Winter 2006

A Métis Publication

Salute to Métis Veterans

KIWETIN Marketing & Publishing Ltd

December 2006

Volume 3, Number 1

Seasons Greetings

New

Business

FEATURE

PAGE 21

Christmas Mass at Batoche 1896by Armand Paquette

Christmas Edition

PAGE 7

Journey to Oregon 1841A Métis family’s struggle PAGE 25

Christmas EditionThe Voice of the Métis Community In British Columbia

ArmandPaquette

EXTRACTS FROM MRS. BOMPAS’S JOURNAL. February 15, 2006

Whispering Winds

He began to add the human element into his paintings while living near Arden, Manitoba. Here, he became acquainted with a number of families in the vicinity who still farmed their land in a traditional manner using horse-drawn equipment. The addition of this element to his work created a transition and formed the basis of the work for which Armand has become most noted. Although this subject matter remains among one of the artist’s greatest loves, he is continually searching for new material to explore, painting everything from urban scenes to wildlife renditions.The artwork for Batoche proved to be both a labor of love and a challenge for Paquette. Culturally, the topic could not have been more appropriate. Armand is Métis and his grandmother was a little girl of seven living at Batoche, when Middleton’s troops attacked the village on that spring day in 1885. The challenge lay in bringing to life the Métis community of St. Laurent and Batoche and the events of 1885 from selected written accounts, a limited supply of photographs and layout sketches provided by staff from Environment Canada Parks. Paquette has succeeded admirably. The character and flavor created have added greatly to the publics appreciation and understanding of Batoche National Historic Photos and article courtesy of Batoche National Historic Park, Saskatchewan

Métis father dropping his children off at school on a typical Saskatchewan winter day, By Armand Paquette

This edition of Whispering Winds marks the beginning of our third year! It also marks the beginning of a new look and format. We are delighted to welcome Doug

Lord, Deep Woods Communication from Enderby, to our team. Together with Doug, Steve Dills, Colleen French, Gary Ingram, First Nations Drum, Ron Nunn, Anni

Therrien, Randy Spinks, Jo Dante, Leanne LaBerge, Earl Belcourt, the staff and Ministers at MNBC and MHRDA and many others we have produced a magazine that will be the blueprint to future

Whispering Winds editions. We are growing and expanding and it is all due to your support. Thank you, our readers.

Call us on our toll free number 1-866-558-7997 so that we don’t miss your event.

On a personal note, we love living in the Okanagan! This is our first warm winter and we are lovin’ it. Feel free to visit.

Happy Holiday to you and your family!

Inside this issueDEADLINE for MATERIAL

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Armand Paquette is a man with a deep commitment to his art and to his Canadian heritage. In his mind the two are inseparable. He cannot remember a time when he was not drawing or which he was not fascinated with Canadian history. Born in Winnipeg in 1930, Paquette grew up with an appreciation for the people of rural Manitoba. He spent much of his early life homestead-ing with his parents and later went to live for six years with his grandfather at The Pas. After completing his schooling he served for three years with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Armand worked at a variety of jobs after leaving the army but his art always remained foremost in his mind. Luckily he has had the encouragement and support of his wife, Vivian, and in 1970 he made the decision to devote his life to his painting on a full time basis.Initially Armand was involved in the both fine art and the production of animated film features. Gradually, after suffering a series of setbacks with animated film, he gravitated toward capturing the images and character of the rural west. Paquette began creating landscapes of prairies, incorporating the rapidly disappearing historical farm structures into his compositions.

Métis Veterans honoured page.... 7

150 Years of Huntingbetween them page.... 12

Roughneck Training Great Success page.... 15

Métis Women Honoured page... 18

Red River Rangers page... 20

Annual General Meeting page... 32

Publishers:Noel Minaultand Diane Ellis

Thank you!....for making each issue of Whispering

Winds a Success...

Fort Simpson, Mackenzie River, North-West Canada, December, 1874—March, 1875. December 27, 1874.

page... 56

�

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The Voice of the Métis Community In British Columbia

Message From the Executive Director

Merry Christmas to all Métis! Manitou Kesi’kaw Apeetha’kosianuk I reflect on the past year of being many places

of interest across our Homeland as the Minister of Culture, Heritage and Language for the Metis National Council. Our culture flourishes and it is heart warming to visit Metis Citizens and their families throughout our homeland and here in British Columbia. I had the pleasure of meeting / making new friends, hearing stories, teasing, laughing, re-acquainting with old friends and relatives, feasting on cultural foods and dancing to the Metis Fiddle. This is truly who we are with our history The Holiday Season is a time for more love and sharing with families, friends and neigh- bours. We must also be mindful of the less fortunate, remember our Kookum and Mooshom also think of our loved ones who have left us this year and previous years. It is a time to be close to the children, grandchildren, youth and elders, opening our homes for the festive season. Joyeux Noel from the Metis Nation British Columbia. Manitou Kesi’kaw from our families to yours! The Best of the Holiday Season to all, enjoying a safe and healthy festive celebration and bring in a Happy New Year!

Taanshi Kiya’wow Apeetha’kosianuk /Hello all Metis / Michif

Manitou Kesi’kaw / Merry Christmas The Christmas Season is upon us for 2006 and

where do the years go!

Bruce Dumont President of Metis Nation BC

Minister of Culture, Heritage and Language Metis National Council Seasons Greetings 2006

Seasons Greetings 2006

Message fromPresident Dumont:

Whispering Winds

This has been an exciting time as the MNBC staff assists in the implementation of several governance revisions and program requests addressed during the recent AGM in Kelowna.

MNBC staff is seeking increased federal and provincial government program support as the demands for pro-grams continues to increase. The MNBC continues to be approached by several industry partners seeking Métis Nation support for their specific needs. A particular focus has been on assisting labour market needs. We will con-tinue to explore opportunities for the Métis communities and citizens we serve.

MNBC continues to demonstrate our commitment to accountability and responsible delivery of programs and services. Our staff has completed all second quarter (mid term) reports for the first six months of the present 2006-2007 fiscal year. Reporting requirements have continued to increase as the MNBC delivers several new federal and provincial contribution agreements and each new agreement requires careful management and reporting. Effective and efficient management has been planned in the revised MNBC organizational chart. The MNBC will be posting new positions to assist with this management structure.

MNBC staff has continued to revise current job descrip-tions as approved by the MNBC board human resource sub-committee. The sub-committee will approve the final revised human resource policies and procedures. In fact, the MNBC organizational chart has been continually revised in light of several new programs and services. MNBC staff is working with MNBC ministers to finalize revised business planning as part of the revised MNBC vision. These draft plans will be highlighted at the upcom-ing MNBC regional sessions. I hope Métis citizens take the time to attend these important meetings.

Please accept my wishes for a safe and peaceful holiday season.

Another year has come and gone for all of us and the holiday season is upon us. On behalf of the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC), board of directors and staff, I extend a sincere Merry Christmas to all of the Métis citizens and their families of British Columbia.

Christmas is a time to bring happiness with more love and sharing towards family and friends. We open our hearts and homes to enjoy the festive season surrounded by our loved ones, give thanks for our comforts, reflect about our loved ones who have passed on and enjoy quality time with our children and grandchildren. We wish you good health and well being over the Christmas season.

I want to recognize and thank the Métis citizens who recently attended the MNBC annual general meeting (AGM) in Kelowna September 29th - October 1 on behalf of the board of directors. There really was a sense of nationhood. The Métis Nation leadership was very appreciative of those who participated.

MNBC has been working to implement the necessary changes to the MNBC governance documents (MNBC Constitution and Governing Acts) as a result of the thirty-eight resolutions that were passed during the AGM. In fact, these changes have been completed and the revised governance documents are now available on the MNBC website for public viewing.

I have also submitted a presidential monthly update for October 2006 that provides a summary of the Métis delegate representation, webcast viewer figures, and the draft AGM minutes. I would encourage Métis citizens to fully review these documents and provide any feedback to assist MNBC.

Keith Henry

MNBC leadership has continued to plan the implementa-tion of the revised vision to meet the objectives of the Métis Nation Relationship Accord. MNBC provided the “Five Year Planning for a New Era” presentation to assist the Métis Nation design effective programs during the recent AGM.

In fact, I am pleased to continue the proposed business planning process as MNBC leadership and staff has established regional sessions as further follow up to the AGM presentation. The regional sessions have been organized based on one regional meeting in each of the seven MNBC regions during the months of November, December, and January. These sessions were designed to ensure further clarification for our grassroots citizens. The new vision developed by MNBC must be inclusive of our Métis communities from across British Columbia. Our work over the next few months will be to fully in-volve the Métis citizens themselves. The goal is to seek final approval of the new vision during the next Métis Nation Governing Assembly (MNGA) tentatively set for February ��nd-�5th, �007.. Manitou Kesi’kaw and ring in a Happy New Year. The year �007 will mark a new decade for all Métis citizens of the MNBC. Have a great month of December. Best wishes for Christmas and have a Happy New Year. Truly �007 will mark a new decade for the Métis Nation.

Jo Dante and Bruce Dumont

� 5

Remembrance DayThe Voice of the Métis Community In British Columbia

Are Wars ReallyWorth the Effort?

Clint Casey

Ernest Parenteau, Metis Vet, MVA-BC Region 3 Rep

Toni (Antoine) Caron, of Armstrong B.C. Toni was born in Batoche, Saskatchewan in 19�0, a direct de-scendant of Jean Caron, one of the original fathers of Batoche. He enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1941 at Regina Sask..... He was a soldier of the Calgary Highlanders. While awaiting deploy-ment to the European theatre of action, he developed a leg condi-tion which rendered him unable to engage in active combat, but, Toni continued to serve our country from the home land. He was honorably discharged from the Canadian Armed forces in April 1946. A resident of Armstrong for the past 21 years, Toni laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in Armstrong on Remembrance Day.

is currently serving in the Navy as an RMS Clerk. He is of Chilcotin and Irish ancestry. Clint lives in Victoria with his wife Diane and their son, Mitchell. He also has a daughter, Dakota, who lives in Kamloops with her mother. Clint travelled to Europe last year with Métis veterans for theAboriginal Spiritual Journey to call home the spirits of ourancestors. He is an artist who taught himself to play the fluteand how to carve and bead. He learned how to Hoop Dance with guidance from Earl Charters and Dallas Arcand. Clint is a humble leader and is the former military co-chair of the Defence Aboriginal Advisory Group.

Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia is the son of Métis World War II Navy veteran Walter Parenteau. He is a direct descendant of Pierre Parenteau, first Métis Provisional Government President and a second cousin to Toni Caron. Ernie served in the Canadian Armed Forces, between 1969 to 1973. He served in Fort Garry Horse and Lord Strats in Calgary as Armored Corp. He was both a NATO Peacekeeper, UN Peacekeeper, and worked for the Chief of Defense Staff at headquarters in Ottawa. He placed a wreath at the Vernon Cenotaph with Dave Hodgson on Nov. 11th.

Vice-Minister of Patriots and Veteran Affairs

Jung Bok Kim of South Korea

and Earl Belcourt,

President of Aboriginal Peoples Commission of BC.

Since the beginning of time we have had wars for different reasons and in each war people have suffered. Yet we continue to war. It will never end because some people can’t let go of what they have or they want more. In North America we believe in democracy and freedom. In other parts of the world they only dream of democracy and freedom as was in the First and Second World Wars and after that the Korean War. But since then most of the world is free and democratic but only because of our brave soldiers who fought for the cause. I am sure that most of you know someone who was in one war or another. None of us like war but for some of us we need to deal with it because our families were in it. On the Belcourt side I had four uncles in World War II and a couple in World War I. But on October ��, 195� my biological father fought and died and was buried in South Korea. I never realized how much a part of my life was surrounded by war until Gloria and I visited his grave in the United Nations Cemetary in Pusan, South Korea this past October. And I never realized how Canadians are truly loved in the countries our ancestors fought. From 1950 until 1953 there may have been two million South Koreans trying to stay alive until our soldiers came to their rescue. Now there is �7 million industrious people welcoming Canadians with open arms and openly thanking us for what our ancestors have done for them. They are free and democratic. After attending three ceremonies I still wasn’t convinced until we went to the DMZ (demilitarized zone), which is the neutral zone on the North and South Korean border. We switched tour buses and guides before the border and were told that there would be no chewing gum, no chewing candies, no pointing and no aggressive gestures such as waving. As we got closer to the North Korean border we began to feel very tense and worried because as free people we aren’t accustom to being spoken to in that manner. The tension lasted for about an hour as we toured the barracks area and the area where the South and North Korean governments do their negotiating. As we left that area we were told that we could now do what we wanted because we are now out of the danger zone. That’s when I realized what our brave soldiers fought and died for. Now I understand!

November 11 is Remembrance Day and I urge you to remember and thank the soldiers that you know, for your freedom and for your democracy and thank them with respect. They are the ones who have given you a chance. They are the ones who deserve your love. Cast your vote, get involved in your communities. That’s what democracy is all about. And remember our “ancestors” who fought for our “rights”. Cuthbert Grant, Pierre Falcon, James Sinclair, Louis Riel, Elzear Goulet, Pierre Delorme, Gabriel Dumont and Harry “The Dog” Daniels.

Submitted by Earl Belcourt

From left to right are MS Trevor Whitten, MCpl Debra Bowcott, Korean Veteran Len Desjarlais, Cpl Justin Tetrault-Hamel, PO1 (ret’d) Leo McGillis, Korean Veteran Victor Flett, Ex-Marine Joe Gray-Thorne, LS Clint Casey, MCpl Patrick Leblanc. They all reside here in Victoria and this photo was taken on November 11, 2005. MS Whitten, MCpl Bowcott, LS Casey and MCpl Leblanc were the serving members who were part of the Aboriginal Spiritual Journey as well as Korean Veteran Len Desjarlais, who worked with VAC to help organize the trip.

Whispering Winds

6 7


Remembrance Day

Bob Ducharme-President

Lest We Forget

Wesley Ronald Goulet

Alfred, Benoit and Bruno Ladret

Nov

emb

er 1

1

A descendant of Papaschase Indian Band, Alfred Maximilian Ladret, a veteran of World War I was born June 3, 1897 at Duck Lake, Saskatchewan and died December ��, 197� at Vancouver, B.C. He enlisted November 13, 1917 at Calgary Alberta and served in the First Depot Battalion Alberta Regiment in Canada, Britain and France. Alfred’s two brothers Benoit and Bruno Ladret also served in World War I.Benoit Ladret was born March 1�, 1893 at Duck Lake and enlisted on December ��, 191� in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He served in Company #808, Overseas Expeditionary Forces. Bruno Ladret was born March 8, 1891 at Duck Lake and enlisted on October 18, 1915. A sapper of the 3rd Battalion, Ca-nadian Railway Troops, he was killed in action May 20, 1917. He is buried at Bailleul Road East Cemetery, St. Laurent-Blangy, France.

May this Christmas and Festive Season bring happiness and good cheer to all and Safety in whatever you are doing. God has

been extremely good and generous to us in an abundant way this past year, however we remember those whom have passed on and those who have been in and out of

hospital. coming to mind is Metis Veteran, Henry Stavely, Michael St.Germain and more recently, Allan Arnault who is now back in hospital just having had his other

lower leg amputated. Larry Pruden has been in during the summer months for a stay, these mentioned are very strong and stalwart Metis veterans and continue to show their many strengths. Hang in there Guys! Our past treasurer, Ron Campbell, is still building

buildings in Mexico.

In May we were invited by MNBC to attend a meeting whereby we held an AGM for the election of Executive and Regional

Directors which turned out very successful. We went on to organize a vote by mailed Ballot to all of our BC members and you have

responded in a way that still amazes me. The vote was for Alignment with MNBC and you gave me a one hundred percent Yes vote to do

just that. We are now in the process of working on a plan of action and it looks very positive.

At this juncture I would take the opportunity to Thank all involved, President Bruce Dumont whose

Strong style of Leadership is an encouraging factor to all. The MNBC Board of Directors, Rene Therrien, our Federal Minister, Tresley

Tourond, our Provincial Minister, Keith Henry and Tracey Thornhill, and Brittaney Katernick’s hard work and expertise has

helped us move through the whole process, There are many behind the scenes people whose hard work has been a definite factor in our

Alignment, and we are now looking to finally engaging some real research work to help our Veterans of yesteryear. Thank you to all.

We continue to get engagements for our Flag Party and incidentally, Veterans Affairs and The Aboriginal and Metis Federal Interlocutors’

Office wants us to meet.

There are many more thank you’s needed but space dictates, so if you think I have forgotten you, I didn’t do it on purpose. If you

know of any veteran or surviving spouse or estate, we ask that you encourage them to join us, so please pick up a form from your local

Metis office and have it filled in and forward it to me.Coming up shortly are MNBC Regional Discussion Meetings

and the corresponding Metis Veteran Regional Director will be on hand for any queries/questions. Check your

“Kiwetin Magazine” for details.

Born on November 12, 1922 in Lockwood Saskatchewan, he grew up on the mouth of the Bird River, Manitoba and attended Bird River School #1700 between March 1937 and 1940. He and his brother Lorne hunted and had a established trap-line before the war.

Ron volunteered to serve at the age of 18. Although Métis he enlisted as French Canadian to avoid the discrimination he lived with as a child. As a result he has never been recognized as a Métis veteran. He trained and was deployed with the Winnipeg Rifles, from Winnipeg, Manitoba on January 12, 1942. He served with the Artillery Regi-ment, 13th Field Battery, 6th Field Regiment, 6th Brigade of the 2nd Canadian Division. He served in Europe including France and Germany. The 2nd Ca-nadian Division was supporting infantry. He was a scout, who used to ride a motorcycle acting as a surveyor of military targets. He also rode ahead of the artillery regiment to select the next setup area, safely moving the regiment ahead.

Ron was honourably discharged on January 4, 1946. When he re-turned home after the war, the newly appointed government conser-vation officer had reassigned the trap line to a non-aboriginal party and he was no longer permitted to hunt or trap as he had previous to serving in WW II.

Alzheimer’s disease has recently led to Ron’s admittance to the Long Term Care Home in Pouce Coupe, B. C.

