During their Dec. 6 school board meeting, Prairie South School Division (PSSD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the New Southern Plains Métis Local 160 to increase co-operation between the two organizations.
“This is our third (MOU), we’ve signed one with Sask Polytech and Holy Trinity (Catholic School Division),” said Darrell Hawman, president of the Métis Local 160. “It’s an opportunity to be able to go and work with the school boards on good outcomes for Métis students and for all students.”
Click here for our article about the Métis MOU with Sask Polytech.
Click here for our article about the Métis MOU with Holy Trinity Catholic School Division..
PSSD school board chair Giselle Wilson signed the MOU on behalf of the board. She thanked Hawman for his role in bringing the MOU to fruition and noted that the agreement would help Prairie South fulfill its Truth and Reconciliation goals.
As part of the signing, Hawman presented PSSD Director of Education Ryan Boughen with an honorary Métis sash.
Hawman told media afterward that working with Prairie South, the Holy Trinity Catholic School Division, and Sask Polytech would advance skills training and educational outcomes for Métis people in Moose Jaw.
“In the last census, there were 1,500 people that self-identified as Métis in the community (of Moose Jaw). I’m guessing that number is probably closer to 3,000 if everybody who knew (their ancestry) … was able to register.”
Two topics highlighted by the agreement are the teaching of the Michif language and of Métis history in Moose Jaw and surrounding area.
Michif is a mixed language formed from French and Cree. It is widely spoken by Métis peoples throughout Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. Sask Polytech has begun helping to revive the language, offering Métis students the chance to learn the basics on campus.
Hawman said that forming closer connections with Métis students in PSSD was important to help those students access resources for higher education and trade schools, such as Gabriel Dumont Institute’s Pathways program for Métis entrepreneurs.
