also," said Lyle Donald, dance society director.

The late Delia Gray was the first provincial Elder and advisor to the president and vice-president of the Metis Nation of Alberta.

Friday evening a talent show and fiddle championship was held, with entertainer Winston Wuttinee in the role of emcee.

On Saturday, hundreds of people attended the Western Canada Metis dance competition and the Western Canadian Metis Red River jigging championship.

"We have such good dance groups come out to compete at our gala; looks like there are more and more dance groups coming out each year. About nine groups competed in the Metis dance competitions, such as the square dance part. The little dancers from Saskatchewan were dressed very traditionally, Metis-style with their little hats. That is the thing about competitions. The competitors have to dress the way people used to dress long ago. They had a nice costume on and it was great. I'm seeing that the groups entering our competition are younger and younger, and that is actually our mandate, to introduce younger people to their culture."

Events hosted by the Metis Nation of Alberta ran from Nov. 16 to 23, and included the Louis Riel commemoration at the provincial legislature, an open house at the Delia Gray Building on Kingsway Ave., the Delia Gray Memorial Gala, the Zone 4 bannock and jammer, and a pancake breakfast.

Irene Collins, the director of Metis Governance Intergovernmental Relations with the MNA, said that although most Metis communities across Alberta celebrate their heritage for a week in November, the rest of Canada celebrates Nov. 16 as a day to remember Louis Riel.

"Every year we celebrate to proclaim our heritage and to acknowledge ourselves as a nation and to promote our culture. I believe each year this is a real good opportunity for other people visiting our city to be aware of who we are. The activity we had at the legislature was well attended. We had several prominent speakers, including Minister Pearl Calahasen and the president of the Metis Nation of Alberta, Audrey Poitras.

"Remembering Louis Riel as our former leader was really the focus of this commemoration ceremony. Our open house at the Delia Gray Building is just a way for us to affirm that we are a people who like to mingle, visit and eat and, of course, we had a lot of food there."

Collins said the Delia Gray Gala is a way for people to remember the late Delia Gray, "who was a special lady to the Metis Nation. We often referred to her as the matriarch of the Metis Nation of Alberta. She was our first provincial Elder, so we honor her memory by carrying on the tadition for her love of education, her love for dance, and her love for visiting. We try to combine all of these traditions during the week-long celebrations," she said.