The Metis Nation of Alberta hosted a registry drive in Westlock at the Rotary Spirit Centre on July 31.
Around 15 people and several families showed up with forms and documents to prove their Metis ancestry for applications of Metis citizenship and/or Metis Harvesting.
The Metis Nation of Alberta do registry drives in many smaller communities such as Westlock to make citizenship and harvesting applications more accessible.
The Metis people are a culturally and linguistically distinct group who are mixed descendants of Indigenous women and European fur traders. The Metis people are often categorized as Indigenous under treaty rights. Around 10 per cent of Westlock’s population was categorized as Indigenous, Metis and Inuit in their latest socio-economic benchmark report.
Programs and services offered to people with Metis citizenship include educational support for early childhood learning, providing school supplies, gift cards, academic scholarships, college funding, sports scholarships, free counselling, affordable housing and many others.
Successful applicants to the Metis harvesting program are given hunting and fishing rights in Alberta under the Metis Harvesting in Alberta Policy. These include free hunting and fishing licenses and specific land designations for hunting and fishing. The Metis Nation of Alberta also offers family fishing and hunting camps where Metis harvesters can learn about traditional Metis hunting and fishing.
The Metis Nation of Alberta hosts regular events at Metis Crossing about an hour east of Westlock including an upcoming cultural celebration on August 16.
The Metis Nation of Alberta are governed by the Otipemisiwak Metis Government which has been operating in Alberta since 1928 but was not formally recognized by the federal government until 2019.
The Otipemisiwak Metis Government operates under 22 districts throughout Alberta which are each represented by a citizens representative and district captain. Westlock is part of the Athabasca Landing Metis District which has a Metis population of 1,086 according to the Otipemisiwak government as of 2023. The citizens representative for the Athabasca Landing district is Joseph Noel Tremblay and the district captain is Brian Ladouceur. The current president of the Otipemisiwak Metis Government is Andrea Sandmaier.
The Otipemisiwak Metis Government recently swore-in two new district captains at a citizens council meeting in Nisku on July 31. The new district captains are Brad Martin, district captain for the St. Albert Metis District and Heather Seale, district captain for the Medicine Hat District.
To learn more about the services and programs available to Metis people within Alberta, you can visit the Alberta Metis government website at https://albertametis.com.