Art Lefevre - VeteranTresley Tourond MNBC Minister of Veterans Affairs

Brunton Pocket Transit used by Ron Goulet as he worked as a scout in Europe to survey military targets during World War II. The device combines the principles of the surveyor’s compass, pris-matic compass, clinome-ter, and hand-held level in one device. During World War II it was militarized and issued as the Military Compass M2.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Bob Ducharme - President

Ron Goulet in Oldenburg, Germany

Whispering Winds

Alfred Ladret

8 9


Implementation of the MNBC Relationship AccordWhispering Winds

MEETINGS THROUGHOUT THE PROVINCE

“Planning for a New Era”

Saturday’s Agenda

Planning for a New Era Provincial Relationship Accord

Federal Métis Framework Agreement Tripartite Self-Negotiations Sectors

Northeast B.C. Region – Fort St. John – January 06-07, 2007

Quality Inn Northern Grand Hotel - 250-787-0521 9830 100 Avenue,

Fort St John, BC V1J 1Y5

Kootenay Region – Cranbrook – January 13-14, 2007

Prestige Rocky Mountain Resort & Convention Centre -

250-417-0444 209th Van Horne Street South,

Cranbrook, BC V1C 6R9

Lower Mainland Region – Surrey – January 20-21, 2007

Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel - 604-582-9288

15269 104th Avenue, Surrey, BC V3R 1N5

North Central B.C. Region – Prince George – November 25-26, 2006

Prince George Civic Centre - 250-561-7723 Fax: 250-561-7737 – 808th Civics Plaza,

Prince George, BC V2L 5T6 Saturday Supper - PG Native Friendship

Centre 1600 3rd Avenue

Vancouver Island Region – Campbell River – December 02-03, 2006

Best Western Austrian Chalet

- 250-923-4231 - 462 S. Island Highway, Campbell River, BC V9W 1A5

Northwest B.C. Region – Terrace Meeting date To Be Announced

Coast Inn of the West - 250-638-8141 4620 Lakelse Avenue,

Terrace, BC V8G 1R1

Sunday’s Agenda

Dates and Locations

The second highly successful CORE program run by the new Métis Skills and Employment Centre (MSEC) has just graduated a class of 1� motivated indi-viduals into the world of trades, and the exciting employment opportunities that await them.

The Métis Skills Employment Centre (MSEC) in Abbotsford BC, opened in May 2006 and is a direct result of our part-nership with the VanAsep Training Society and the great need of the BC workforce for skilled construction trades people. MSEC currently runs CORE, an introduction to construction trades, Carpentry Level 1, Construction Workplace Safety Officer training and other programs that can sup-ply skilled workers for the construction industry.

CORE training was developed to pre-pare individuals for construction sec-tor employment, with a focus on safety training and basic work skills, the program provides a strong foundation for those interested in working in construction-re-lated jobs. Student learns the fundamentals in many areas and participates in hands on projects to use those skills. Included in this last training session was the completion of the lumber storage shed. Built by the class in a secure area outside the building. “It will free up space inside for student use.” said Dick Ainsworth, the Centre’s instructor. “This class has been wonderful to work with and I see many of them with bright futures in construction”.

Our aim is to get these students a start” said Hazel Burns, Apprenticeship Liaison worker. Hazel’s job is to assist students obtain and retain work in the construction field after the centre training is complete and to help them move into apprentice-ships. She also commented “

By Marlin Ratch

.“So by the time they leave, they should be able to go out onto a site and not have to be babysat. They have enough knowl-edge of safety procedures to go out and actually start training in the industry,” he said.Ainsorth said the skills centre also receives direction in industry needs from a training advisory committee composed of a broad cross-section of industry reps.“There’s no use turning out a product if you don’t have a consumer for that product,” he said. Ainsworth himself brings a wealth of experience to the skills centre. Aside from being an instructor at BCIT for �5 years, Ainsworth is a certified carpenter, millwright, welder and piledriver/bridge-man. He holds Bachelor of Education with an Instructor’s diploma.“It’s really a good program, really valu-able for us,” said �3 three year-old Metis Kyle Storey, from Prince George. “We’re being given experience and an opportu-nity that we wouldn’t have been given unless there was a program like this.”Marlin Ratch, regional development coordinator for the skills centre, said the centre will be offering their first entry level carpentry course in late winter and are currently developing a one-week drywall finishing course.“So a lot of CORE graduates will be coming back from previous classes to take their first level of carpentry appren-tice,” he said. “So we’re really trying to make sure we’re working with the industry to meet their needs.”In February the centre has its first intake for Carpentry Level 1. This class will be made up of several of the CORE graduates wanting to enter carpentry and persons ready to go strait into their apprenticeship program. The need for trades people will not be ending anytime soon, as such the Métis Skills Employ-ment Centre (MSEC) is researching other construction trade programs and initiatives for possible future delivery both at the Centre and regionally.

Métis Skills and Employment Centre Graduates Second Class of COREOct 13th, 2006 Abbotsford BC – Third class will be graduating in December, 2006

A big component of “the training is an emphasis on safety and doing the job right”. The student leaves the program not only with a basic knowledge of carpentry and construction methods, but also with several required workplace certifications and safety tickets.

You might think that this is a program in and for the Lower Mainland only, but the Centre’s location in Abbotsford has al-lowed it to be more accessible to the entire Aboriginal population in BC. So far �0% of the students have attended from outside the Lower Mainland and the lists for the up-coming intake have many participants from all over BC. The centre has made excel-lent arrangements for living for the 6-week training with the Best Western Bakerview Inn equipped with a kitchenette so that the students can have a living space for their stay. On hand for the grand opening of the new MNBC offices celebrations was Dick Ainsworth, instructor at the Metis Skills and Employment Centre’s CORE (Construction Orientation and Retention for Employment) program.Ainsworth said the program has already graduated two classes of students and is weeks away from graduating a third class.

“With every course, its get better. We get more equipment and develop more contacts with industry. The students get to go out on field trips to go out and see what’s going on.” During the celebrations of Louis Riel Days held at MNBC new offices these students had an opportunity to observe first hand construction and electrical work being done on site.Ainsworth said students leave their pro-gram well-grounded in preparation for the construction industry. Graduating students leave with tickets in level one First Aid, WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System), Traffic Control and Confined Space Entry (CSE), in preparation for construction jobs

MNBC Ministries Five- Year Strategy Overview Youth (BCUMYC) Women (MWS-BC) Health Education Natural Resources Justice/Sport/Housing Culture/Heritage/Language Registry Employment (MHRDA) Economic Development Child and Family

The TSN process o Identification of Métis persons o Métis governance o Youth o Education o Capacity building/urban service o Economic development o Natural resources o Health Conclusion Electoral Act Review Provincial Elections Candidate Appeal Process Electoral Appeal Process Election Protocols Marketing/Communications

B.C. United Métis YouthCircle Consultations Five-year plan for BCUMYC Youth Act Consultation Integrated Governance Métis Women’s Secretariat – B.C. Women’s Act Consultation Integrated Governance Plan Five-year plan for MWS-BC

1:00pm Opening Prayer

by Regional Senator

1:05pm Welcoming Remarks

MNBC Regional Director

BCUMYC Regional Youth

MWS-BC Regional Woman

Keith Henry, CEO

1:�5pm Health Break

�:00pm Electoral Act review with

Appeal Sunday’s Agenda

9:00am Overview of the MNBC’s

Ministries 5-year Strategies

10:30am Health Break

11:45am Regional Registry Clerk

Presentation

How do I become a Citizen?

1�:15pm Lunch 1:00pm MWS-BC Presentation

1:�5pm

9:00am Overview of the MNBC’s

Ministries 5-year Strategies

10:30am Health Break

11:45am Regional Registry Clerk

Presentation

How do I become a Citizen?

1�:15pm Lunch

1:00pm MWS-BC Presentation

1:�5pm Senate Update

�:00pm Question/Answer

2:15pm Closing Prayer by Regional

Métis Veteran

�:�0pm Session Ends

MNBC personnel will be present

at the facility until �:00pm

for further inquiries

and/or clarifications. 10 11


We were walking up the cut line calling every 100 metres or so explained Mark. We just topped the first ridge when we spotted a stump where I knew there was no stump, he continued. I looked at it with the binoculars and, wow, it was a big bull elk.

Dean (still vibrating with excitement) said, “It was a long ways out there but as soon as Mark said it was a six point Lorne went to the right and I went to the left side of the line and found a rest against a tree. I shot at the bull facing directly at us and missed, he turned broadside and we shot almost together. The elk jumped into the bush on the side of the line. We went up and” … hang on a minute what happened to Lorne. He has an arm slung in a blue sash.

Lorne finally breaks out of what can only be called a s__t eating grin and said he was pulling on a leg while trying to get the bull unstuck from a willow bush when it came free and the quad jerked it enough

between the two wall tents, so if a griz came to take the meat we would have him in a crossfire but we would also have a bunch of Métis shooting at each other in the dark. OK, one group should keep their guns unloaded!?

Celebration in Flathead camp. The pres-sure was off of the captain of the hunt. A bit of spirit loaded into a few Métis and there was lots of reenactment of the hunt. Dean was credited as the lucky hunter but Lorne pointed out that they both shot together and there was only one hole in the bull. Who killed it?

Even though the pressure was off, the group kept hunting for several more days. Rob and Lorne left earlier than the others. Dean, Gary and Mark succeeded in harvesting a whitetail buck and several more grizzlies were seen. Whitetail does and fawns were everywhere. The group pondered a November Whitetail rut hunt but the valley is a dangerous place in November. A sudden deep snowfall could trap hunters in the valley. Roads are not plowed in the winter.

This is an extremely wild place. It is over 70 kilometres on gravel roads to the highway. There is one significant pass to traverse. Once on the highway you are still more than an hour from Cranbrook. Fernie is closer but this gives little comfort if you are hurt or stranded.Clang, clunk, rattle, eyes wide open, pitch black, grizzly in camp, mind trying to work, clang . It’s just Mark Carlson making fire in the next wall tent … too early, wish he would fire up the stove in our tent. Fifteen minutes later, “coffee’s done” breathes new life into camp even if it is �:30 in the morn-ing. Humph, brrr, frosty out, cold hands, cold feet. Cradle the coffee cup and fix the hands …

Clang, clunk, rattle, eyes wide open, pitch black, grizzly in camp, mind trying to work, clang. It’s just Mark Carlson mak-ing fire in the next wall tent at the October 2006 British Columbia Metis Assembly of Natural Resources (BCMNAR) Flat-head River Camp. It’s too early, wish he would fire up the stove in our tent. Fifteen minutes later, “coffee’s done” breathes new life into camp even if it is �:30 in the morning. Humph, brrr, frosty out, cold hands, cold feet. Cradle the coffee cup and fix the hands. Feet will have to wait until hiking starts at the hunting areas decided on last night around the campfire.

Mark is a perfect host and the natural leader of this excursion. He fills the role of captain of the hunt perfectly. His of-ficers are father Lloyd and brother John. Between them they have nearly 150 years experience hunting in the Flathead Valley. Every evening Mark, with help from dad and John, discusses the morning hunt options, with an eye to the weather, taking into consideration where signs had been seen, wolves heard or grizzlies spotted. Mark’s decision for the third day was Gary, Rob and John would go to the old

Captains Assembly Hold Meetings in Traditional Ways

The traditional way to hold a meeting. Captains Rob Humperville, Vancouver Island, Mark Carlson, Kootenays, Lloyd Carlson, Kootenay Host, Minister Lorne LaFleur, Gary Ducommun, Director, and John Carlson, Kootenay Host.

oil wells and work upstream (Gary should call), Dad goes to the fields, Lorne and Dean will come with me. Back to camp at midday for lunch, Gary, Rob and Lorne immediately noticed the quad is gone from the place it has been parked since arriving. The old timer, Lloyd, is in camp. “Those guys need your help they have a big six pointer down,” he said. “They went to the oil wells looking for you and you weren’t there.”“We called a bunch of wolves at the oil wells and figured that there was a better chance for elk at the gate so we went there,” we replied. We heard the shots … three of them … one single and then two close together a few seconds later.

“Better get up there before a grizzly shows up to take that elk,” was the advice of our senior hunter. Grabbing a coffee for the road we drove �0 kilometres to the trail where the others had hunted. Walking up the trail a kilometre or so we heard the quad. Shortly it came into sight, Mark driving with an elk in tow, a couple happy hunters walking behind. They stopped for congratulations all around.

to twist the leg and his arm. “Everyone heard it pop,” said Dean. “Anyway we snuck up the line, we later paced it at 260 metres, and found the bull dead a short way into the bush. We couldn’t find you guys — where were you — we needed help.”“Looks like you did fine,” was the reply.

We had a furry encounter, we came back to the elk after getting the quad and we took a few photos. We were just talking about how to hook up the elk when there was a crack of a broken branch in the bush and footsteps coming our way. Lorne had his gun and was immediately aiming at the intruder. Mark and Dean had left there guns in the truck but had brought a shotgun full of slugs as bear medicine. They both jumped for it.

Hearts pounding and big footsteps ap-proaching in the thick brush … dark brown fur … antlers … antlers? … moose … a huge bull moose. A bull with a �8 to 50 inch rack sauntered past no more than twenty yards away. He must have heard us and came to see if we were hiding a lovable cow, since it was the peak of the moose rut. We eased off the safeties on the guns and passed around the heart medicine … still spooked.

After more photos, and another short trip behind the quad for Mr. Elk we loaded him in the truck and headed back to camp. Mark looked at the elk in the truck and said, “That’s the first bull we ever brought out in one piece.” That quad really saves the back. Back at camp, we broke out the Métis flag for some more photos and the skinning began, followed by quartering, wrapping in cotton bags and hoisting up the meat pole. High enough to keep it out of reach of griz … you bet. The only problem we could see was that the meat pole was located exactly

Great Day for Hunting – Hunters – Dean Trumbley, MNBC , C of O, Lorne LaFleur, MNBC VP, Mark Carlson, Captain, Rob Humbperville, Captain, Gary Ducommun, Director, BCMANR and Mr. Elk.

Relaxing after a great day Dean, Lorne and John Carlson.

Whispering Winds

1� 13

Check the MHRDA website for the date of the next roughneck course scheduled for early 2007.


For those of you interested in finding a career in the oil industry you can find more information from us at Bear Training Centre by emailing [email protected] or contacting your local employment centre.

Whispering Winds

PHOTOGRAPHY BY HAZEL BURNSJamie Thompson and Matthew Pitts

Sean O’Neil, Ryan Danchuck, and Matthew Pitts

Third Graduation of Métis Roughneck Training Course

Representatives from Encana, Trinidad Drilling, MNBC, Bear Training and Métis Skills and Development Train-ing Centre were on hand to give stirring messages to the graduates and their families. Each presenter sang praises for these 11 people and encouraged them to send out resumes to all companies and then chose the best posi-tion for himself or herself. Adrian Lachance, Trinidad Drilling/Bear Training, stated, “Students have done a good job and now it is time to get to work! These are many opportunities in the oil patch. For those interested in go-ing offshore you need to work hard in the field and get at least three years of experience and then apply to off shore rigs. The programs we teach in Canada are the best in the world. We teach all components not just specialized courses. Stick with it! Hang in there for the long run and you will have success.”

Keith Henry, MNBC CEO, also encouraged students to carry on with this career. “This is a great day for MNBC – you are all a product of the Oil and Gas Program and we are proud of you!” Dan Pope, Minister of Economic Development proudly agreed with Henry. “Programs such as this one support social and economic development that has become such a strong part of our Métis culture.” Dan Pope was instrumental in getting this program going. This is the third graduation, 85% of all graduates are now reported working in the oil patch.

The Métis citizens of British Columbia and in particular citizens who are ready to take a challenge are celebrating the third graduation of the Métis Oil & Gas Roughneck Program.

After �1 days of hard work, making new friends, braving the elements and most importantly learning a whole new way of life, 11 men walked up on stage and accepted their graduation certificate from the Métis Nation BC Oil & Gas Roughneck Training Program.

This program was first conceived in the boardroom be-tween MNBC Economic development Minister Dan Pope, MNBC CEO Keith Henry, MNBC President Bruce Du-mont, Trinidad drilling, Encana and Bear Training Centre.Each man came in as a rookie and every man went out as a trained oil/gas worker ready to brave the elements and accept the hard work that lies ahead. These men came from around the province; some were city people while others had previous careers in smaller centers. By the end of the 21 days they were all friends, all physically fit and all ready for the challenge!

Encana and Trinidad Drilling representatives are proud of their product and even prouder of these men and women who have been totally immersed in this training. They leave their families, live in a dorm, eat camp-type meals, work hard, ex-ercise hard and go all out for �1 days. Many students attend this ceremony (Saturday) and then start work on Monday. This is truly a life-changing course. EnCana and MNBC launched an innovative educational part-nership in June 2006, which was geared to training over 100 Métis drilling rig technicians over the next three years. Later Trinidad added to that funding. To date MNBC has trained �7 of that 100 people and there is still two years to go. 100% have graduated and 85% of these graduates have employment in the oil and gas field.

Participants learn how to safely operate and maintain drilling equipment and all other functions relevant to the drilling floor and deck crew operations. They learn to be a roustabout and a lease hand. They participate in an oilfield fitness program and a job readiness pro-gram. At the end of the day each person will receive certificates of completion which include Enform Ser-vice and Drilling Rig certification, Fall protection and Scaffolding, Basic Fire Safety, Confined Space Entry, H2S alive, Standard First Aid and CPR and WHMIS or TDG.

This graduation class consisted of Chris Knudson, Kelsey Dawson, Nigel Poitras, Jamie Thompson, Ryan Danchuk, Ben Duhamel, Phil Lavoie, Harold Henry, Kevin Richards, Sean O’Neal and Matthew Pitts.

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Nor

thea

st B

.C.

Whispering Winds

Mike Graham, Executive Vice-President & President, Canadian Region, EnCana Cliff Calliou, Kelly Lake Cree Chief Alec Chingee, McLeod Lake Indian Band The Hon. Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia The Hon... Richard Neufeld, Ministerof Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Blair Lekstrom, MLA for Peace RiverSouth Claire Gauthier, Kelly Lake First Nation Resident Elder Francis Gladuefrom Kelly Lake

Opens New Plantin Northeast B.C.

activities. Asignificant portion of EnCana’s investment in the Steeprock Gas Plant went to B.C.-based businesses, contractors and other workers.

