Jed Huntley spoke to kids about the fur trade among other things Wednesday at the Rawlinson Centre (Michael Joel-Hansen/paNOW Staff)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Event highlights teaches history and celebrates Métis culture

May 1, 2019 | 5:00 PM

Métis culture and traditions have a long history and major presence in Prince Albert and surrounding area.

On Wednesday, 300 elementary school kids from both school divisions got the chance to learn more about Métis culture as the E.A. Rawlinson Centre hosted Colours of the Sash, which showcased everything from food to language.

Donny Parenteau put the event together, with help from the Rawlinson Centre and the Gabriel Dumont Institute in Saskatoon and said the idea grew from some humble roots.

“What turned into originally just a concert, in the evening, just with some Métis artists had grown to 300 students walking through seeing seven different presentations of all of our Métis culture and I am just beaming with pride that something like that can happen,” he said.

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Parenteau performed music for the students and spoke to them about the history of some of the songs.

Parenteau said he was happy to see the culture being taught in school, which is much different from when he was a kid, where some kids would hide their heritage.

“I find there was a Métis explosion let’s call it that in the mid 90s that happened and it’s funny some of the people that used to call me half breed when I was a little kid, now they’re wearing a Métis sash,” he said.

One of the people those at the event got the chance to hear from was Sophie McDougall, who is from St. Louis and spoke to the kids about the Michif language.

“It’s quite nice to see that the younger generation are starting to get interested in the Michif language, because actually it was kind of a dying language,” she said.

McDougall said it is important the cultural traditions of Métis people be passed down and added she is optimistic about the future of the language given the interest she sees in it.

“The Métis language is quite expressive. With the way Métis people talk, there’s a lot of expression to it, much more than other languages,” she said.

Going forward, Parenteau expects the event to become an annual one in P.A. He also has eyes to take it to a wider audience.

“This is just the birth place, it’s growing from here and it’s going to expand and spread out to hopefully all over Saskatchewan,” he said.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn