To honour Louis Riel Memorial Day, the Moose Jaw campus of Saskatchewan Polytechnic raised the Metis flag on Tuesday morning as a remembrance of Louis Riel and to pay respect for his efforts in defending Metis rights, culture and identity.
Ceremonies celebrating Louis Riel Memorial Day were also held at the Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert campuses followed by recognition that Saskatchewan Polytechnic is on both Treaty 4 and Treaty 6 territories and the homeland of the Metis people.
“It is a true honour to be hanging the Metis flag today and to represent my Metis heritage. I am very thankful for my family and everything that they have done for me and for the Gabriel Dumont Institute Sponsorship that got me here today, getting a really great education at Saskploytech,” said Renee Fayant, engineering student at Saskpolytech Moose Jaw Campus.
Chief of Moose Jaw Police Service, Rick Bourassa said, “The Metis Flag is a symbol of inclusion and it is an important day in history to recognize our relationships as a community and how important those relationships are.”
The day’s event included a display that was presented by Darrell Hawman, Metis Knowledge Keeper and President of New Southern Plains Metis Local #160 (serving the Metis people in our region).
“Louis Riel was a spiritual leader for the Metis who was hung for developing our rights and acknowledging our existence on the plains 100 years before confederation,” Hawman stated.
Following at noon, traditional food, soup and bannock were served.
To celebrate the spirit and arts of the Metis people, a performance was also held on the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Indigenous Student’s Facebook page featuring a Red River jig and fiddle music.
This day holds significant value as it recognizes the Metis nation within Canada, initially recognized and affirmed in the 1982 Canadian Constitution Section 35.
In the 2016 Canada Census report, in Moose Jaw alone, 1400 people were self-declared as being Metis.
Hawman says that it is very important for the young Metis to be educated and become good citizens for the country.
“The vision that we would like to see is an awakening of the culture and artisans that would bring us back into the culture as our identity was oppressed and put aside. For the longest time, the Metis were not allowed to be its own culture.”
About the Gabriel Dumont Institute: It is a Saskatchewan-based educational, employment and cultural institute that serves Metis across the province. The Sponsorship program aims to assist Metis students to close educational gaps by attending accredited University level programming. The sponsorship is funded by Metis Nation-Saskatchewan and administered by the Gabriel Dumont Institute until March of 2026.