“At EnCana we are committed to B.C. We’re proud of our significant investments in this province and the benefits they’re creating for all British Columbians. The opening of the Steeprock Gas Plant represents a significant step in natural gas development in the province. The plant is adding value to B.C.’s resources as we can process B.C. gas right here in B.C.,” Graham said. “The Steeprock gas plant has benefited from comprehensive B.C. programs that have encouraged investment, proving yet again that we have a plan, and that plan is working to bring jobs and prosperity to British Columbia,” said Premier Campbell. With more than five decades of experience in Western Canada, EnCana is one of North America’s leading natural gas producers and a technical and cost leader in the in-situ recovery of oilsands bitumen. By partnering with employees, community organiza-tions and other businesses, EnCana contributes to the strength and sustainability of the communities in which it operates.

For more information on EnCana visit www.encana.com

EnCana Corporation recently held a ceremonialopening for the Steeprock Gas Plant near thecommunity of Kelly Lake, B.C. on October 3. With a design capacity of 198 million cubic feet ofnatural gas per day, the Steeprock Gas Plant is thelargest gas processing plant to be built in BritishColumbia in the past decade and will enable EnCana to process the growing volumes of naturalgas from its northeastern B.C. production areas.

Joining EnCana at the ceremonial opening were PremierGordon Campbell, the Minister of Energy, Mines andPetroleum Resources Richard Neufeld, MLABlair Lekstrom and Resident Elder Francis Gladue of Kelly Lake. SeveralAboriginal leaders were also in attendance to show theirsupport for the project, including Chief Alec Chingee,MacLeod Lake Indian Band; Cliff Calliou, Kelly Lake Cree; and Claire Gauthier, Kelly Lake First Nation. Unable to attend were Bruce Dumont, President of the Metis Nation BritishColumbia, and Lyle Letendre, President of the Kelly LakeMétis Settlement Society. Throughout this project, EnCana worked to encourage Aboriginal participation as part of its corporate commitment to involve Aboriginal communities in the economic benefits associated with its oil and gas development activities. “In working with Aboriginal communities, EnCana strives for an environment of understanding, respect and cooperation as the basis for enduring partnerships,” said Mike Graham, EnCana’s Executive Vice-President & President, Canadian Region. There are many examples of Aboriginal participation in this project. The Steeprock Plant employed Aboriginal companies based out of Kelly Lake and Chetwynd to provide several services including clearing, building the road and site preparation, onsite medics, and to run the camp for contractors building the plant. Over the last three years, EnCana’sinvestment in B.C. has averaged $1.� billion annually on upstream exploration and development

16 1716 17


OutstandingWomenWhispering Winds

Four Outstanding Métis Women honoured at “Aboriginal Women: The Journey Forward” Awards

Public Service, Business and Entrepreneurship - Honouree: Jean Peerless

Family and Community - Honourable Mention: Jackie Finnie

Education - Honourable Mention: Kim Hodgson

Health, Sports and Science Award - Honourable Mention: Rose Bortolon

Kim Hodgsonand April McLean-Collart

Jean Peerless accepts her award from Minister Ida Chong

April McLean-Col-lart, chair of the Métis Women’s Secretariat BC and Minister for Women of the Métis Nation BC embraces Jackie Finnie (far right), who received an honourable mention award in the family and community category.

by Victoria Pruden

Gail Rhodes, MWS-BC Rep North Central BCApril McLean-Collart, MWS-BC Chair and MNBC Minister for WomenPeggy Olanski, MWS-BC Rep Northeast BCVictoria Pruden, MNBC Director of WomenJoyce Beck, MWS-BC Rep Northwest BC Shelly Paradis, MWS-BC Rep Kootenays

Photo by Allan Linklater

In honour of Women’s History Month, 2006, the Province of BC in partnership with Métis Nation BC and the First Nations Leadership Council, sponsored the “Aboriginal Women: The Journey Forward” awards. 10 outstanding aboriginal women were recognized for their contributions and leadership in our communi-ties. On Tuesday, October 17th, these women were honored at a ceremony held at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria, BC.

The Métis Women’s Secretariat – BC is very pleased that the nominations received from our Métis citizens have resulted in four outstanding Métis women being recognized at the provincial level. The women and the categories that they won in are:

An inspirational Métis leader and Métis elder, Jean Peerless has been active as a community leader and Métis politician in the Peace Region for many years. One of the first women elected as a Métis leader, Jean is a tenacious and vocal advocate for Métis rights and recognition, a generous volunteer, a creative prob-lem-solver and inspiration to those in her community. Always keeping her focus on the needs of the elders, as well as those who struggle to meet basic needs, Jean is a true community hero. As one of her community members in Fort St. John stated, “She keeps our community together, where would we be without her?”

Jackie Finnie is a Métis Elder who is active in many community programs; Friday’s Child, a program for parents of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome children; Aboriginal Head Start; and the Na’aaltasi School. A former Board Elder for the Wachiay Friendship Centre, Jackie serves on the Board for the Courtenay Legion Auxiliary and also helps promote healthy living for the Korean Veterans. She works with various school districts in B.C. to promote Métis culture and is an active Elder for the MIKI’SIW Métis Association in the Comox Valley.

Kim Hodgson is a teacher and a tireless advocate for children in need of special education. She uses her creativity and enthusiasm to help students understand their cultural heritage and appreciate and respect each other. Kim is always quick to extend a helping hand to those in need. She is president of the Tri-River Métis Association and volunteers many hours promoting Métis culture and wellness. Kim organizes events and workshops for youth and elders and has a kind word and a smile for everyone she meets.

Rose Bortolon is a resident of Prince George and Minister of Health for the Métis Nation BC. She has worked with the Métis as a volunteer since the 1970s. Rose works on behalf of the elders in her community and in B.C. on many fronts, including housing, health, culture and language. A volunteer for the �005 Se-niors Games, Rose was also a nominee for Citizen of the Year in Prince George. Rose is the mother of four daughters and grandmother of four. A woman of great strength and perseverance, she has risen above her own challenges and dedicated much of her life to ensuring the most vulnerable members of our communi-ties have access to programs and services they need.MNBC Minister of Health, Rose Bortolon

MNBC Minister of Health, Rose Bortolon

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Red River RangersFight Fires in BC

New

Bu

sin

ess

Phil RansomThe Voice of the Métis Community In British Columbia

Whispering WindsPhil Ransome...

Phil RansomeBarrister & Solicitor

(250) 434-4576Free Consultation

Evenings and Week-end

Appointments

REAL ESTATE FAMILY WILLS & ESTATES

Phil would love to hear from you.

Whispering Winds

He earned his Bachelor of Law in �003 from the University of Victoria concentrating on aboriginal law. He was called to the Bar of British Columbia in January �005. His preferred areas of practice in-clude aboriginal law, wills and estates, family law, and real estate. He hopes to find ways that he can use his knowledge and experience to

munity protection plan that could be quickly deployed if the fire breached the community. This would allow the SPU to prevent or minimize the loss of structures such as occurred in Kelowna during the firestorm of 2003.

The Red River Rangers also conducted an initial attack on vari-ous lightning and “human start” forest fires in southern B.C. this year, but the major wildfire they fought threatened the small northern Okanagan community of Falkland. The Tuktekamen Mountain wildland fire grew rapidly, doubling from 34 to 87 hectares in mere days, then up to 131 hectares, due to tall, dry timber, high winds and extreme slopes on the mountainside. The wildland status of the fire was elevated to urban interface status, when fire spilled over fireguards and threatened half a dozen homes. At its peak, the complex mountain fire involved 139 firefighters, four helicopters and 14 pieces of heavy equip-ment. The Rangers fought this fire from initial attack to the mop-up.

The Red River Rangers program has proven itself to be a valu-able asset in the province’s firefighting efforts, and has received numerous commendations from both industry and government. But it is much more than that. It provides economic develop-ment, training and employment for Métis citizens throughout B.C. The program gives Métis youth valuable skills and a way to contribute to society. It creates feelings of pride and accomplish-ment for the Rangers themselves, who become role models for other Métis youth. Go Rangers go!

After the “Firestorm of �003”, the Métis Nation British Colum-bia was looking for a way to contribute to the province’s forest

firefighting efforts. They decided to hire Brad MacDonald, a professional Métis firefighter, to establish a camp to produce a

highly-trained and proficient team of fire-fighters. This team was to be called the “Red River Rangers”, after the famous valley in

Manitoba that was the birthplace of the Métis Nation.The Red River Rangers program has created a twenty-person

firefighting unit trained in wildland and wildland urban interface firefighting. The Rangers are trained in the deployment of the

Urban Interface Sprinkler Protection Units (SPUs), which create a humidity buffer within the urban interface to keep wildfires at bay.

The Rangers are one of only five teams qualified to assess and protect communities from the ferociousness of wildfires.

In the summer of 2005, the Rangers fought two large fires in central B.C. which burned over 10,000 hectares of forest around

the small city of Vanderhoof. They performed “seek and destroy” missions, finding various hotspots within the fires

and then reducing them to ashes.

But it was this past summer that the Rangers were able to show their true expertise. In early July, as firefighting crews, deployed

by the Ministry of Forests and Range, battled a 110 square kilometre fire, and thousands of residents fled their homes, the

Rangers were sent in to protect the community of Tumbler Ridge in northeastern B.C. Using their training in wildland fires, urban interface fires, structural fires and triage assessment, the Rangers

worked with the local fire department to develop a com

A yearning to be close to family led to Phil Ransome’s return to Barriere where earlier this year he set up practice as a lawyer. He also has an office in Kamloops.

Ransome was born and raised in Kamloops and went to high school in Barriere before moving to Victoria where he’s lived for the past 17 years.He said he enjoyed Barriere as a child and now he and his wife, Marilyn, want to raise their children, daughter Mackenzie, 4, and son Garner, �, where they can be close to grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

After moving to Victoria, in 1989, Ransome earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Victoria (in 199�), specializing in small business and entrepreneurship. For seven years he owned and operated a kayaking tour company called Adventures Unlimited, where he guided tourists on day and overnight sea kayak-ing trips off of Victoria, in the Gulf Islands and to other Vancouver Island kayaking destinations.

Ransome’s maternal grandfather was Patrick Joseph Nolin who was born in Paynton, Saskatchewan. Patrick’s father was Alexandre Nolin, born in Battleford and his grandfather was Joseph Octave Nolin who was born in Bottineau, North Dakota. Joseph served as the MLA for Meadow Lake, Sas-katchewan from 1908 to 19�9, perhaps one of the first Métis MLAs in the province. Patrick’s great grandmother and grandfather were Marie Anne (nee Gaudry) and Joseph Nolin Sr. who took script on June 13, 1876.

Phil is an avid golfer and rarely passes up an oppor-tunity to hit the links. If you are looking for a fourth for golf in the Kamloops area, have Nolin, Gaudry, Cameron, Lavoie, Villeneuve, Cameron or Courvret Métis ancestors and are interested in sharing genea-logical information or perhaps need the services of a lawyer,

contribute and help build capacity within his local community. Ransome’s offices are located at 479 Chilcotin Road in Kam-loops (250-434-4576) and 4289 Dunsmuir Road in Barriere (250-434-4576).

He is president of Island Métis Family and Com-munity Services Society, served as chair of the �005 Hwlitsum Services Society golf tournament and is a member of the Indigenous Bar Association and the Canadian Bar Association.

Fire Crew: Neil “Rosy” LaRose, Andrew “Turbo” Mar-tin, Donald “donkey” Cairnes, Anthony “Montana” Divenere take a much deserved break.

Tut Mountain Fire, Falkland, B.C.

Yankee Flats Fire situated between Falkland and Salmon Arm

�0 �1

Whispering Winds

Information On the Metis NationBritish Columbia Centralized Registry


[email protected]

[email protected]

Leona Mason is the Vancouver Island regional registry clerk for Métis Nation BC (MNBC) and assists with MNBC citizenship applications.

The Ci t i z en s o f Dawson Creek , Mayor Cal v in Kruk ,

andCounc i l l o r s

Wi s h Everyone aVery S a f e a nd

Happy Ho l i day!

MerryChristmasand Happy New year

Blair Lekstrom, MLAPeace River South

The Court did not develop a comprehen-sive definition for Métis. It did, however, develop the basic means to identify a Métis rights-holder. The Court identified three broad-factors, those being; self-identification, ancestral connection to the historic Métis community and community acceptance. The reason the Courts did not establish a comprehensive definition is that all aboriginal rights are collective; therefore it would be the collective that would develop the final definition. Thus, the Métis National Council and the Gov-erning Members acted as the collective and achieved the Section 35 definition for Métis. The MNBC Centralized Registry is the “objectively verifiable process” that enforces the collective voice of the Métis throughout the Homeland.

The Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) Centralized Registry (Registry) was introduced approximately two years ago, and the Registry is compiling a da-tabase of Métis Citizens. Dr. Mike Evans of the University of British Columbia is currently assisting the Registry with Métis history, and compiling Métis ancestral his-tory in British Columbia. After the Powley decision the importance of having a Métis registry to identify those Section 35 rights holders became appar-ent. The purpose of Section 35 is to protect practices that were historically important features of these distinctive Métis commu-nities and that persist in the contemporary

Registry Direct Line:604-678-6977

Registry Fax: 778-328-9966

Vancouver Island Region 1 Leona Mason

Mailing Address: 156 D Government St.

Duncan, BC V9R 2N2

Phone: �50-710-3�00 Email: [email protected]

Kootenay Region 4 Carmelle Laroche Mailing Address:

3�A 11th Ave. South Cranbrook, BC

V1C �P1 Phone: �50-919-1119

Email: reg�[email protected]

North East Region 7 Earlene Bitterman Mailing Address:

Box 516 Hudson’s Hope, BC

V0C 1V0 Phone: �50-�80-0010

Email: [email protected]

North Central Region 5 Audrey Prevost

Mailing Address: #�0� - 513 Ahbau St.

Prince George, V2M 3R8

Phone: 250-961-1181 Email: [email protected]

Lower Mainland Region 2

Colleen HodgsonMailing Address:

PO Box �11Harrison Hot Springs, BC

V0M 1K0Phone: 604-869-1109

Email: reg�[email protected]

Thompson Okanagan Region 3

Deanna Hurd Mailing Address:

Box 13�1Merritt, BC V1K 1B8 Phone: �50-�80-0008

Email: [email protected]

North WestRegion 6

Leanne BallingerMailing Address: # 206-3228 Kalum St.

Terrace, BCV8G 2N1

Phone: 250-615-9700Email: [email protected]

Suite 905 - 1130 West Pender Street, Vancouver B.C. V6C 1H2 Toll Free 1 800 940-1150Phone 604 801-5853 Fax: 604 801-5097

Visit www.mnbc.ca for the Registry Clerk Schedules for your Region.

My name is Leona Mason and my family background is Métis-Cree from St. Boniface, Manitoba.

I was raised in a traditional Métis family with strong family values. I always wanted to know more of my family back-ground so started researching ten years ago. I have enjoyed it ever since. From this influence, it was a dream for me to work for the Métis community. Now this goal in my life has been fulfilled.

When I started university, I was on a disability income, which didn’t provide much to live on. Due to this I decided to look for other avenues of training and employment. This is where the Métis employment and training office in Duncan came in to play.

One of my goals was to be a certified genealogist for the Métis and to assist others in discovering their Métis family history. After forty courses in a two-year period, I successfully gradu-ated with the status of Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies: Canadian Records. (PLCGS)One of the highlights was attending several conferences throughout Canada. At a training session at the National Archives in Ottawa I was able to see Métis artifacts and docu-ments from the past. For several years, I have volunteered my time with the Métis community where I reside and have conducted Métis genea-logical research.

I still wanted to do more and the dream was always there. I was able to achieve my dream in January 2006 when Métis Nation BC (MNBC) hired me as Vancouver Island regional registry clerk. In this position I assist with MNBC citizenship application intake at a grassroots level within the Métis com-munities on Vancouver Island.

With the training I received and the confidence I gained, noth-ing is impossible, especially when your dream is there. I am now confident in networking with people on a one-on-one ba-sis or in a group situation. I am now able to live independently with confidence and have a feeling of self-esteem in myself. Dreams do come true when you wish for them hard enough.

Laurel Katernick Provincial Registrar

Métis community and is an integral element of the Métis culture. Prior to the Powley decision, Métis identification was com munity driven however the significance of this was simply to define membership. The inclu-sion of Métis in Section 35 was never defined until the Powley decision came to fruition. This decision not only defined who the Métis were in section 35 but also afirmed that the specific collective identified had an aboriginal right. the Powley decision also spoke about the urgent need to develop more systematic method in identifying Métis rights holders. In answer to government claims about Métis identification problems, the Court said that this issue was not an insurmountable problem and that the difficulties must not be exagger-ated in order to defeat Métis claims. Basically, there had to be a standardized process that was “objectively verifiable”.

TOLL FREE 1 800 784-3333

email: [email protected]

May Peace be with you and your family this holiday season,

and throughout the coming year

10300 10th Street, Dawson Creek, B.C.Phone (�50) 78�-1330 Fax (�50) 78�-1333

Sherry Parisien Assistant Registrar Email:

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Whispering Winds

Red River Métis Families Journey to Oregon Territory in 1841

Tales of this journey will continue in the next edition of Whispering Winds available February 2007.

Tera Dahl-Lang recently returned from New Zealand where she completed the practicum portion of the requirements for a Masters Degree in International Social Work.

