Back to Batoche Festival
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The Canadian prairies are the centre of the Métis culture and Saskatchewan is at the heart of it all!
The Red River or Michif Métis of Manitoba developed their unique culture prior to the arrival of European homesteaders. In trying to accommodate the anticipated flow of newcomers to the region, federal government policies failed to acknowledge Métis land rights which resulted in Red River Resistance of 1869‐70. After the resistance, many Métis chose to leave the Red River Settlement, with some relocating to Batoche and the surrounding areas in the early 1870s. In 1885, realizing that the federal government would again not acknowledge their land rights, the Métis took a stand with the tragic North-West Resistance, a series of skirmishes at Batoche, Fish Creek, Tourond’s Coulee and Duck Lake.
Determined to carry on their Métis traditions, annual gatherings of the Métis at Batoche began in the late 1880s and were held during the third week of July to honour St. Joseph, the patron saint of the Métis. Today’s “Back to Batoche Days” festival began in 1970, is the most important cultural focus of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, and continues to honour St. Joseph by taking place during the third week in July.
Back to Batoche Days also pay homage to national Métis heroes such as Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont, Howard Adams, Jim Brady, and many, many others. It’s a time to celebrate the Métis Nation of the past, the present, and the future. Visitors to the event camp, pitch a tipi or tent, or sleep out under the prairie sky, like Métis settlers did centuries ago.
