Metis mothers demand recognition for children

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The goal is simple: Obtain 1,000 signatures on a petition and send it straight to the government of Alberta.

The Metis mothers' petition is being circulated throughout Alberta and has been receiving strong support. The group circulating the petition is calling for the identification of Metis children at birth as well as of Metis children who have been separated from their families.

"It's so important for our Metis children to have a sense of their roots," said Maryann Stepien, president of West Parkland Metis Local 1116 at a Feb. 12 meeting in the provincial building in Stony Plain. "So many of our children are apprehended and they are lost to their own people. This registration will mean that these children won't get lost."

"We as Metis mothers are really wanting to change the current status so that Metis kids don't have to go searching for their families," explained Muriel Stanley Venne, president of Parkland Metis Local 71 and founder of the Institute for the Advancement of Women.

A grassroots movement of approximately 50 Metis women across the province launched the petition. Called the Metis Mothers of Alberta, the group is just 200 names shy of their goal.

"When we take our petitions with us to meetings and conferences we always have volunteers offering to be our contacts and to take a few petitions with them to gather more signatures. People from across the province, north and south, east and west, in Calgary and Edmonton, feel the same way as we do. There is consensus that this is a good idea," said Stepien.

"If they (Metis Mothers of Alberta) can get everyone to agree, then I think they've got a really good chance to make some real progress and that's good for all of our communities and each family," said Larry Lacoste, a long-time member of Local 1116.

"The support has been great," said Stanley Venne. "Not only do we have people signing who are Metis, but we've also had signatures from non-Metis people who just support the petition."

Also on the agenda is a proposal to establish a Metis children's advocate, who would act in the interim to identify Metis children. "This is just one other piece of a movement to take care of our own children," said Stanley Venne, who was recently appointed Social Services and Children Services portfolio holder for the Metis Nation Zone 4 Regional Council. "If we can get our Metis children recognized it will help us in the long run so that we can help stop the neglect and poverty that exists within so many of our communities."

The petition is ultimately headed for the spring session of the provincial legislature, where it will request the government to enact legislation to identify the Metis children within the Child Welfare Act, which is being opened for review and changes.

The resolution to have Metis children identified in the legislation was passed unanimously in 1998 by the Metis Nation's annual assembly in Slave Lake.

"If we can protect our children we can then protect the family," added Stanley Venne. "I hate to sound like a Pollyanna, but I think we can look toward the day when we can all have positive family lives."