The Senate is now complete with a senator representing each of the seven regions. They will sit in regular quarterly meetings to look after the judicial needs of the Métis citizens of British Columbia.We have established a Protocol of the Senate, a Code of Ethics and developed a paper on the roles and responsibilities of a sena-tor in his/her region and provincially. This includes the require-ment to visit their local communities a minimum of twice per year to conduct prayers and cultural initiatives and to liaise with other cultures; to speak with the elders on concerns of the Métis culture; and to answer questions on the role of the Senate.We will also sit, if required, to assist local community executives in running meetings and to conduct the elections at local com-munity annual general meetings (AGMs).The Senate, after the AGM in Kelowna, has been involved in several legal special committee functions. We are bound under law to do this to ensure that we do not enter the Métis Nation British Columbia into possible liability situations.Senator Ron Snider and Senator Alan Edkins met with C.O.O. Dean Trumbley, MNBC legal counsel Joe Gereluk, and provin-cial citizenship registrar Laurel Katernick to begin the legally required process of appeals kit development for the areas of citizenship, election disputes and documents relating to media-tion and general dispute resolution.

Laurel gave us an in-depth and extremely informative overview of the process using an actual application of a Métis citizen (who gave us express permission to do so) to go through a mock denial situation. We looked at the methodology of the denial and its application in the decision making process of the Senate.

MNBCSenate Report

review. We discussed handing down of a decision to uphold the registrar or to deny the decision and overrule the registrar.

There was a Senate sitting on the �1st and ��nd of November to deal with training in “natural justice”, reasons for appeal docu-ments, and to ratify these papers as the foundation and basis of the Senate’s appeal procedures.We anticipate that the Senate will begin its first citizenship ap-peal sitting in early January and that processing of the backlog of appeals will be based on the availability of funding to allow the Senate’s special committee on citizenship appeals to meet.This is a small portion of the events in the Senate’s world in the last four months. We look forward to working with the Métis Nation in a compassionate and diligent manner.

By Sen. Alan Edkins

By Ron Nunn

Senate gathers at MNBC AGM Senators Bill Thibault (Secretary), North Central, Phil Gladue, Lower Mainland, Alan Edkins, (Interim Chairman) Vancouver Island, Ron Snider, Bob Adams, Kootenays Northwest, Gerald Pope, Northeast

Métis Beading by Victoria Pruden

Tera is very proud of her Métis heritage and when given the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister of New Zealand she presented her with a mini-sash pin and explained briefly about the Métis people.Tera resides, with her husband and two grown sons, in Alberta and completed her degree at the University of Calgary. She pres-ently teaches part-time at the Red Deer College.Tera’s mother is the Regional Director of Vancouver Island Kay Dahl.

Governor Simpson of the HBC in the historic Columbia department initiated the scheme to settle the vast lands of the district with Red River families. The idea behind this was to support the claim of British interests at the time to Oregon Territory and occupy the land in dispute with the Americans, therefore keeping the Americans out of the Oregon Territory.Simpson was a shrewd man and saw a multiple benefit to his plan: firstly, surplus population from Red River would be drawn off, choosing Métis families as set-tlers would reduce the competition by the Métis buffalo hunters who were engaged as free traders in the pemmican trade and lastly, any costs of getting the Métis immigrants to agree to move and provide them with farming implements and live-stock would be offset by the produce they would grow to feed the employees of the HBC engaged in the fur trade in Oregon territory.

A long time employee and factor, Alex-ander Ross, who was familiar with the Columbia district was approached by Governor Simpson by letter and requested to lead the party of immigrants from Red River to what is now the Puget Sound area. A company was formed by the HBC and called “The Puget Sound Agricultural Company” to make the whole enterprise have some legitimacy. Ross declined the offer however, begging off as being too old for the arduous journey.

Governor Simpson then turned to a well-known Métis of Scottish ancestry, James Sinclair, a free trader and a natural leader. Again Simpson was shrewd. By engag-ing Sinclair to lead the party and help the immigrants get settled, he successfully removed a very successful free trader in direct competition with the HBC in the Red River District.

Sinclair chose the Métis families for im-migration carefully. He wanted tough, re-sourceful men and women. Besides being skilled buffalo hunters and plainsmen-all crack shots, most had farming experience and skills in livestock husbandry.

The stage was set for the Red River families to leave for the Columbia June 15, 18�1. Chief Factor Duncan Finlayson of the Red River District had negotiated the term that the Métis families would be under when they reached Oregon territory.John Flett, a Métis, was engaged as a guide for the party and more than likely had been to Oregon Territory in the past as a HBC employee. He wrote an account of the journey with immigrants �� years later and the story was featured in the Tacoma Daily Ledger, February 18, 1885.The party for the Columbia was assem-bled: Red River carts were loaded; horses were rounded up, oxen yoked to the carts and dogs gathered up. The �3 families 1�1 people in all, began their journey to Puget Sound, over 3,000 kilometers away. Some of the men and women rode on horseback, some in the carts with the children. The carts had canvas tops to keep the rain out and to provide some shade for the children and women. The men were dressed in buckskin jackets and shirts, decorated by their women with the Métis flower b beadwork. The men all wore wool pants of homespun and most had decorated round hats on their heads. All the men, women and children wore moccasins. The women wore homespun dresses and shawls with brightly coloured scarves and neckties.

They stopped at the White Horse Plains, west of the Red River Settlement, to finish picking up supplies and the staple food for their journey – (pemmican). Swarms of mosquitoes rose up from the prairie, stirred up by the passing of the carts, oxen, horses and the people. Their next stop would be Fort Edmonton, 1,500 KM away.

There was, however, a big obstacle that had to be over before they reached Fort Edmonton – the crossing of the wide, fast moving Saskatchewan River…

I first became aware of the Story of Red River Métis families traveling across the prairies, river and mountains to the wild land of southern British Columbia, Wash-ington State and part of Present day Oregon.

Several years ago I had the good fortune to engage in research in the Hudson Bay Archives in Winnipeg. I was then search-ing for some information about my Métis ancestors in Red River.

I was directed to a folder of papers entitled “the Oregon file”. In that file were writings from the Washington Historical society, copies of HBC Factors letters, journals, and a list of names entitled: “ Immigrants to the Columbia” There were names of Red River Métis families and notes on how many children they had as well as if they were married. A note beside the family name indicated that they received 10 pounds sterling- the amount they were paid as an enticement to settle in Oregon territory of the 18�0’s. Further information about the Red River Métis immigrants also came my way from the book; The Métis, Memorable Events and Memorable Personalities by George and Terry Goulet.

Tera Dahl-Lang meets the New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark

DEEPWOODS

COMMUNICATIONS

Graphic Design & Print Media Specialists

Douglas Lord

(250) 838-0390

[email protected]

�� 5


‘Let virtue be our soul’s food’Whispering Winds

MNBC Celebrates Louis Riel Day at Opening of New Offices By Lloyd Dolha

The Metis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) celebrated the grand opening of their new administrative offices at 1130 West Pender on November 16th in Vancouver. The opening of their new offices was held in conjunction with the celebration of Louis Riel Day.“I want to welcome everyone here today. We’re so proud of our new digs. As we say back at home, ‘Welcome to Keekinow’ ”, said MNBC president Bruce Dumont. “This is our home, that’s everyone’s home that are here visiting. It’s our place. It’s certainly nice to see so many people here, so many of our Metis people, citizens and friends of the Metis.”

Dumont welcomed each of the Minis-ters of the Metis Nation representing the seven regions, Metis Senators, elders, Metis citizens and distinguished guests at the gathering. Each of the ministers made a brief address to the gathering, thanking the Metis, guests and friends of the Metis in attendance.

Representing the northeast region, Minis-ter of Economic Development, Dan Pope was one of the Metis leaders to address the gathering.

“I want to thank everyone for coming out to our new office. For us it’s a step forward, where we’re going, what we hope to do. For us, being accountable, transparent, those words have true mean-ing and it’s nice to see so many people come out to see that and believe in us, in the Metis,” said Pope.

“I’ve been around for a while and I’ve seen a lot of changes happen over the time I’ve been involved in the Metis movement, here in British Columbia – back since the late 60’s,” said lower mainland Senator Phillip Gladue. “What I see here today is we’re growing, getting bigger, looking like professionals, edu-cated. And that’s what it takes to move ahead is education and coming together like this so we acknowledge each other for the things we are able to do.”

Ms.Tresley Touround, MNBC Minister of Youth and chair of the provincial youth committee, took a moment to present lower mainland youth representative Stephanie Albiston with a pink fiddle in recognition of her talent on the instru-ment passed down to her by her elders.

“One of the most important things for our youth committee is the recognition of our culture and making sure we’re upholding our traditions,” said Touround. “ A few months ago we learned one of our youth has an extremely special talent, but she hasn’t had a chance to practice that talent as of late.” “So we wanted give something to our lower mainland youth representative Stephanie Albiston,” said Touround.

The new MNBC offices comprise some 7,900 square feet on the ninth floor of the building that allows for the consolidation and expansion of services to the Metis citi-zenship. The office is set up in sections for each administrative function that includes a: Metis citizenship registry section; ex-ecutive area; central finance; and, directors and staff operational teams.

The MNBC is pursuing their self gover-nance agenda through the ongoing pursuit of five-year developmental plans for each of their thirteen ministries set out in their governance structure.

“We’re growing so rapidly and I think, half the time, that’s the challenge – to continue on with the day-to-day business, while dealing with that rapid growth as well,” said Dean Trumbley, MNBC Chief of Op-erations (COO). “It’s very overwhelming, but it’s also very exciting.”Trumbley said the MNBC is currently hiring two new positions for the central registry, as well as a director of education and are currently making funding arrange-ments for a director of economic develop-ment.

“All of these people need to be housed somewhere and because it’s a hub process that we’re developing. We do need to have them in one area,” said Trumbley. “For instance, with our ministries, the director of economic development would be really interested in what the director of health is doing because there will be cross-over initiatives.

““We’re creating a team atmosphere where all these directors work together so we’re not duplicating services. So having this centralized certainly helps us a lot because

Brittaney Katernick presents a “pink” fiddle to Lower Mainland Youth Rep. Stephanie Albiston on Louis Riel Day

The snow, Which renders the ground all white, From heaven, comes here below:It’s pine frozen drops invite us allTo white –keep our thoughts and our acts, So that when our bodies do fall, Our merits, before God, be facts.How many who, with good desires,Have died and lost their souls to fires?Good desires kept unpractic’dStand, before God, unnotic’d.O Robert, let us be fondOf virtue! Virtues aboundIn every sort of good,Let virtue be our soul’s food

Louis (David) Riel Oct. 27, 1885 Regina Jail

we can have operational level meetings that help us meet a number of these objectives.”The day was also one of remembrance and respect for the Metis leader Louis Riel. It couldn’t be more fitting for us to come here and have a grand opening in honour of Louis Riel and the Metis who fought for us,” said MNBC president Dumont. “Today is the 1�1st anniversary of the hanging of Louis Riel, who fought for our people, our Metis rights. We honour him every year at this time.”

Interestingly, this week, the University of Saskatchewan acquired an original copy of one of Louis Riel’s poem’s for their collection of historic documents – the only one he ever wrote in English.

Dated October �7, 1885, just weeks before Riel was hanged, the poem is dedicated to Robert Gordon, one of Riel’s jailers.Linda Fritz, head of the Research Services Division of the U of S Library, said the poem’s acquisition is a major coup for the university.“Next to Tommy Douglas, Louis Riel is right up there when it comes to famous Saskatchewanians.”The poem and introduction written by Riel for his jailer about three weeks before he was hanged for treason.“ Robert Gordon! I beg your pardon for so having kept you waiting after some poor verses of mine. You know my English is not fine. I speak it; but only very imperfectly.”

Aboriginal Participation Team from Vancouver 2010 - Hilary Dunn, Program coordinator, Gary Youngman, Consulting Director and Lara Mussell Savage, Specialist drop by to view new MNBC offices.

Rene Therrien and Ed Molyski fiddle at Louis Riel Day in new MNBC boardroom.

2626 �7�7

Passport to Health...

AGM OffersPassportto Health


Whispering Winds

Rose Bortolon,

WHAT PARTICIPANTS LEARNED

Season’s GreetingsWishing you and your family all the best of the holiday season.

Michael de JongMinister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation

Room 310, Parliament BuildingsVictoria, BC V8V 1X4www.gov.bc.ca/arr

MdeJong Xmas Ad 2.01.indd 1 2006-11-17 2:56:44 PM

MNBC President Bruce Dumont tests his carbon dioxide level

Minister of Health, Rose Bortolon, discusses hand waxing with some of the male partici-pants of the health fair.

BCMANR Captain Rob Humperville inflates “smokers’ lungs” which demonstrate how tobacco limits lung capacity and cause tumors to grow.

Claire Spivey helps Okanagan Métis Child and Family Ser-vices’ Kelly Kubik determine his body mass index

Métis Nurses were on site to test participants’ cholesterol and blood glucose levels

The Health Screening and Information Fair at the 2006 MNBC Annual General Meeting offered delegates a unique opportunity to gain a snapshot of their cardio vascular health. Opening at 9:00 am and continuing until �:00 p.m., the fair provided seventy two participants over the age of �0 with their cardio vascular risk profiles. Of those receiving the as-sessments, eighteen or �5% were smokers – none of which were on a smoking cessation program; half suffered from arthritis, 1�% had diabetes and 31% reported high levels of stress.

These statistics coincide with the preliminary data from the MNBC Provincial Survey where prevalence rates of arthritis and diabetes are being reported at rates significantly higher than mainstream British Columbians. Participants under the age of forty were invited to have their cholesterol tested and discover many of the interactive booths and displays, such as smoking cessation, nutrition and fitness. Male participants, in particularly, enjoyed the paraffin hand waxing, which provides temporary relief from the chronic pain of arthritis. The display of smokers’ lungs was also a participant favorite. An air pump was used to compare the inflation capacity of non-smoker’s lungs versus smoker’s lungs. The brave were able to don gloves and feel tumors and damaged tissue caused by smoking.

Planning for the fair began in July 2006 with the recruitment of Patti Rosvold from the North Fraser Métis Association (NFMA) to assist with coordinating the project. She also recruited her sister, Lorraine, and Sue Didier from NFMA to assist in the event. MNBC Web Designer, Claire Spivey, was also a great support by measuring heights and weights for body mass calculations. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals was the premier corporate sponsor, assisted by providing holistic ma-chines for testing, cardiovascular risk manager software and staffing to train Métis nurses on the equipment. Other spon-sors and partnering organizations included the Interior Health Authority, Safeway Pharmacy, the Hearts at Work Program and the Métis Centre at NAHO.

Participant comments and evaluations report that the fair was an outstanding success, with requests for the fair to be part of every MNBC AGM. This has set an exiting precedence and we will try to keep this an on-going element of future AGM’s.

“We have set a something very real in motion here (in screening the MNBC leaders and delegates) but this is just the beginning, it is my goal to provide this valuable, potentially life saving opportunity to every Métis citizen in British Columbia”

By Marie van Humbeck,Director of Health

That I am healthy and to maintain

that I need to be more conscious

of regular exercise

My body is younger than my

age, that reduced my stress level.

How to maintain my blood

sugars as I’m hypoglycemic.

Was to be more consistent in

honouring my health

I need to take better care of

myself to stay health and help others

Minister of Health

�8 �9


Traditional Hunting Camp for Youth

continued on page 53

OLD STUFF ANTIQUES

BUY SELL CONSIGN

Aboriginal Design Artwork & T-Shirtsby Randy Spinks & Rock

STOCKALWAYS

CHANGING

The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society, with support from the Métis National Council, has published an important resource tool for those interested in their family history. The publication, edited by Laura M. Hanowski, is entitled Tracing Your Aboriginal Ancestors in the Prairie Provinces: a guide to the records and how to use them.

The guidebook provides basic information for the novice researcher, such as highlights of privacy legislation, copyright laws, and so on, and tells you how to organize your research project. There are detailed explanations of the various types of records, the time frames they cover and where they are located. In addition to descriptions of sources throughout Al-berta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, there are sections devoted to federal records, including those created by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Indian Affairs.

While emphasis is placed on how to use these records in the Prairie Provinces, the book also explains how to access them from other parts of North America or anywhere in the world. Helpful hints alerting the researcher to items to watch for when conducting research are scattered throughout the book. Chapter Ten is devoted to resources for researching Métis ancestry, with suggestions for resources to check throughout Canada and the United States. Mention is made of digital projects such as the Métis Archival Project, which will enable researchers to check a database, then link to the scrip, census and some church documents. Check http://www.metisnation.ca for details on this.

The price of the guidebook is $�8.00 plus postage and han-dling. To obtain your copy, go to http://www.saskgenealogy.com, or contact:

The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society1870 Lorne St.P.O. Box 189�Regina, SaskatchewanS�P 3E1Telephone: (306) 780-9207

Guidebook for Tracing AboriginalAncestors

Kara Michaluk, 12, from Dawson Creek opens the Oil and Gas Conference with “O Canada”. Kara has recently returned from Vancouver’s Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) where she placed first in the Kids Division (ages 8-12). This was Kara’s third trip to Vancouver, the first year she gathered experience, 2005 she placed fourth and this year she took home the top prize! Kara has been singing since she was 8 and specializes in classical and opera music. She also sings pop and country when she wants to relax. Keith Hall, a Métis from Dawson Creek, is Kara’s singing coach.

On September 1, 2006, long weekend, a traditional hunting camp for youth was hosted by the South Okanogan Métis Community, The Métis Heritage and Cultural Council. A location in the Chris-tian Valley was chosen for the site of the camp. We were fortunate to find a good campsite close to the Kettle River where the youth could fish and swim and generally enjoy themselves. The youth and adults arrived on Friday and camp was quickly and efficiently set up.

1� youth attended the camp coming from Vernon, Armstrong and Penticton. The ages of the youth were from nine to 1� years old. The kids brought with them excitement as well as a keen interest in learning traditional skills such as setting snares and traps, animals sign identification, skinning and preparing deer harvested as well as making dry met over a smoky fire, the traditional way.The camp was organized as traditional hunting camps are with a captain overseeing the camp operations and adults and elders assist-ing the youth in caring out the necessary chores to keep the camp clean and in order.

Joan Holmes, and Elder from Grand forks brought her pine needle basket making materials and the youth joined in with enthusiasm in making the baskets. The design and methods of making pine needle baskets is very ancient and pine needle baskets of the same design have been found in the abandoned pueblos of the Anastazi of the Southwest United States. Some of these baskets are thousands of years old and some are still quite functional .Making leather pouches for medicine was also taught. Some of the youth made pouches and bags as well as

Ron Nunn, Captain of BCMANR, teaches Métis children the most important skill, gun safety

250 549-27643405 30 Ave.Vernon, B.C.

