Canadian Heritage committee  I was there for the opening. I did see the closing on television. The engagement of the four host first nations right from the outset, in terms of the bid and getting support from the national aboriginal organizations, I think was precedent-setting, and it was something that cou

Canadian Heritage committee  That's a very good question. Of course right now we're in battle in the courts in terms of land rights for the Métis. But for the Métis in Alberta, who have eight Métis settlements set aside by the province in 1938, the Métis do not have a land base, but Métis do have a rich hi

Canadian Heritage committee  Well, one of these successes we've had in Saskatchewan under the Gabriel Dumont Institute, which has been in place for a little over 30 years, is SUNTEP, the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, SUNTEP. And we've graduated well over 1,000 graduates with a bachelor of education degree. So they go into the schools and they're basically now reaching out and teaching Métis history and Métis studies in the classes they're in. That's one—

Canadian Heritage committee  All classes, yes. A lot of them are also in universities now as well. We've had that kind of outreach. We need more than that, and I think a national museum is going to help. I would think that the capacity for the youth to be organized, and to be able to have meetings, and so

Canadian Heritage committee  I think the friendship centres have a role to play and a very important role. Of course, so do the Métis Nation governments within the provinces. A substantial number of our people live in urban centres, and a lot of our people are engaged as well in the friendship centre movemen

Canadian Heritage committee  Well, one was called UMAYC, Urban Métis Aboriginal....

Canadian Heritage committee  That was the primary funder, and then there was some funding under employment and training itself, some components, but those have gone away. I think that is still in place under a different name, but more at the local and provincial levels, not at the national level, so our yo

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you for that. If I understand you correctly, the Métis Nation, of course, sees the 150th anniversary as an important milestone for Canada. At the current time the Métis Nation, as represented by the Métis National Council, is still pursuing its mandate. In 1983 we withd

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you for the question. The Métis Nation was involved. We signed an agreement or some kind of protocol with the four host first nations. We were accorded every opportunity. Our youth were directly involved. We had our time at the first nations house, and we were invited to v

Canadian Heritage committee  We have several institutions, primarily in the prairie provinces, where we've been organized the longest and where the majority of our population lives. Primarily, our relationship has been with the provincial governments in terms of on-the-ground delivery of educational and cult

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Chair, committee members, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. First, let me provide a brief overview of the Métis National Council. We are the national government of the Métis Nation in that part of our historic homeland encompas

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, I fully agree. That may be part of the reason too--but you'd have to ask them--why they're not too closely associated. But they are the exception. Even though scrip was distributed in the Northwest Territories, the federal government in its wisdom has decided to renegotiat

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think it's of tremendous help to individuals in the Métis community or the first nations community, or the Indian community, to have assistance for education without having to face a large debt when they get through. I know that some of the people in my community are looking to

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  That would be the ideal, but certainly any kind of assistance we can get would also be good—and substantially more than what's in place now. Certainly to be able to move in that direction would be good. In terms of health, a program from the 2004 accord enabled moneys for Métis