Youth have a long a history of making significant contributions to Métis culture, politics, and arts. Louis Riel himself was under 30 years of age during the 1869 Red River Resistance. Bailey Oster is proudly carrying on this tradition, having started her involvement in Métis government leadership at just 15 years of age, and having been elected the Vice-President of the Métis women’s organization, New Dawn, when she was only 19. In a short span, Bailey rose to the position of Director of Youth Programs and Services for the Métis Nation of Alberta (now the Otipemisiwak Métis Government), and today is the senior policy advisor of intergovernmental and international relations with the Métis National Council.

In this episode, Bailey tells host David Wylynko how she went from “broke college kid” to a delegate at the United Nations. She describes what works when it comes to bringing young people together to preserve their culture (kitchen tables) and what doesn’t work (smart phones). She also reflects on the astounding success of the book she found time to edit along with Marilyn Lizee. Stories of Métis Women: Tales My Kookum Told Me covers a great range of subjects, including nation-building, culture, identity, and resilience, as well as the disheartening experiences of residential schools, discrimination, and racism.

Resources:

• Otipemisiwak Métis Government Youth Services Department
• The True Canadians book
• Intro and outro music by Métis musician Alex Kusturok
• Opening quote from an address by Métis leader Jim Sinclair during the 1987 Canadian constitutional talks

Harvesting is a proud and age-old Métis tradition extending back to the fur trade. It contributes greatly to Métis recognition, as perhaps best illustrated in the Powley legal case that argued Métis hunting rights were enshrined in section 35 of the Constitution Act. In a huge victory, the Supreme Court ruled the Powleys were exercising lawful Métis hunting rights.

Though he has little interest in politics, Craig Letendre is a prime authority on harvesting, and responsible for overseeing the portfolio for the Otipemisiwak Métis Government. In this episode, Craig traces his interest in harvesting to the lessons his grandparents gave him when he was growing up in Lac Ste. Anne, Alberta. Today, Craig helps Métis hunters and fishers across the province understand their Indigenous rights and runs a series of increasingly popular fishing camps. As he tells host David Wylynko, the Métis approach to managing wildlife resources isn’t about hard quotas, but what it takes to feed a family. He also provides a few tips on how to snare rabbits and when not to hunt for moose.

Resources

It isn’t every day your image graces a billboard in New York City’s Times Square, one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world. But for proud Métis citizen Lorelei Higgins Parker, it’s one honour among many. A veteran of pageantry, Lorelei just won the title of Mrs. Unity World Elite while at the world competition in New Delhi, India. When she found the symbols of her Métis heritage lacking on the international pageant stage — the sash, the language, the unique dance — she set out to bring her culture to the world, with astounding success. At the time of this interview, Lorelei was the reigning Mrs. Unity World Canada. She also served as Mrs. Canada Globe from 2020 to 2023.

In view of the global whirlwind that such recognition often engenders, what keeps Lorelei grounded? As she explains to host David Wylynko, Lorelei always has one foot firmly in the realm of advocacy, acting as a Canadian Indigenous anti-racism consultant and cultural mediator and a positive peace activator. She is also the Team Lead for Indigenous Relations for the City of Calgary. Through all these roles, Lorelei nurtures projects that foster relations with Indigenous communities and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion. She credits much of her accomplished career to a turning point in her youth, when the Rotary Exchange program first took her from her Alberta home and out into the world, an experience that later brought her full circle to a recognition of a long-lost and nearly forgotten Métis heritage. 

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If Métis Crossing is the hub of Métis tourism in Alberta, Lt(N) Keith Diakiw’s Talking Rock Tours is a shining example of the many Indigenous attraction spokes that are now connecting the province’s landscape in a meaningful way. Talking Rock provides educational tours of the geological wonders of Alberta, and Keith adds a wealth of natural and cultural storytelling that enhances his one-of-a-kind experience. Keith is well positioned for his GEO (Geo Experience Officer) and Indigenous Guide roles, having been university educated in physical geography, anthropology/archaeology, and even geology.

As he explains to host David Wylynko, Keith can also combine his entrepreneurial instincts with the discipline of a military career — in fact he remains to this day a naval officer of the Canadian Armed Forces — and his Board Member roles with Indigenous Tourism Alberta and the Interpretative Guides Association. That’s in addition to a decade working in the oil sands. Keith’s tour offerings are part of a growth effort across the country to encourage a greater understanding of the authentic Indigenous experience and its First Peoples history. Having grown in leaps in bounds over the past 10 years, Indigenous tourism is helping an increasingly global audience gain a greater appreciation for this precious and often overlooked attribute of Canadian heritage.

Mentioned in this episode:

She was a young child when she was taken from her home in the Northwest Territories and placed in a boarding school run by an order of Catholic nuns. Even at such a young age, Angie Crerar knew that what was happening to her and others was wrong. Her story is one of many that recount the horrid legacy of Residential schools, and which collectively stain the history of Canada.

In the latest episode of The True Canadians podcast, Angie shares with host David Wylynko what it means to be taken from a loving family and denied even the most rudimentary human respect. In a remarkable display of resilience and hope, Angie also describes her journey toward forgiveness for such egregious treatment. She tells of how much it meant to get the chance to journey to Rome and express her feelings to the head of the Catholic Church: Pope Francis himself.

Resources

The Strength of Métis Women

Each year, during Métis Week in November, the Delia Gray Gala honours a remarkable figure among Métis women in Alberta. Delia Gray was the first Provincial Elder of the Métis Nation of Alberta, now known as the Otipemisiwak Métis Government. This annual event features a dinner, live music, and other forms of entertainment. Additionally, it awards post-secondary scholarships in memory and honour of esteemed Alberta Métis citizens Cecil Bellrose, Marlene Lanz, and Bruce Gladue. In this episode, host David Wylynko explores Delia’s legacy and the achievements of other accomplished female Métis leaders with her youngest grandchild, Krista Leddy.

Krista is a proud Métis multidisciplinary artist whose family comes from the historical Métis communities of St. Albert and Lac St. Anne. Her beadwork is deeply influenced by the teachings, stories, and patterns of her Métis ancestors, and she channels the spirit of her grandmother into all her pieces, both traditional and contemporary. Among her many stories, Krista recounts the recreation and reception of her beaded portrait of Louis Riel, which was featured in a national magazine and sparked both praise and criticism.

Notes

The True Canadians website

Intro and outro music by Métis musician Alex Kusturok

Opening quote from an address by Métis leader Jim Sinclair during the 1987 Canadian constitutional talks

The Métis do not experience poorer health than non-Indigenous communities because of their cultural practices or ethnicity. On the contrary, the Métis emerged from a vibrant, active history seeded in the fur trade and buffalo hunt. Rather, the trend toward a higher prevalence of illnesses among Métis is rooted in the intergenerational trauma that has resulted from systemic racism, oppressive and exclusionary colonial policies, and horrific assimilation. In 2013, a first-of-its-kind report noted that diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, respiratory disease, and stroke are especially common among Métis.

As she explains to host David Wylynko in this episode, guest Reagan Bartel has set out to reverse these trends. In her capacity as Director of Health for the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, Bartel is working to address the unique health challenges of the Métis in Alberta through advocacy efforts and the development of health-related programs and services. She focuses on partnerships that ensure Métis people are included in health policy and planning, and on addressing anti-Indigenous racism in health services. Bartel is excited and hopeful for the future of Métis health, and the creation of Métis health authorities that would allow for Métis owned and operated health clinics.

Resources

The high cost of housing is a challenge for most Canadians. But it can be particularly difficult for the Métis, many of whom can’t draw on the support that a long family history of home ownership can provide. Others grew up without the benefit of access to quality housing whatsoever. It’s a problem that extends back to the “road allowance” days, when Métis were forced off their land and forced to live in areas set aside for future road construction. Building a sense of community can only do so much if you don’t have a comfortable place to live.

But today, the Otipemisiwak Metis Government — the government of the Métis Nation within Alberta — is providing safe, adequate, and suitable housing through mortgage assistance, subsidies, affordable rent, and other programs. Two agencies administer the programs: Métis Capital and Métis Urban Housing. In this episode, Violet LaPratt, tenant relations officer for the Métis Urban Housing Corporation, tells host David Wylynko about the opportunities available for those requiring assistance. They also explore Violet’s own living situation growing up, how important the Métis homeland in Alberta has been to her family, and the value of pride in home ownership.

Resources

North America’s bison, once numbering in the millions, were facing extinction due to European colonialism, commercial hunting, government policy, and industrialization. At their lowest point, only a few hundred remained. We may never see the enormous herds that blackened the Prairies again, but there is one place where you can witness these majestic animals up close, amidst efforts to restore their populations and celebrate their historical significance: the “Visions, Hopes, and Dreams at Métis Crossing Wildlife Park.” Sitting on the northern shore of the North Saskatchewan River about a one-hour drive northeast of Edmonton, Métis Crossing has become a renowned Indigenous tourism destination, known for the bison and many other wondrous attributes. 

In this episode, host David Wylynko discusses the cultural importance, reintroduction, and intriguing behaviour of the bison with two people who were instrumental in bringing them back: Métis Crossing CEO Juanita Marois and rancher Len Hrehorets. They also talk about how the bison have become an important example of fostering reconciliation between the Métis and the rest of the country.

Notes

Métis Crossing

The True Canadians website

Intro and outro music by Métis musician Alex Kusturok

Opening quote from an address by Métis leader Jim Sinclair during the 1987 Canadian constitutional talks

Civilization is going to need to burn fossil fuels for a little while longer. The only real questions are how much longer — and how to make the transition to renewable power. Overseeing the contribution that the Métis Nation of Alberta will make to that transition is Andres Filella. Born and raised in Ecuador, Filella moved to Edmonton for a degree in chemical engineering and then worked on greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas sector before switching to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, where he now leads a 20-member Environment and Climate Team. Their biggest project so far is the Salay Prayzaan Solar Farm at Métis Crossing, which had its opening celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony in June of 2024. The name means “gift from the sun” in Michif. The 5 megawatts of electricity it generates is enough to power 1,200 homes, making it the largest Indigenous-run solar solar installation in Canada.

In this episode of The True Canadians, Filella explains to host David Wylynko how he and his team are applying the Indigenous concept of “askiy” — Cree for “interconnected Earth” — to tackling climate change and other environmental challenges. Turns out there’s a significant difference between askiy and conventional Western approaches to the relationship between humans and nature.

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