V1T 2E3

COLLECTABLES ANTIQUES JEWELLERY & AMBERCHINA CRYSTAL COLLECTABLE DOLLS

by Ron Nunn, BCMANR Thompson-Okanagan Captain

Whispering Winds

30 31


MNBC ANNUAL MEETING 2006Whispering Winds


MNBC ANNUAL MEETING 2006Whispering Winds

3�

President Dumont sashes Dylan Robert Trumbley, 13-years old, Vernon and District Métis Association. during Youth AGM

Bruce sashes Region3 Youth Rep,Vicki Gagne

Annual General Meeting the Best Ever!our commitment to assist the Métis veterans who really require our support. Moreover the overwhelming feeling of unity was extremely humbling and for this I want to recognize all of our Métis citizens who attended. The exhibition of Métis culture and pride through-out the AGM was evident in all aspects,” continued Dumont.The weekend was filled with laughter, tears, sobering thoughts, and information. Métis talent was showcased on Friday night during the Métis Idol contest. Vendors from around the province displayed and sold their wares and the feeling of being with family prevailed throughout the entire weekend.On Friday, workshops were held all day. These included a Health Forum, sessions with George and Terry Goulet who discussed their latest book “The Metis”; sessions with oil and gas industry leaders; report of the Powley case and Willison update, discussions on gov-ernance and many other culture topics. As the workshops were being held, BC-MANR (British Columbia Métis Association of Natural Resources), the Senate, the B.C. Métis Youth circle and the Métis Women Secretariat held their own meetings. Many of those reports are found in this issue of Whis-pering Winds. The Grand Okanagan conference centre was the perfect venue — the meals were good and on time, the meeting rooms were very comfortable and the staff of the hotel bent over backwards to assist whenever they were needed.Art Burd, master fiddler, was honoured and his family was presented with a wonderful etched glass artwork. We will all miss Art. This tribute to such a fine person brought everyone to tears.All of this would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors. MNBC would like to thank every partner who do-nated money, time and effort to making this AGM so successful. Key Platinum sponsors included Royal Bank of Canada, Encana, Enbridge and Trinidad Drilling. Many thanks for the hundreds of hours spent by MNBC staff and volunteers in making this event a huge success.This was the best AGM so far and everyone is looking forward to next year — the tenth annual general meeting.If you missed the meeting or the web cast you can review the minutes on the web site, www.mnbc.ca.

Positive and very productive results will be forthcoming through the Métis Nation British Columbia due to a successful two day annual general meeting (AGM) held in Kelowna, B.C. September 29 to Oct 1st.Community leaders and citizens came from all corners of British Columbia to attend the cele-bration and meetings. Over 300 people attended the workshops and information sessions on Friday and then attended the two day meeting on Saturday and Sunday. There were 162 voting delegates registered for the meeting. This year the AGM was web cast throughout the province allowing 396 viewers an opportunity to see first hand the work our leaders and staff are doing to build the Métis Nation. It is hoped that next year MNBC will be able to expand the web casting in order that the Métis Nation leadership can showcase their transparency.A very impressive lineup of guest speakers en-hanced the opening ceremonies and throughout the weekend. Speakers were: federal Senator Gerry St Germain; federal minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day; federal MP Ron Carr; provincial minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Mike DeJong; provincial minis-ter of Children and Family Development, Tom Christensen, provincial NDP MLA and aborigi-nal critic Scott Fraser and several partners from various industry and government departments.During the meeting MNBC delegates were able to complete and ratify 38 resolutions put forth at the Métis Nation Governance Assembly last spring. This enables the MNBC Constitution and Legislative Acts to be further improved. Ev-ery ministry within the structure of MNBC had an opportunity to showcase accomplishments and introduce the assembly to their key people. MNBC chief executive officer, Keith Henry and chief of operations, Dean Trumbley, went through the nine-stage implementation process to set a new five year target to meet the objec-tives of the Métis Nation Relationship Accord.Over the course of the AGM, youth, women and several charter presidents were sworn into office.“I have to commend the Métis citizens who at-tended this very important event,” said MNBC president Bruce Dumont. “The number of Métis youth who attended was impressive with rough-ly 50 in attendance. In fact, the Métis youth leadership really demonstrated the outstanding commitment we will have in the years to come. Another key benchmark was the agreement reached with the Métis Veterans Association of British Columbia. The agreement showcased

Madesyn Thompson, 5 ½ , the youngest

contestant in the AGM Métis Idol contest is not

afraid to sing her heart out. Madesyn is Tracey

Thornhill’s daughter.

The AGM brought smiles and tears to the audience when Master Fiddler Art Burd was honoured. Art passed away in June 2006 and will be fondly remembered. His friend and jigger Bev Lambert and BC Métis Youth Jigging Fa-cilitator, Madelaine McCallum poses beside the beautiful glass monument presented to Art’s wife and family.

Paige Lauchlan Trumbley Dean’s daughter.

33


Thank You for your support...

MNBC 2006 ANNUAL MEETING

3� 35

Joelene Didora(Quilting Kuuhkum)

PLATINUM

GOLD

BRONZE

SILVER

IN KIND

Whispering Winds

Without volunteers the AGM could not have happened – a special thank you to Sharon from Okanagan Métis Family Services for organizing the volunteers.

Keith Henry, CEO on behalf of the MNBC board present Jean Peerless from Fort St John and Ken Fisher, Nova Métis Association with an honour for all that they do for the Métis Nation.

Mark Carlson, BCMANR captain, Kootenay Region wins the coveted “blue” fiddle at the 2006 AGM

Colette Bourke, Dawson Creek and Judy Dallin, Langley, were able to network at the Annual General Meeting. Judy is happy to tell Colette about the Langley school program that informs students of Métis culture.

George and Terry Goulet pose in front of new MNBC bus. They were at the AGM to discuss their new book “The Métis – Memorable Events and Memorable Personalities”.

MNBC AGM 2006 brought many political leaders to speak during the two-day event. Politicians from every level of government were present. Guest speakers included Senator Gerry St Germaine, MP Okanagan-Coquihalla Hon.. Stockwell Day, and MLA: Hon... Michael de Jong, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation and, Host city, Kelowna Mayor Sharon Shepherd. Many more politicians spoke during the AGM.

Métis Youth Circle...The Voice of the Métis Community In British ColumbiaThe Voice of the Métis Community In British Columbia

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!FROM THE OKANAGAN MÉTIS CHILDRENAND FAMILY SERVICES#201 – 2949 Pandosy Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 1W1Telephone: (250) 868-0351 Fax: (250) [email protected] www.okanaganmetischildrenandfamilyservices.ca

THE OKANAGAN MÉTIS CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES

#201 – 2949 Pandosy Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 1W1 Telephone: (250) 868-0351 Fax: (250) 868-0359 [email protected] www.okanaganmetischildrenandfamilyservices.ca MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Merry Christmas to all!

36 37

Annual Metis Youth Meeting BC Youth Tackle

Language Loss through LearnMichif.com

Whispering Winds

The Regional Youth Representatives for the BCUMYC now have voting seats at the Regional Governance Councils; this was an important milestone for the BCUMYC and for all Métis youth.The youth did a commendable job and remained engaged throughout the entire meeting, they were able to second motions and participate in the discussions. The BCUMYC would like to acknowledge all of the participants that made this event so memorable and their dedication and commitment towards building the nation.

The Ministry of Culture, Languageand Heritage in partnership with the BC United Métis Youth Circle hosted the 2nd Annual Métis Idol at the MNBC Annual General Meeting. This was an amazing event and was an excellent opportunity for our Métis citizens to showcase their talents. There were five age categories to participate in and the talent ranged from singing, jigging, acrobatics and imper-sonations!! The MNBC and the BCUMYC would like to thank the Métis Idol hosts Ryan Bresser and Charlene Lambert, and the lovely awards presenter Chelsea Mitchell. Thank you again to everyone that helped make this event a success and we are alllooking forward to next years show-case of talent.

A project which aims to combat the loss of Michif language and culture across the country, should be available on the internet by next spring.

The B.C. United Métis Youth Circle was recently approved for a significant grant from Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture On Line Project. Central to the project is the combined work of a number of Métis youth in the province. Jeff Ward of Animikki Inc and Métis role model Ryan Bresser of YellowTilt Productions will be teaming up to present Michif culture in an exciting and dynamic manner. Britaney Katernick will be overseeing the project from the Métis Nation BC head office in Vancouver, while the youth-at-heart Director of Culture, Language and Heritage, Henry Hall, will be assisting with all of the cultural content on the site.

Amy Place, an experienced linguist with a degree in Applied Lin-guistics, will also be helping, developing comprehensive Michif lesson plans and learning tools. These lessons will be interactive and will use audio from the Michif dictionary CD.

Meeting the needs of today’s Métis, this web site will feature an historical perspective on Métis culture as well as features of present day Métis people and stories. Ryan Bresser will be traveling to the prairies this fall to collect Michif audio and video interviews of speakers telling stories of what was and what is. “The project, to me, is really about connecting people across the country and sharing some of the history that we have,” said Bresser in a recent interview. “Language is a critical part of knowing who we are as Métis.”

Jeff Ward and the rest of the team feel equally excited about the pros-pects of this project. Especially exciting is the inclusion of cutting edge digital technology into the web site. “This site will really show that Métis people are not standing still … that we are an adaptable and progressive people,” suggested Ward. With his handy work, the web site will feature podcasts, video and audio downloads alongside word of the day features.

Keep and eye on this site (www.learnmichif.com). Content will be added to the site as it is captured and created.

The BC United Métis Youth Circle (BCUMYC) held the 5th Annual Métis Youth Meeting in Kelowna, BC on September 28 to September 29, 2006 in conjunction with the Métis Nation BC Annual General Meeting. The event proved to be a huge success for the BCUMYC with the highest number of delegates in attendance at approximately fifty youth.

The BCUMYC facilitated a culturally rel-evant and interactive forum for dialogue and consultation with the youth from across the province. The BCUMYC wanted to present all of the work and initiatives that they have proposed over the next five years and receive support, feedback and direction from Métis youth. Included in the consultation process were a variety of different cultural activities, which included jigging lessons, a special sash presentation ceremony by President Bruce Dumont, and workshop on the Michif language by Senator Philip Gladue. The BCUMYC also invited four BC Métis youth Role Models to attend theconference and participate as youth leaders for the other delegates.The BCUMYC hosts the Annual Youth Meeting alongside the MNBC Annual General Meeting in order to give youth the opportunity to participate and witness the governance of the nation. Their attendance at the Annual General Meeting was crucial to the continued development of youth gov-ernance within the MeEtis Nation, as there was a resolution that was passed that gave legislated voting seats to Métis youth.

“Terrence Reilly Dueck, 13 . from Half Moon Bay on the Sunshine Coast. performs in his first Metis Idol contest. Terrance is a terrific comedian. He had a great time at the AGM and can’t wait till next year.”

Part Time Advertising

Sales Agents

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Registration Table for BC United Métis Youth Circle Annual Meeting attracts Métis children of all ages. Youth Circle was the highlight of the BCUMYC during

their annual general meeting, September 28, 2006


Whispering Winds

A Canadian Legend:

FICTION

My Mama’s recipes;

Leanne Laberge

38 39

Moose River systems across country to the Hudson Bay. It was a difficult trip for Marie-Claire, and the weather cold and wet until mid-summer. But in late May they arrived at York factory; my Papa, Joseph, had been born one week earlier on the trail.

Baby Louisa whimpered. That’s right, just like you my little one. Shush now mon petite, John James whispered rocking his daughter gently. Yes, Papa Paquin continued, the old ones journey was long, much like ours. Let us rest now. Daylight comes much sooner for the old.

As we ambled arm and arm tonight, I hear the whinny of our sturdy cart po-nies. We walk passed our wonderful red River carts toward our warm teepee and I think of how much easier our lives are than those of John James’s grandpar-ents. I think of our journey tomorrow and I thank the creator for allowing us life in these marvelous modern times.Watch for my next adventure in the February, �007 edition of Whispering Winds.

It is spring 1876. I am Marie Paquin (Primeau), newly married to John James Paquin and mother to baby Lou-isa, and we are bound for the North-west Territories. Many of our fellow exiles from the Red River settlement have gone on ahead. They are anxious to reach the buffalo hunting grounds in the northwest. But for many of us, the journey will take much longer.“What’s the rush?” John James’s Papa asks, “will the land not still be there if we respect the health of our com-pany?”

This is what Papa Paquin is like. He works very hard, but he will not be rushed,even when it comes to the tell-ing of stories.We have stopped the carts for the night and have raised the teepees. After care-fully removing the coals from the ten-der-box, we have started a fire for the evening meal, and took a piece of raw sourdough from the tin to mix bread for mornings meal. We then wrapped the bowl in a blanket and set it by the fire to rise overnight. My Mama and Papa stretched and said good-eves. We others gathered around the fire. Then with all our company well feed, my parents at rest and my precious Louisa dry and tightly laced into her moss bag, I made the request.“Papa Paquin?” I began my plea, “Will you tell us of the old Paquin? The first Paquin in the Canada’s?”“Oh my girl. You must weary of hear-ing that story.” He counters, black eyes lowered.

“Tire of your stories? Never!” I cry and touch my husband’s hand.Papa Paquin’s eyes search the night sky as he leans back into a boulder. It is clear that he is in a special mood

this evening; his eyes grow soft as he remembers. “I am named Augustin, after the old Paquin -the one from Normandy who came to New France in Canada in the 1690’s. For many years, the young men in Normandy had watched as the seigneur returned from Canada fat and prosperous from the fur trade. It was not until the young men settled in Trios Rivieres that they real-ized that it was not men like them, the trappers, hunters and farmers, (known as the habitant) who got rich. In fact, the French women -white, pampered and few in number- who ran many of the businesses and trades in New France had a better chance for prosperity than any habitant or half-breed, male or female. And the newcomer Paquin soon discovered that after paying fees and tithes to both church and state officials he had little left to live on. Yet when the ole Paquin met a lovely Mohawk girl, he called Marie-Claire, near Villa-Marie (Montreal), he asked her to be his bride. Grandpere often talked about the first Christmas they had together. He scorned the excess of the seigneur with their meals of Brandy on bread, chocolates and coffee, and told of the wonders of their habitant feast: Indian dried corn, venison stew, and sweet tea. He told of midnight mass and the Bishops harsh words for the French women who wore their bodices too low and the half-breeds women who wore their skirts too short –well above the ankle- and he told of their first and wondrous gift, the stir-ring of new life.

We had all heard this part of the tale numerous times before, but drew our senses nearer and clearer to feel Au-gustin’s joy. While listening I recalled the old ones explaining how long skirts were not practical for working in, and

although full-bellied the thoughts of festive food brought back memories of Christmas feastsgone by.

That February the weather turned unseasonably warm. The meat and fish that the community had gathered and placed in barrels with straw frozen in storage barns be-gan to thaw. Start cooking the call went out, but much of the winter stores were lost. Life in Trios Rivieres was becoming increas-ingly difficult for Augustin and Marie-Claire. As her pregnancy advanced, Marie-Claire agreed that she should probably quit working as a canoe maker. And when a drunken soldier,

leaving one of the multitudes of taverns at mid-day accosted her, she finally relented. Safety had become an issue on the streets of Trios Rivieres, where some unwary pedestrian was trampled daily by horse and buggy or horse and rider…the traffic in Montreal was rumored to be even worse. Marie-Claire cried into Augustine’s shoulder as he promised a better life come spring-time. But when in March a Mohawk housemaid was accused of theft, taken to Montreal and hung that same week, it had become unbearable. We can no longer live in such an uncivilized place! Marie cried and the ole Paquin took a stand. He spoke to Marie’s brother and with his aid they were well and clear away –traveling by canoe to reach the Hudson Bay- when the Lieutenant General of New France declared that all trapping in the northwest was to desist.

Papa Paquin stated this loudly and smiled with familial pride. They headed west through Indian wars and unknown lands towards Michipicoten in Upper Canada. They then went northwest along the Michipicoten, Missinaibe and

By Leanne Laberge

Teepees were put up each night as the exiled Red River Métis’ head across Canada.

Part TwoBullet Soup: Boil a fat, plucked, Duck in a big pot of water. Take out the duck (keep for next soup) and drop in dumplings made of 1-cup flour and ½ cup rendered Buffalo fat. Boil and season with salt and wild onions. Then came theRoast Muskrat. First you need to remove all the glands from under the hind legs, under the front legs, and under the throat, skin it and remove all the guts and organs. Stuff with the rat’s tail and bread-heels you’ve saved then skewer it through with thick wet willows, tie up the ends and hang in the fireplace opening to roast until dripping juice. And for special, Steamed Suet Pudding: Collect the suet from around the Buffalo kidneys, wash and hang to dry. Grease the cast iron Dutch Oven with rendered Buf-falo fat then pour ½ cup of molasses or honey or sugar and water in the bottom. Mix: 1-cup flour, ½ cup suet, ½ cup sugar, 1 egg and 6 tblsp. Milk. Put into Dutch Oven and cover, hang in the fireplace and wait while the smell fills up the room. My mouth was watering as my thoughts went back to Papa Paquin’s story.


�0 �1

SASHES CLOTHING BEADWORKFOOTWARE PURSES MUSIC BOOKS GLASSWORKS FLAGS ACCESSORIES

MÉTIS TR ADING OUTPOSTMNBC PROUDLY PRESENTS

“The MNBC Cultural Department, strongly feels that is is important to keep the awareness of the Métis Culture alive, so that it is never forgotten.”

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Well after a name exchange I realized that his last name of Paul was related directly to my family name of Bercier. We started a conversation on who was who and with-in 5 minutes we had it narrowed down that we were directly related as second cousins.

Well there you have the Power Of The Sash folks. If I had not been wearing that differ-ent color sash and this gentleman had not seen it we would more then likely never had that conversation that day. How many times in a day do we walk right on by other Métis people and not know it, let alone a direct or indirect relative. Because of this sash I have found another family member. I encourage you all to wear your sash when you go out to events or even just walking down the street or even a small lapel sash on your coat.

