By Tyler Marr

Batoche unveils new exhibit to tell larger Métis story

Oct 1, 2017 | 1:45 PM

In a valley just metres from the South Saskatchewan River at the Batoche National Historic Site sits a newly minted modern wood and steel exhibit.

With sweeping views of the river, the recently constructed observation viewing platform and family garden are inscribed with plaques, graphics and information telling the story of the East Village site, which was the commercial sector of the region.

Working alongside a management board staffed with Métis people, Parks Canada was eager to expand on the deeper teachings of the Métis people who once thrived in the area and that many call home.

“The reality of it is that pre-1885, you had a thriving Métis community that lived here and post-1885, it was the same thing,” Adriana Bacheschi, manager of the Batoche National Historic Site said following the official unveiling Saturday morning. “People just didn’t fight, lose the battle and disappear … and we had to find better ways to tell the larger Métis story.”

When people visit Batoche, they tend to see the Church, cemetery and surrounding attractions, Bacheschi said, but this is not where most people lived. The new observation tower will portray a more accurate sense of where the nearly 1,500 strong townspeople occupied and what the economic trading hub of the region was like.

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For those who visit the new exhibit, Bacheschi hoped they would take with them the great sense of community the Métis people cultivated in the region.

“People lived, died they chose this place to be and they developed a life and culture and all things associated with this place,” she said. “It is very unique and a very special part of the history of Canada.”

The project was in the works since 2013 and came thanks to a $1.4 million federal infrastructure investment announced in May 2016. Additionally, the park is working to roll out a number of interpretative trails to better tell the traditional use of the land.

On hand for the unveiling was Normand Fleury, a Métis elder and special lecturer in the College of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. He helped untie a sash used to open the exhibit. Witnessing moves to convey a more true tale of the Métis history over the oftentimes skewed vision of the 1885 Rebellion was inspirational for Fleury.

“Culturally, it is very touching and very emotional to be there where our forefathers stood and worked and sweat to work for their cause and their own restitution,” he said. 

Talking about who the Métis people were and explaining how they left their home in the Red River region to establish themselves out West as the commercial tradespeople in the area was vital, according to Fleury.

“I think what they are going to take home is a better story and a true story of who the Métis are,” he said.

Historically, he said, people did not have strong connections with the Métis people and many were scared to connect with them. 

“There was fear,” he said, noting a need to come “face to face with the real people” and their story. Further, he welcomed the government showing a will to work with the Métis people.

“When you come here back to Batoche, you see it, and you can see the people and the history but you have brought the present into place as we have evolved,” he added.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@JournoMarr