Metis make presence known in capital city

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Between 150 and 200 youth attended the sixth national Metis Youth Conference with the theme Metis Youth...the New Workforce.

The conference was co-ordinated by the Metis National Council at the Delta Hotel in Ottawa on April 25 to 27.

"Our main focus was to try and show the youth what kinds of opportunities there are out there for them. So we had some workshops," said assistant co-ordinator Avery Hargreaves.

The eight career-oriented workshops were presented twice during the conference. They included RCMP and military; media; one called Passion: are you doing what you are supposed to be doing?; ARHDA (Aboriginal Human Resources Development Agreement) and how it can work for you; How to start your own business; transferable skills; an engineering workshop; and a Metis jigging workshop.

On the opening night, a talent show was the highlight of the entertainment. "It was just a fun thing. Everybody signed up for what they wanted to do, and then we gave out cash prizes," said Hargreaves.

"The talent show started about couple of years ago to promote and keep active the Metis culture," said the director of youth initiatives with the MNC, Pauline Huppie-Parsons.

The show's categories included jigging, fiddling, animal calling and karaoke.

"The talent show was a huge success, as we had many people in the audience from across the Metis homeland," Huppie-Parsons said.

The Metis National Council announced the winners of the 2003 National Metis Youth Role Model Program at a banquet at the Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que., held the same weekend as the Metis Youth Conference. None of the winners were from Ontario.