This is a way of all who are Métis to recon-nect. Remember to find ourselves is to reconnect to who we are. With the great-est respect to all the Métis Citizens in our homeland wear your sash with pride.

If you do not have a sash and would like to order one Métis Nation BC Culture De-partment has a variety of sizes and colors available. Call 1 604 851 5937 or 1 604 209 �177 and order one today.

and pouch of coins into the waist part of the sash for safekeeping. This is just a small amount of uses the sash had.

Today we look at the Métis sash as a sym-bol of identification to who we are as Métis people. In the days of the past the colors really did not represent anything as when these sashes first appeared it is believed that there was not a large amount of colored wool to use as finger woven sashes. It has been told that Métis used what ever they got their hands on to make sashes. Rags were very common material used. They would cut the rags in thin stripes and weave them together to make the sash. What was common then was the type of weave used. This is what told other Métis from what area you come from. This would make more sense then colors. It is also believed that the Scottish played a very important role in the sash and the colors. The Scottish had their Tartans and it is from these Tartan colors that the colored sashes were introduced.

With that I want to share an experience I had a few years back in Vernon BC with me and my sash and the power the sash possesses.

I was invited to attend Vernon Sunshine Days some three years ago. It was a great event that the town’s merchants put on. The City of Vernon blocked off approxi-mately 7 or 8 blocks on a main street and all the merchants and local groups will put their products on display for sale on the street and sidewalk. I have to say it is like a giant bazaar. Every thing imagin-able is there. There is a stage set up at both ends of the street and all day long there is culture dancing, singing and entertain-ment of sorts to be enjoyed by all.There is also a huge supply of foods from all over the world to be enjoyed. Mmmm cannot wait until next year. The Vernon Métis local had an information table set up and I was helping man the booth. The local was very happy to have me speak to people on behalf of Métis culture. During a short break I decided to roam up and down the street sampling food and listening to good entertainment. I then began to look around at all the wonderful products and merchan-dise that the merchants were selling. I be-came aware as I worked my way through the ocean of merchants that a grey haired gentleman was watching me. I kept

moving through the tables working my way back to the info table and I then noticed he was pointing at me and speak-ing to a lady that was now at his side. Not thinking too much of this I kept moving and enjoying the event. I turned to move to the other side of the street and there right in front of me stood this grey hair man with the woman he was talking with. As I looked at him he was pointed down to my sash that I was wearing. He asked, “Is that a Métis Sash”? I replied “Yes it is”. He said he has never seen a Sash like that before. You see I was wearing a Blue/Black sash not a more traditional red one. I explained that people today relate the colors of the sash from an area that they are from; I also explained that the weave was the original way of telling where one might be from.

This gentleman then explained to me that he had never seen this color that I wore and that he always seen red sashes in his home community. I asked him where he was from and he mentioned that he was from Manitoba. I told him that I to was from Manitoba. “What part” he asked. I told him that my family comes from the Boggy Creek area; well he just lit up like a Christmas tree as he told me that his family also comes from Boggy Creek.

By Henry Hall

We hear stories of the Métis sash all the time. We hear that the colors represent a number of meanings, and a lot of these meanings are not always the same. We hear how the sash was used as a tool for a number of different uses. It was used for rope, back support for carrying heavy loads, keeping your food safe high in trees at night down wind from camp so animals would stay there all night trying to get the food, this kept the men safe also as the animals would not come into camp and attack the men while they slept. The sash was used to keep track of how many fur pelts they had with them by tying knots in the different tassels. It was also a calendar while the men were on a multi day journey or working their trap lines, each knot represented one day and at the end of the day they would untie one knot. You could also put your tobacco, pipe

Power ofthe Sash

VP and Minister of Natural Resources Lorne LaFleur makes good use of his sash when his shoulder popped out during the Traditional Hunt byBCMANR captains.

feature writers wanted...

e-mail work samples to... [email protected]

Whispering Winds


Vancouver Island Lower Mainland

Past Three Months Very Busy for Regional Director, Frazer Macdonald

Frazer McDonald, Lower Mainland Regional Director and Minister of Housing, Sports and Justice is just beginning to wind down after a series of meet-ings throughout his region and

Past Three Months Very Busy for Regional Director, Frazer Macdonald

�� 3�3��

Cowichan Valley Métis Association

MIKI’SIW Métis Nation

On October �1st Trish Parent, Van-couver Island Employment & Training program director, and I, as community office liaison, traveled to Vancouver. Over the following four days we were privileged to be participants in this year’s “Honouring Our Health” workshops. Workshops included Kick The Nic and FNIHB (First Nations Inuit Health Branch) Cessation Toolkit (which supplied us with many helpful tools to aid individuals in their efforts to quit smoking), Tobacco Teachings and Ties and Sacred Medicine, Sacred You (which talked about traditional tobacco usage and the medicine wheel teach-ings). We feel certain that information we have garnered from this gathering will assist greatly in helping our mem-bers become healthier, stronger, Métis.

Further, we were asked by the organiz-ers to challenge our members, friends, and colleagues to commit to some sort of life change: Weight loss, exercise, non-smoking, non-drinking, or what-ever the individual identifies as their particular problem area. We will be log-ging the commitment, encouraging the participant, and logging the results, for our return gathering at the end of April.

So contact your local and join in … it may be fun and who knows … we may wind up healthier. For further info: e-mail [email protected] or call Leanne at 250-746-6146.Cowichan Valley Métis Association156-D Government Street, Duncan, BC V9L 1A�Phone: (250) 746-6146 Fax: (250) 746-5864 Email: [email protected]

Comox Valley

At the Miki’siw Métis Nation our youth project started on November 10 at the Muir Gallery in Courtenay and will fin-ish on December �. Workshops of bead-ing, jigging, Mischif language and drum making will be held on the Saturdays.

Middle and senior secondary students from School District 71 will be writing an essay based on our theme Métis, Past, Present and Future. The event con-cludes with a buffalo feast on December � where winners of the essay writ-ing contest will be awarded their cash prizes.

Congratulations, Jackie!As part of “Women’s History Month, Aboriginal Women, The Journey For-ward” Jackie Finnie, one of our elders won an honourable mention award in the category of family and community. The First Nations Leadership Council, MNBC and the provincial government sponsored the ceremony. From all of us at the Miki’siw Métis Nation we say “Congratulations Jackie!” It is an award that is well earned and deserved.

By Leanne Laberge Community Office Liaison

We at the Cowichan Valley Métis Association (CVMA) have had an ex-tremely busy fall. Our AGM was held on September 16th, as was the Van-couver Island Métis gathering. Good food and a great spirit of unity were the catch phrases of the day.

As early as last spring, local president, Bill Delorme, had been talking to the valley’s school district about the need for Métis Aboriginal Support Workers (ASW). On October 7th our first Métis ASW, Stella Johnson, began work at the Lake Cowichan schools. Her posi-tion, as well as another First Nations ASW, will be administrated through the CVMA. We are both proud of this initial step and hopeful that there will be many other Métis workers in this field in the future.

Unfortunately, I was unable to join those of you who attended the provin-cial AGM in Kelowna due to a person-al tragedy. I have been told, however, it was an informative, engaging, and extremely well orchestrated event. I am looking forward to next year.

Our youth program is well underway. The young folks are currently creating yellow cedar paddles for our freighter canoe. There are several other projects underway, but I am sworn to secrecy with regards to those. Our senator, Alan Edkins, has been run off his feet with the preparations for the NAIG (North American Indigenous Games) event. Although they are not until �008 there is so much in the way of orga-nizational logistics to be pre-arranged that it is an arduous task. I will be as-sisting the senator in these pursuits and will attempt to answer questions you may have in the months to come.

Artwork by Victoria Pruden. Flower beading is Métis culture.

Frazer McDonald, Lower Mainland Regional Director and Minister of Housing, Sports and Justice is just beginningto wind down after a series of meetings throughout hisregion and through his ministries. Chilliwack Métis Association held its AGM and a full slate of officers waselected. The evening was well attended and had a wonderful array of traditional Métis food. “The stew and bannock were outstanding,“says Frazer.

Frazer attended a meeting with representatives of Corrections Can-ada that deals with Section 84 – Aboriginal parolees being released back into their culture. The CCS people are interested in working with MNBC Crime Prevention Programme. MNBC is participating in a pilot program called “Positive Transitions for Métis Offenders”. This program through the efforts of MNBC justice support workers namely Jen Robertson, will work with Federal and Provincial institutions

in the GreaterVancouver and theFraser Valley. The justice workers introduce culture and training to the inmates prior to their release. Jen continues tovisit Métis who are incarcerated.For detailed information on this project please read our next edition of Whispering Winds.

The 2008 North American Indige-nous Games, which are being held in Duncan, B.C. by the Cowichan First Nations, have welcome Métis NationBC as a partner. Special thanks go to Senator Alan Edkin for his hard work in making this possible. It is hoped that many of our Métis citizens will take part both in the organization and the participationof the events.

Whispering Winds


Whispering Winds

Thompson Okanagan

See chart to review the agenda and dates ofupcoming meetings throughout the province.

The Thompson/Okanagan Region 3 Director, Dave Hodgson would like to wish everyone a

very happy holiday and a prosperous and successful new year.


HON TOM CHRISTIANSEN, MLAOKANAGAN VERNON

Merry Christmas and have a Wonderful 2007!

A full house attended the first of 7 regional meetings held by MNBC staff and ministers. Presidents from Region 3 and many other interested Métis citizens welcomed the opportunity to hear first hand about the implementation of the new Relationship Accord signed with the provin-cial government early June 2006.

Each ministry of the MNBC has developed a 5-year strategy. Dean Trumbley, Chief of Operations gave a very detailed account of what has happened and what is pro-posed. Keith Henry, MNBC CEO, was on hand to field questions and give a wonderful insight into the working of our Métis Nation British Columbia. These two gentlemen work tirelessly for our citizens and this was an opportunity for citizens to directly interact with them.

Also attending this session was Dave Hodgson, Region 3 Director, Lorne LeFleur, MNBC Vice President, April McLean-Collart, Métis Women Secretariat-BC Chair, MNBC Youth and Veteran Chair, Tresley Tourond and Brittaney Katernick, Director of Youth and Victoria Pruden, director of Women’s Secretariat. Both days were filled with information sessions titled “Planning for a New Era”.

The MNBC executive, regional leaders and the staff at the MNBC office in Vancouver and Victoria represent British Columbia Métis people on all levels of government and continue to do a very good job. With continued support, recognition and information seminars there is no doubt that the Métis people will be heard in Victoria and Ottawa.During the Region 3 meeting, Region 3 Veteran Represen-tative Ernie Parenteau, was introduced and presented with a sash by Salmon Arm President, Eldon Clairmont. Eldon also presented his youth workers with a sash to thank them for their hard work.

MNBC Kicks off Regional Sessions in the Thompson-Okanagan

(Region 3)

Back Row L/RKelly Kubic, Okanagan Métis Family & Children Services; Leo Brazzeau, Pres. Kelowna; Dave Hodgson, Region 3 Di-rector; Ron Nunn, Captian of the Hunt; Eldon Clairmont, President Salmon Arm; Danny Williamson, Pres. Boundary Grandforks ; Pete Hourie, Pres Merritt Front Row: Yvonne Charters, Region 3 Secretary; Lydia Benardo, Reg 3 Youth Director; Marlene Beattie, President Vernon and Deanna Hurd, Reg 3 registry clerk.Missing: Two Rivers President and Rob Carlson, Métis Heritage & Cultural Council (Penticton)

Happy Holidays!Warmest thoughts and

Best Wishes for a Wonderful Holiday and Very Happy New Year!

Tel: (250) 503-3600

Minister of Family and Children Development

“I would like to thank the Elders, Veterans and Youth. Thanks to the Presidents, their boards and their member-ship for all the hard work that they do. Thank you to all who volunteer their time to make our Nation what it is. A special thank you goes out to our Regional Secretary and my personal assistant (Yvonne) for the hard work that she does keeping everyone up to date and looking after me. I would like to give special thanks to all the partners and families of each Métis citizen who volunteers his/her time for our Métis Nation of British Columbia. Without the support and love of our family we could not contribute the way we do.”

Dave Hodgson

�� 5

Eldon Clairmont, President Salmon Arm Métis Assoc. presents sash to Thompson-Okanagan Vet-eran Representative Ernie Parenteau, Cherryville.

Keith Henry, MNBC CEO and Dean Trumbley, MNBC CO take a minute during their presentation of the first regional session held in Vernon.

Bob Trumbley, Smokey Trumbley and VP Ver-non Métis Association, Derek Ferguson place wreath during the Remembrance Day ceremo-ny in Vernon, B.C.

�� 5


North Central

Grandchildren of the North jiggers performing at Fort St. James July first Canada Day celebration.

Lyle Lloyd instructing Drena Dotchain, 90 years young, in archery

Nancy Lloyd and Joyce Roberts serving at the Soup and Bannock Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser.

Region 5 Vets Lyle Lloyd and Stan Dotchain at MNBC AGM

Jim Roberts Receives Booby Prize for shooting competi-tion at Annual Turkey Shoot.

Mentoring Elders to Youth “Learning how to shoot with an arrow and a rifle. “

Brittany Lestage, Doreen Spence, Elder, and Cheri Nault, Drumming.

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Whispering Winds

46 �7


Language is a fundamental way for one generation to pass culture to another. Throughout history people have shared their culture through both traditions and the spoken word. The Michif language helps to define us as a distinct Métis people.

Rene Therrien announces at the 2006 AGM in Kelowna a new initiative that will produce more Michif speakers. A Michif language weeklong workshop including international participants will be held next spring. It is hoped that this project will produce Michif speak-ers that can more effectively ensure the revival of our Michif language back to the communities

Cultural, Heritage and Language Minister Rene Therrien together with his Director Henry Hall have worked hard during the past six months developing a new 5 year plan. This ministry is responsible for 5 departments, which include Culture and Heritage, Marketing, Public Relations, Finance and Merchandise. They are also responsible for michif language programs, tourism and special events.

Culture is defined as the learned behavior of Métis people, which includes their belief systems, languages, social relationships, institutions, organizations and material goods.

As part of their 5 year plan they plan to develop a strategy to increase the awareness of the Métis culture in British Columbia. Some of the plans are to create a Métis museum, a resource cen-tre and plan more traditional camps.

“I believe the key to our success as a Nation, whether it be employment and training, health or children and family initia-tives, is our culture. All MNBC ministries must work together to ensure our culture awareness is fundamental to our programs and services,” stated Rene Therrien during his address to the MNBC AGM delegates. He continues, “I propose to continue working with the other ministries and programs within Métis Nation BC to make this possible.”

It is so important to our culture that we educate our young people. Their education is a crucial component in keeping our Métis identity and culture vital and vibrant!”

thus ensuring more fluent Michif speakers in British Columbia.Immersion throughout this week long project in Michif intermingled with other cultural components will be the beginning of an exciting journey for par-ticipants to learn and experience Michif with accomplished Michif speakers.The Department of Canadian Heritage has been very supportive to Ministry ofCulture, Heritage and Language.Times are exciting for the Métis people and with the North American Indigenous Games in 2008 and the 2010 Olympics/Paralympics we need to be ready to showcase our culture.

Whispering Winds

Rene Therrien attends the youth workshop at Water Lily Bay a few miles from Terrace. Some of the youth expressed great enthusiasm and interest in wanting to learn how to play the fiddle.

Children playing in a tree during the Water Lily Bay youth retreat.

Chopping wood is a age old tradition of the Metis settlers and fur trappers. Many an elder to relate to this hard work.

Michif Language...A Bridge for Métis Generations

Rene Therrien, Regional DirectorAs a busy summer turns to the vibrant colours of fall in theNorthwest Region, it is a good time for reflection. As yourRegional Director, as well as attending to my duties as theMinister Responsible for Culture, Heritage and language.From September 26th to October 2nd I attended various meetings and the MNBC AGM which were held in Kelowna. The AGM was a success and all the credit goes to theorganizers, staff, and volunteers of MNBC. I would like to thank all our delegates from the Northwest region that I took the time to attend and participate in the meetings and events.

Northwest Metis Association held their AGM in Prince Rupert. I wish to congratulate newly elected president Gloria Rendell. She can be contacted at 2250-627-4013 or email [email protected] Goulet was elected as President of North Caribou Metis Association in Quesnel.

There were many workshops the delegates could attend dur-ing the week-end. One called “Traditional Women: Back to the Land” was by our own Kim Hodgson and her sister Colleen Hodgson

I was honored to have the pleasure of accompany-ing Bruce Dumont to each workshop, welcoming the participants and co-ordina-tors, and then leaving with a fiddle Tune.

�8

Northwest Region

�9

Contact Earlene BittermanRegion 7 Registry ClerkBox 516, Hudson’s Hope BC., Cell: 1-250-280-0010

REGISTRY INTAKE DATE DEC. 16th, 2006 10:00 am - 3:00 pm

at the Nawican Friendship Centre


Merry Christmasand Happy New year

Dawson Creek hosts BC Oil & Gas Conference

The following people were elected: back row – Colette Bourke, Women Rep; John Morrison, Madeline Supernant, Roy Super-nant, Patricia Blum, Greg DeBolt, Youth Repfront – Jim House, VP; Malcolm Superneault (Pres), Sharon Payou, Treasurer; Clarence Mineault, Secretary.

North East Métis Association Formed (NEMA) Executive was chosen November 26, 2007 in Dawson Creek. NEMA will be signing their charter very soon.

HON RICHARD NEUFELDMLA Peace River North

Christmas is a time to enjoy the company of our family and friends. From my family to you and your family, our best wishes

for a safe and happy holiday season. May the coming year

be filled with good health, contentment and prosperity.

Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum ResourcesTel: (250) 263-0101 TOLL FREE 1-866-263-01011010� - 100th Street Fort St. John, BC V1J 3Y7

I am very pleased to report that there was a very successful meeting on October 28, 2006, in Fort St. John sponsored by the Fort St. John Métis Society. Jean Peerless and the Board want to remind everyone that as we approach the festive season, we need to look to those who could use some extra support. Care packages and friendly visits are especially welcome for those of us who are living in care facilities or are living on their own. Also, there will be an important meeting in Dawson Creek, by the newly formed N. E. Métis Association on the 26th of November. I am hoping that this first AGM will result in the election of a strong board that will represent the Dawson Creek area well in the coming months. I wish all those who run for office the best of luck and congratulate the Association in the hard work that has been invested to organize this event. Another important meeting will take place in Fort Nelson in Novem-ber the 18th and 19th The Region 7 registry clerk, Earlene Bitterman, Keith Henry, myself and other regional representatives were on hand in Fort Nelson.A regional consultation meeting will be held in Fort St. John on Janu-ary 6th and 7th at the Northern Grande. All regional presidents are urged to attend this � day session and there will be youth meetings at the same time.As we near the holiday season, I would like to extend my sincere wishes from my family to yours that you enjoy a warm Christmas holiday with your loved ones and that the New Year brings you happi-ness and prosperity.

Sincerely,Dan Pope, Region 7 Director, Economic Minister

Scores of people from the Oil and Gas industry and politi-cal parties gathered in Dawson Creek early October for another very successful and well planned BC Oil & Gas Conference. Industry leaders, politicians, service suppliers such as trucking firms, catering companies, safety com-panies and many more were treated to the level of excel-lent hosting for which the northeast in known. Over 180 volunteers from Dawson Creek worked hard to showcase their community, which is becoming the fastest growing city in BC. One of the highlights of the 2006 B.C. Oil and Gas Con-ference was a session on the successes experienced by aboriginal people in the industry. Many businesses owned and operated by aboriginal people were profiled in a short video prepared by the Northeast Aboriginal Business Cen-tre. There are over 150 such businesses operating success-fully and providing vital services. The potential exists in the aboriginal community to supply much more of the manpower to relieve the shortage in the future. Many individuals currently filling meaningful jobs are examples of the successes highlighted during this session. Speakers included Chief Clarence Louis of the Osoyoos Band, Dan Pope of the Métis Association, Keith Henry, CEO, Métis Nation British Columbia, Paulette Flammond of the Northeast Aboriginal Business Centre and Shona Nelson of Treaty 8.

The conference provided a variety of current information about the oil and gas industry, ample opportunities for networking and exceptional hospitality for which the South Peace is known.It was encouraging to see the newly formed North East Métis Association (NEMA) being represented with a trade show booth. Members of the interim board attended the three-day conference.The City of Dawson Creek was the proud host of the confer-ence on October 3 to 5, which, by all accounts, was success-ful. Support from the oil and gas industry was very strong and the organizing committee appreciated this.Premier Gordon Campbell, minister Colin Hansen, minister Richard Neufeld, MLA Blair Lekstrom and several other members of the B.C. government attended the conference. This recognition of the importance of the oil and gas indus-try by the provincial government is important to northeast British Columbia.Métis Nation BC continues to work with many partners and sectors in both the oil and gas industry and through govern-ment departments. It has become extremely important to the preservation of the Métis culture that our Métis people are properly educated and gainfully employed. This will be accomplished with this type of relationships.

Chance Superneault, Age 4, dances theHonour Dance (or sneak-up dance) at the opening ceremonies for BC Oil & Gas conference. Chance started traditional Carrier dancing when he started to walk. He is not afraid to perform in front of largeaudiences.

Keith Henry, MNBC CEO, and Dan Pope, Minister of Economic Development have an opportunity to network with Premier Gordon Campbell (Centre) at the Oil & Gas Conference.

Message from Dan Pope,Region 7 Director (Northeast)MNBC Minister of Ecomomic Development

Whispering Winds

Northeast Region

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Whispering Winds

Dr Tracey Murphy

FAMILYDENTIST

101 - 629 LANSDOWNE STREET(RIVIERA GARDENS)

KAMLOOPS , BC V2C 1Y6

BS., D. M. D.

continued from page 36The Aboriginal Peoples Survey May Call You This Fall Residential Schools Agreement Are You Eligible for Compensation?

The Residential Schools Agreement approved by the federal Cabinet in May 2006 is making its way through the approvals process. Nine provincial and territorial courts must consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate before it can be finalized. A number of survivors have objected to portions of the Agreement, leading some of the courts to reserve deci-sions. The result is it will be a few months before all the decisions are released.

In the meantime, the Advance Payment application process is well underway. The deadline for applica-tions is December 31, 2006. Eligible survivors who were alive on May 30, �005, are entitled to a Common Experience Payment of $10,000 to compensate for loss of language, culture and family life. Eligible survivors who were 65 years of age and older on May 30, 2005 are able to apply for $8,000 of this money in advance. For an application form contact Indian Residential Schools Canada at 1 (800) 816-7293 or visit their web-site at http://www.irsr-rqpi.gc.ca.

IMPORTANT INFORMATIONFOR MÉTIS SURVIVORS

It is important to note in order to be eligible for compensa-tion; a survivor’s school must appear on the list of approved schools. Notably, many schools attended by Métis are not included on the list. There is, however, a process to have your school added to the list. The addition of schools will take place only after the courts have approved the agreement and it becomes final.

An official list of the schools included in the agreement can be found at http://www.residentialschoolssettlement.ca. If you do not see your school on the list, you can use the online form to request that your school be added to the list. You can also write a letter requesting that your school be added to the list. Send your request to:

Residential Schools SettlementSuite 3-505, 133 Weber St. North Waterloo, OntarioN2J 3G9

Provide the name of the school you believe should be added to the list and reasons why you think it should be added. You do not need to provide any documents or school records. Individ-ual survivors and groups of survivors can request the addition of a school. If you have any questions about the addition of schools to the list, call 1 (866) 879-4913.

ly, if you did receive the Long Form Census Questionnaire, the chances are very high that you will be among the over 60,000 respondents selected to be in the APS samples. However, if like most of us, you received only the short census ques-tionnaire on Census APS samples. How-ever, if like most of us, you received only the short census questionnaire on CensusDay in May 2006, then you definitely will not be part of the sample and the APS will pass you by.

The Métis National Council has for many years been calling on Statistics Canada to include a question on the short form Census questionnaire that would allow people to identify as Métis, First Nation or Inuit. That way, we would all have a chance to be part of these surveys, while at the same time reducing the risk of respondent burden on the �0% who do receive the long form. Sta-tistics Canada is examining this issue and promises to introduce changes to census forms in time for the �011 Census.

In the meantime, those of us who receive a call from Statistics Canada to answer these surveys have a special responsibility. Your responses will provide the basis for the development of statistics on the entire Métis population. And for that, the Nation thanks you.

dream catchers, decorating them with feathers they found along the river, using willow branches as the frame.

We were fortunate to also have Dean Trumbley and two of his older chil-dren attend the camp. Dean has a wealth of bush knowledge and taught the kids how to set snares and traps as well as identifying animal habits and sign. He also is expert in deer skinning and wowed the youth with a five-minute deer- skiing job. The youth were also taught marksmanship and safe handling of a firearm, even though a pellet rifle was used to instruct the participants.

One facet of the camp that was always quickly attended was mealtime. Poles of bacon, pancakes and eggs were devoured by the youth and the adults, with calls for second helpings regularly. It was almost impossible to keep up with the demand for fried bannock, with yours truly using �0lbs of flour, two big bins of baking powder and 3 jugs of oil, barely kept up to the demand. Buffalo sausages and potatoes filled the hungry bellies on Sunday and Monday.

All too soon the time for the camp came to an end, but all the participants and especially the youth extracted a promise that we would put on another camp that was at least a weeklong. As the youth and their parents left for home we all parted with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in keeping alive and strong our culture and traditional skills.

A great thank you for all the volunteers who made the camp possible as well as the adult chaperones and most of all a special thanks for the hard work and enthusiasm of our young people who attended the camp; We hope to see all of the participants back next year as well as many new faces that will also bring their enthusiasm and desire to learn traditional Métis skills and bush craft. Till then, God bless you all.

Don’t be surprised if Statistics Canada gives you a call this fall asking you to participate in a survey of Canada’s Métis, First Nations and Inuit populations. The Aboriginal Peoples Survey - APS for short – was first conducted by Statistics Canada in 1991, but ten years passed before another was undertaken. The �001 APS introduced for the first time a supplement specifically targeted at gathering information on Métis, designed by Métis organizations. Another APS will be conducted in 2006, which again will include a �5-minute question-naire specifically for Métis. Data collection was set to start in October, with interviews to be conducted over the phone.

Although some people believe that we have been researched to death, this is in fact not the case. There are only two major sources of statistics on Métis in Canada: the Cana-dian Census and the APS. Until the APS came along, there was virtually no informa-tion on Métis health or living conditions in Canada, and certainly none that could be scientifically compared with data on First Nations, Inuit, or the general popula-tion for that matter. In the post-Kelowna environment, attention is increasingly turning to developing viable and reliable indicators of what progress is being made to improve living conditions of each of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, including Métis people. The 2006 APS will provide critical information that Aboriginal leaders, governments

and others will use to inform policy and pro-gram decisions in the coming years. While the Census provides a wealth of informa-tion on socio-economic conditions, such as income, employment and household and family structure, the APS asks questions that were not asked in the Census, concentrat-ing on exploring educational, linguistic and health conditions of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. Over half of the questions in the Métis Supplement are health-related. There are also questions on family background, and on experience with child welfare systems and residential schools. In all, the adult APS questionnaire is about 50 minutes long, including the Métis Supplement. A separate 30-minute Children’s Survey, for children 6 to 1� years of age, will take place at the same time, while a major Survey of Aboriginal Children 0-5 years of age is being launched in 2006 alongside the APS.

What are your chances of participating in one or the other of these surveys? Well, it depends. The APS surveys, both Adult and Children, and the Aboriginal Children’s Survey, are what are known as “post-censal” surveys. This means that they draw their samples from the 2006 Census, from persons who said on the Long-Form Census Ques-tionnaire (received by one in five Canadian households) that they were Aboriginal or that they have Aboriginal ancestry. Consequent

Check out the following websites for more information:http://www.statcan.ca/english/Dli/Data/Ftp/aps.htmhttp://www.statcan.ca/start.html

Traditional Youth Hunting Camp

TELEPHONE 314-1234FAX 374-1192

5� 53



SeasonsGreetings

All the best of the Season!

May the holiday season be a time for sharing family traditions, revisiting old

memories and creating new ones!

Submitted by:Gail RhodesMetis Women’s Secretariate of BCNorth Central RegionLife and laughter, Gail

Christmas Cherry Bars - Randy Spinks

BUTTER TARTS

Mum’s Moist Roast Turkey By Diane Ellis

Almond Diamond Cookies - Randy Spinks

Christmas Recipes

2 Cups Butter Softened1 Cup Brown Sugar1 Tbsp finely grated orange rind1 Tsp Vanilla extract1 Tsp Salt4 Cups all purpose flour2 Tbsp Milk1 Cup Sliced Almonds2 Tbsp White sugar

1. Combine first 5 ingredients until fluffy. Stir in flour 1 cup at a time until combined.

2. Press dough evenly into a buttered 10x15 inch pan (38 x25 cm) brush evenly with milk. Sprinkle with nuts and press lightly into dough, sprinkle evenly with white sugar.

3. Preheat oven 350F (180C)Bake in oven 18-20 minutes or until lightly brownedRemove from oven let cool for 10 minutes

1 Cup Flour1/2Cup Butter1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar3 Tbsp Flour1 Tsp Baking Powder3/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts1/2 Cup Coconut1 Small Jar Maraschino cherries chopped2 Eggs Juice from cherries for icing

In medium bowl mix 1st, 2nd and 3rd ingredients until well mixed Pat evenly into an 8x8 inch panBake at 400F for 5 minutes

While that’s baking beat the rest of the ingredients excluding the Cherry juice until well mixed. Pour this mixture over the hot crust and return to the oven at 350F for 25 minutes.Make your favorite butter icing but use cherry juice to thin it instead of milk. Ice when square is completely cool. Cut into 1 inch x 1 1/2 inch squares.Freezes well.

1 egg - beaten1/3 cup of butter1 cup of sugar2 tablespoons of can milk (evaporated)1/2 cup of raisins1 teaspoon of vanilla

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.Fill them right to the top! They will not boil over!I use cranberries for a change and sometimes I use both!I sometimes add walnuts to the mixture.This recipe was given to me by Avis Cassidy, a grandmother of two fine Metis Women, Shay Vhal and Melody Kidd.

1 turkey, approx 15 lbsJuice of lemonSalt & pepperMelted butter1 small white onion, chopped3 carrotsParsley and celery tops� Bacon StripsRosemary and thyme

Bring turkey to room temperature before cooking by keeping it in its plastic bag until you are ready to cook it. (If frozen, let it defrost in the refrigerator for several days first. Allow 5 hours of defrosting per pound. (15 lb turkey – 75 hours or 3 days).Remove the neck and giblets. Use giblets for making stock for the dressing. The neck can cook alongside the turkey or save it for boiling for turkey soup.Preheat oven to �00 degreesWash out the turkey with water. Pull out any remaining feather stubs in the skin. Pat the turkey dry with a paper towel. Rub lemon juice inside the cavity and then rub salt inside the turkey.Dressing is not placed inside this size turkey as it adds to the cooking time causing the turkey to become drier. For added flavour put in the onion (quartered and peeled), sprigs of parsley, 3 carrots sliced lengthwise, and tops of celery. Close up the turkey (place tinfoil over the cavity so that vegetables do not fall out). Tie turkey leg’s together, held close to the body and tie a string around entire turkey to keep wings in close.Stuff neck with parsley and sew up.Rub melted butter or olive oil over outer skin of turkey. Sprin-kle salt generously (or have had it soaking in a salt-water brine before starting this process).Place turkey (BREAST DOWN) on the bottom of a rack over a sturdy roasting pan big enough to catch all the drippings. This is the main difference between the way most people cook it and my mom’s way. Although the skin does not get as brown over the breast the juices from the cooking turkey will fall down into the breast while cooking. Place bacon strips over the top; add rosemary and thyme for added taste. Place turkey in oven 15 minutes per pound at �00 degrees F for 30 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F for the next � hours. Reduce the heat further to 225 degrees for the next 1 – 1 ½ hours. If you want the breast browned turn over the turkey for the last 15-�0 minutes at 300 degrees.For safety reasons – take temperature readings inserted into the thickest part of the turkey breast a ½ hour before the time the turkey should be done. Insure meat should be 175 degrees for thigh meat and 165 degrees for white meat in breast. No ther-mometer, spear the breast with a knife. The turkey juice should be clear, not pink.Once the turkey is removed from the oven, let it stand for 15-�0 minutes. Carve on breast side.Chop up turkey giblets. Put into a small pot, cover with water and add salt. Bring to simmer for over an hour to make stock for gravy or stuffing.

Whispering Winds

As the year is drawing to a close it is time to reflect on the past months and recognize what an exciting year it has been! In 2006 the MWS-BC revised their Policies and Procedures, began work on a 5-year plan, supported the Métis Women’s Awareness Program in Métis communi-ties throughout the province, and assisted in the planning and presentation (at the MNBC Annual General Meeting) of a full day of Métis Women’s cultural workshops entitled “Traditional Women: Back to the Land”. They were also instrumental in promoting the nomination of the 4 Métis women who were hon-ored on October 16 at the Aboriginal Women: The Journey Forward Awards held in Victoria. These are but a few in a long list of achievements and our journey continues. We would like to recognize the many people who are instrumental in supporting our endeavors and in ensuring that we continue to move for-ward. On behalf of the Métis Women’s Secre-tariat we would like to thank the Board of Métis Nation BC, and all the staff at the MNBC for their dedication and assistance. We also offer a special thank you to the pastRepresentatives and Alternates for their contributions to the MWS-BC.

Regional Representatives and StaffMétis Women’s Secretariat-BC

from the Roll Maintenance Crew of Catalyst Paper at the Crofton Pulp

and Paper Division on Vancouver Island.

Andy Stewart, Marc Ridewood, Dennis Searl, Craig Faulkner,Larry Leed, Earl Belcourt, Allan Crisp. Santas’ in the middle.

5� 55


C A N A D I A N R E S O U R C E V A L U A T I O N G R O U P I N C .

Have a Wonderfully, Warm and Happy Christmas!From Shanna McConnell, Appraiser

• REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL• MARKET ANALYSIS• RIGHT OF WAY VALUATION• EXPROPRIATION APPRAISALS• LITIGATION SUPPORT

• ABORIGINAL LAND CLAIMANALYSIS

• FARM & AGRI-BUSINESSCONSULTING

• AGRICULTURAL ARBITRATIONS

Telephone: (780) 424-8856 • Fax: (780) 421-1035 • Email: [email protected]: www.crvg.com • #208, 13220 St. Albert Trail, Edmonton, AB

A very special Holiday Greetingto all the hard working staff of MNBC, all fellow Métis

Citizens and to Diane and Noel at Kiwetin Publishing.

Love from Zane and Diane

Pickering & family. Falcon Contracting Ltd.

Cell: (250) 613-3505Ph: (250) 963-5607

Autotel: (250) 565-0337Fax: (250) 963-5605

[email protected]

Powered by

4855 Poty Road,Prince George, BC

V2K 5C5

Whipped Shortbread Cookies - Shanna MeConnell

Tea Cookies submitted by Colleen French

Pumpkin Ice Cream Roll - Randy Spinks

French Tourtiere

www.metisresourcecentre.mb.ca/rubaboo

Whispering Winds

INGREDIENTS• 1 cup butter, softened • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar • 1/4 cup red maraschino cherries, quartered • 1/4 cup green maraschino cherries, quartered PREP TIME 15 Min COOK TIME 20 MinREADY IN 35 Min

DIRECTIONS1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2. In a large bowl, combine butter, flour, and confectioners’ sugar. With an electric mixer, beat for 10 minutes, until light and fluffy. Spoon onto cookie sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart. Place a piece of maraschino cherry onto the middle of each cookie, alter-nating between red and green. 3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned. Remove from oven, and let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies on to wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container, separating each layer with waxed paper.

