Glen McCallum, president of the Mètis Nation — Saskatchewan speaks to the gathered crowd at Batoche on July 22, 2022. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Weekend celebration at Batoche 50 years in the making

Jul 23, 2022 | 12:00 PM

Around 10,000 people are expected to make their way to Batoche this weekend as the Mètis people celebrate culture, family and friends and remember history.

The head of the Mètis Nation — Saskatchewan, Glen McCallum, used his opportunity to remind the crowd that the future waits.

“As we begin to move forward we have to being that process of understanding one another and build strong families like the elder said in his prayer,” said Glen McCallum to a packed house at the national historic site.

The Mètis was born when the existing Indigenous groups met with European settlers and describe themselves as the forgotten people, left out by both groups.

In 2022 however and while marking a historic 50 years of celebrating the annual festival and gathering in Batoche, change was evident.

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On the guest podium were the Chief of One Arrow, Tricia Sutherland; Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty and MLA Lisa Lambert, all of Indigenous or Mètis heritage and with stories of their own to tell of past days in Batoche.

McCallum said the Mètis and the First Nations were as one until governments changed it.

“I always say there was no difference before government policy came in. We shared, we lived together. I have nine first nations grandchildren. If you look at your families and the makeup of your families, we are all related,” he said.

The Mètis of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario have been talking to the federal government about their place in Canada.

“As I said before, the boundaries are there but there should be no boundaries between the First Nation and Mètis and we’ll discuss that as we begin to move forward,” McCallum said.

The four-day celebration started on July 21 but continues until Sunday with live music, Batoche Idol, chuckwagon races and a bison harvesting demonstration, to name just a short selection of a very long list.

A small fee will be charged for entry at the gate.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com