INGREDIENTS3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice1 Tsp Baking PowderDash Salt3 Eggs1 Cup Sugar2/3 Cup PumpkinConfectioner’s Sugar1 Quart Butter Pecan Ice Cream, Softened Whipped Cream (Optional) on topToasted Chopped Pecans (Optional) on top

In small bowl combine dry ingredients, in a mixing bowl beat eggs at high speed for 5 minutes or until pale yellow. Gradually beat in sugar, stir in pump-kin. Fold in dry ingredients. Line a 15x10x1 inch baking pan with greased and floured waxed paper. Pour into pan bake at 375F for 15 minutes.Turn cake out on linen town sprinkle with confectioner’ssugar, peel off paper. Roll up cake with towel, cool on wire rack Unroll cake on a baking sheet. Spread ice cream to with in 1 inch of edges, rollup cake without towel. Cover and Freeze To serve let stand at room temperature a few minutes before slicing.

If desired dust with confectioner’s sugar, whipped cream and nuts.

¾ cup Butter1 cup Sugar2 large Eggs1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract2 ¾ cups Flour2 tablespoons Ground Metropolitan tea1 tablespoons Baking Powder1 teaspoons Baking SodaPinch SaltBeat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add blended flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ground tea leaves. Blend well to form soft dough. Refrigerate for ½ hour then roll and cut with cookie cutter. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. Cool in wire rack.

Métis Beading by Victoria Pruden

submitted by Florence Bruce

Pastry:

5 cups flour2 teaspoons salt4 teaspoons baking powder1 lb lard1 cup hot water4 teaspoons vinegar1 well beaten egg

Measure flour, salt and baking powder into large bowl. Stir together to distribute all ingredients. Add lard. Cut into pieces with knife. With pastry cutter, cut in lard until whole mixture is crumbly.

Mix hot water, vinegar and well-beaten egg together. Pour slowly over flour mixture stirring with fork to distribute. With hands, work until it holds nicely together.

Filling:

5 lbs ground pork2 lbs lean ground beef6 medium onionssalt and pepper to tasteapproximately 3 cloves garlic

Place all ingredients into extra large saucepan. Add water to cover about 3/4 of the meat mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Cool slightly.

Line pie plates with pastry. Fill with meat mixture. Dampen outer edge with water. Cover with pastry (make slits in top crust). Press edges to seal. Bake in 350ºF oven until golden brown. These freeze for 4-5 months. This recipe makes ap-proximately 7 pies.

56 57


Whispering Winds

His

tory

HEROINE...of the NORTH

EXTRACTS FROM MRS. BOMPAS’S JOURNAL.

continued on page 60

The Cathedral Church of St. David, Fort Simpson, Diocese of Athabasca

The first Confirmation held in this church took place on Sunday, November 22, 1874. These were only four candidates, three Indians and one half-breed. The service was very simple, quiet, and impressive; the little church was well filled. The Bishop gave a very touching address, taking as his text the first verse of the morning Lesson (Eccles.xii): “Remember now, etc.” The snow lay several feet thick upon the ground, and the thermometer stood at about twenty degrees below zero. The outer world was cold and wintry enough, but there was warmth within. The first Ordination in this church took place on Advent Sunday, 1874, when the Rev. H.D. Reeve was admitted to Priest’s Orders. The Bishop preached from the First Epistle of St. Peter i.5. Much interest was shown in the service by the little congregation, to whom such a thing was entirely new. The Holy Communion was celebrated, and the nine communicants included three of the newly confirmed.

Fort Simpson, Mackenzie River, North-West Canada, December, 1874—March, 1875. December 27, 1874.

Left, St. David’s Church, completed by Easter 1861. The last service in the church was the Sunday before Christmas, 1930. The building was torn down in the spring of 1931 but its furniture (pews, pulpit etc.), are still used in “new” St. David’s, Christmas Day 1930 to the present. Bishop & Mrs. Bompas knew well the old church. Photo taken about 1928.

Jackson / NWT Archives (Reference N79-004:0018).

December �7, 187�.

I am beginning a journal as a sequel to the one I kept on the journey. [This one never reached England.] I must lessen, if pos-sible, the great distance which separates us by putting you accordant with my life here. Thoughts and feelings will go down, as well as the details of daily occupations.

I am leading now a solitary, widowed life, and find it hard, at times, to realize that I am really married! Dear William left me on December 8 for Fort Rae. He will remain there probably about three weeks, visiting the Indians around, and holding services for the white men residing at the Fort. From thence he will proceed to Salt River and Slave Lake, and so on to Athabasca, where he will probably stay to hold a confirmation and then return North, D.V., with the winter Packet the middle or end of March. That Packet! Oh, how I long for it! It will bring me, I trust, my

dear home letters. Eight months have passed since I left them all, and as yet no line has reached me, except those few from Selina, written a few days after we started. It has been a long, weary waiting. I know not how I could have borne the thought of it has I foreseen the possibility of such a long, long time of silence—such a blank in one’s life. One hope after another has failed me. My last was that a chance Packet might come in December. This has happened for the last two years, but alas! This month has almost ended and there is no sound of the Packet. God’s love and mercy are great in sustaining me through this trial. As the time draws near I begin almost to dread my letters. What changes will not six months have brought?

By-the-by, I never described William’s equipment, etc., when he started. I must try to do so.

It was about nine o’clock a.m. that the party were to assemble at the Fort, outside of which, before that time, were collected pretty nearly our whole colony. It was clear, beautiful morning, November �7, 187�. The great frozen river glittering in the sunshine—not a smooth glassy sur-face, as you might fancy, but all covered with huge boulders of ice, and these again thickly covered with snow. Some of these boulders assume grotesque forms; you might imagine them great monsters come up from the river depths. Others look like birds, and some again like a beautiful foamy wave caught by the ice just in the act of curling.

Here are our “trippers”, as they are called, all ready to start, and my Bishop in his fur cap and warm wraps which I have made him. Large mittens made of deer-skin and fur, suspended from his neck

as is the custom here, thick dark flannel leggings, moc-casins with two pairs of duffel socks, etc., whole for the night a splendid deer-skin robe-that is, two skins sewn together and lined with a blanket. This will be his bed and covering, with a warm woolen cap which I have made in crochet. I trust thus he will defy the weather, though the thermometer will be down to six-teen below zero. The other travelers are all accoutered more or loess in the same way. William takes with him Allan Hardisty, an Indian, who is being trained as a cat-echist. He packed the sledges last evening with their bags of clothing and provisions for the way, blankets, cooking implements, etc. There are the three sledges, and the dogs ready harnessed. I am rather proud of my tapis which, amid sundry difficulties, I contrived to get finished (with some help) in time. Now the word, “Off! All ready!” and our farewells are said, the rivers smack their whips—the dogs cry out and start in full scamper, the trippers running by the side of the sledges at such a pace that all are soon out of sight. They are to cross the river a little higher up, and then make for the Horn Mountains where they hope to find plenty of deer.

On Christmas Day we had a congregation of twenty-three Indians, which was about the average, and then I had planned a Christmas dinner for twelve old Indian wives. Dear old things! They did their best to get themselves up for the occasion, and some of their leather dresses were quite smart, profusely ornamented with beads, with fringes of leather and tin tassels. I had dinner prepared in the schoolroom, the cloth spread and knives and forks, etc. But these proved useless, for though some of the women did try to use them to please me, their efforts were quite ineffec-tual, and they were soon forces to lay them down and take to Nature’s implements. The dinner consisted of moose meat and rabbits, and then I surprised them with-actually-a plum pudding. This latter produced a great effect; I heard of it afterwards; no one had ever shown them a pudding before. Then there was a plen-tiful supply of tea, which is the favorite beverage of the Indians. The conversation was not very animated, but as the chief object was to ply them well with food, there was riot much talk required. As they rose from the table after I had said Grace, one old woman rushed up to me and grasped my hand exclaiming, “Merci! Merci!” and, indeed, they all seemed delighted, more especially when I signaled to them on going out that they might light their pipes. My next grand effort was a Christmas-tree for the children of the colony. Such a thing had not only been seen, but never heard of be-fore, and as whispers of it went abroad the excitement and curiosity it awakened were past description. I set my heart on giving a present to every child, both white and Indian. The whites are chiefly the children of the

officers at the Fort, and to them I could not, of course, offer clothes, so I had to manufacture toys and other small gifts out of no materials. Years ago in my child-hood, when my busy fingers accomplished things of n this kind, my dear mother used to tell me I should one day be the head of a toy-shop. How little did she then dream in what way her words would be fulfilled! I actually made a lamb, “Mackenzie River breeds,” all horned and woolly, with sparkling black eyes. Also dolls painted and dressed, and one infant in a moss bag like the babies here. Some dancing men moved by strings, one sailor, which was my best. Also I pro-duced, though not made by me, only under my direc-tion, a whip with carved handle, and a drum, also balls, work-cases, etc. Then I had aprons and leggings for the servant girls, and some that were left of the beauti-ful gifts from England for the Indians. In all I have above forty presents on the tree. The chief difficulty was, first, candles to light it up (as all our grease had failed). I petitioned Mr. Hardisty, the head officer at the Fort, for “just a little grease,” and he kindly sent me his very last bladderful containing some six or eight pounds. Then I set our good-natured little blacksmith (an Orkney man) to work to make me some pretty little tin moulds, by means of which I was able to manufac-ture some small candles, large enough to burn about half an hour. The second difficulty was the tree itself, for which I sent out the men to search. Plenty of trees there were, pretty dark firs, but so thickly laden with snow that the branches were bent down to the very ground, and as for approaching the roots—it was out of the question. However even this difficulty was met; a fine tying tree was found, and the snow shaken off its branches, after which they resumed their natural shape. The tree was cut down as near the ground as possible, and we found an old milking tub which was deep enough to hold it and give a good broad margin round the stem. We were nearly all day dressing the tree, which I had placed in the kitchen. Mr. Hodgon, the schoolmaster, who was most helpful to me, made a beautiful text for one end of the room: “Peace on earth and goodwill towards men.” He also made me some clever little stands for the candles, and some flags, etc. We dressed the rooms as well as we could with fir as our only evergreen.

At four o’clock the great bell sounded, which an-nounced that the guests were to arrive. The whole neighbor had been on the tiptoe of expectation; new dresses had been made, and the most elaborate toilettes invented for “Mrs. Bompas’s Christmas-tree,” which meant-no one knew what! I received my guests, par-ents and children, in the drawing-room, and in a

58 59

HEROINE...of the NORTH continued from page 59


Whispering Winds

The rate of preventable disease among the Métis Nation is two to three times higher than other British Columbians. tion pro-grams to increase physical activity, raise awareness of risk factors and strengthen capacity 7.Ensuring Elders benefit fully from public programs and reduce their risk of isolation and abuse

The rate of preventable disease among the Métis Nation is two to three times higher than other British Columbians. Changing these outcomes will depend not only on building the capacity of the MNBC Min-istry of Health but also supporting process for on-going community consultation and dialogue with Métis and other levels of government. As the economic burden of illness and disease continues to rise, invest-ments made today in Métis health will have a positive and far reaching impact for all British Columbians.

By Marie van Humbeck, Director of HealthThe health status of the Métis population is a serious concern to the MNBC. As an Aboriginal people we can expect to live seven years less than the mainstream popu-lation and experience rates of arthritis and diabetes at rates of three times more than the national average. The Province of Brit-ish Columbia has acknowledged, through the Métis Nation Relationship Accord, that work needs to be done to narrow the gap in health outcomes for Métis people. This accord signals a commitment by both par-ties to collaborate on the development of solutions to redress the health status of the Métis population. The Ministry of Health Strategic Plan outlines how we will determine the prior-ity needs of the Métis population and how these will be addressed. The expected out-comes are mechanisms to monitor improve-ments in health status, reductions in the incidences of chronic illnesses, improved quality of life for Elders and ultimately longer life expectancy. To realize these out-comes, the strategic plan goals are to:1. Obtain Métis-specific health information by researching the viability of interfacing the MNBC Registry and provincial elec-tronic health records

�.Increasing awareness of diabetes and sup-porting those affected.

3.Improving Métis participation in health planning by developing partnerships with the Ministry of Health, Regional Health Authorities, Health Canada and other health stakeholders.

�. Doubling the number of Métis health practitioners through targeted bursaries and scholarship awards.

5. Developing cross-ministerial approaches to addressing mental health through service integration with Métis child and family service providers.

6. Supporting communities in the develop-ment of culturally and region ally specific health promo.

Ministry of HealthStrategic Planning Update

to my intense disappointment they said they had no letter for the Bishop’s wife. So I cam home with my hope of weeks past crushed, and expecting only the long waiting until March before I can either hear from him or see him. But God was more gracious to me than my fears. On Sunday morning two more Dogribs came in bringing me my longed-for letter, so I was comforted, and yet the account made my heart ache. They had been short of provisions before reaching the Indian camp. They gad counted upon falling in with some deer on the third or fourth day, but the east wind had set in and driven them away. They had taken provisions for only eight days, and it was as ten before they could reach the camp. They got well supplied at the camp, but walking twenty miles a day with the thermometer ten or twelve degrees below zero and with scant food is not pleasant to dwell upon.

January 16, 1875.

A bad headache yesterday put an end to my writing. Household worries have inclined me of late to much headache. This week’s Collect (First Sunday after Epiphany) helps me now as it has done so often before in troublous times.

few minutes marshaled the whole com-pany into the kitchen. Do you remember the burst of rapture from the children at Bishop’s Tawton in 1868 at our memo-rable Christmas-tree, and how it repaid us for all our toil and trouble? The delight and enthusiasm were no less manifest here, though the children in these frozen regions are usually less demonstrative than with us. I made them join hands and form a circle around the tree, the little ones in-side, and the parents forming an outer ring. The poor Indian mothers, black and grimy as ever, squatted down in a bunch on the floor, with faces radiant from astonishment and delight. Then I began to strip the tree and to distribute the presents, all of which, I am glad to say, gave great satisfaction. Then I gave them tea and biscuits all round, and we sang some carols which I had taught the schoolchildren, and so the evening ended, and I must confess it was a very happy one.

December 31.

How little did I dream this time last year of what was before me! We have an early service tomorrow in our little church. I am thankful for it. “As soon as it is light,” Mr. Reeve said, and that is not before nine o’clock. The dark mornings are a sore trial to me just now. I rise soon after six o’clock. Jacob lights my stove in the adjoining room a little before, so the room is tolerable warm by the time I go into it. Then I have a quiet time of one hour or more, and then grope my way back into my bedroom where there is not one spark of light to help me dress! And why this want of candles, do you ask? Well, you see, we have no grease to make any, nor are we likely to have any until more Indi-ans come in. They say the Fort has never been so short of grease before, and we are wanting it for soap as well as candles. The deer, at this time of the year, are generally very thin, poor creatures! How you would smile to see my jealous care over every particle of grease! How I save every small piece from my own candlestick and keep them in a little box which, at the end of some days, makes just enough to place in a saucer with a piece of wick, and this

forms my “two wax candles” for dressing. I fear there is no chance of any more grease before spring, when, of course, the days are longer and we need it less.

A number of Indians are expected in to-day to keep New Year’s Day, which is observed here with great festivity. From time to time the merry jingle of sledge bells are heard coming over the snow, and then appear the sledges laden with deer or rabbits. They are drawn by three or four dogs prettily harness-es with gay colored “tapis” or saddle cloths and ribbon streamers. The bells are fastened on to these tapis, and the dogs seem to like them and to be inspirited by them as much as a Highland regiment is by its pipers.

January 4, 1875.

I am hoping for a letter from William by some Indians from Fort Rae who are ex-pected with deer’s meat. It will be a great comfort to hear from him. I feel so lonely and desolate at times. Still, I have a definite aim in life—a work, I trust, given me to do for the dear Master. I long to be more fully occupied with the real mission work. The Slave language is always a difficulty. My servants are Crees, so I get little help from them in leaning this language, which is Slavé. Still, I hope by degrees I am picking it up, and I already understand a great deal of the Indian service on Sundays. It sounds very pretty in some of their hymns.

January 15, 1875

I have been irregular in my journal of late, in fact, I find but little time for writing by daylight. Oh, for a few pounds of English composites or a little oil for my small lamp! It is hoped the Indians will bring us grease in the spring’ till then we have to span the long evening in darkness. The weather is now unusually mild, only two or three degrees below zero yesterday andto0day. Last Saturday it was down to thirty-four degrees below, and I confess to feeling them almost paralyzed. On that day some Dogrib Indians came in from Fort Rae. They had been expected for some days, and I had counted on their bringing me a letter from William, but

An oil lamp is so important to the new settlers of the north.

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Health Educations Scholarships and Bursaries...

Candice Schwartz, 2nd year Nursing Student

Submitted by Rose Bortolon,Metis Nation British Columbia Minister of Health.

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As the MNBC Minister of Health it is my pleasure to announce the Métis Health Human Resource Initiative. This initiative offers financial assistance, in the form of scholarships and bursaries, to Métis youth and mature students pursuing health careers in British Columbia. This initiative is theMétis Nation’s first partnership with Health Canada and part of a four year $10 million dollar health human resource development initiative aimed at laying the foundation for long term systemic change in the supply of Métis health professionals.

Diabetes eduacation is paramount to the future of ourNation, the health human resourceinitiative will give priority to those studying to be nutritionists

Our goal is to develop a representative workforce that includes appropriate numbers of Métis nurses, physicians, nutritionists, pharmacists and other health professionals. We plan on achieving this by increasing the number ofMétis students entering into and succeeding in the field of health careers. In addition to financial assistance, students will be supported through partnerships witheducational institutions, health authorities andMétis networks. It is my sincere hope that increasing the number of Métishealth professionals will have a positive impact in thehealth outcomes of Métis citizens and communities. This initiative is the first step in the five year strategicplan for the MNBC Ministry of Health and I look forward to bringing you continued updates on our progress. If you are interested in a rewarding career in the healthsector, visit our website at www.mnbc.ca and click on the health tab. There you will find the onlineapplication, answers to frequently asked questions and resources to assist you in your path to a health career.

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MNBC Minister of Health, Rose Bortolon

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