Métis Heritage Land Occupancy Relationship Study
Fort McMurray Métis Local 1935 has embarked on an ambitious and innovative project designed to document, collect, capture and celebrate the presence of Métis cultural traditions and significant contributions of Métis peoples and communities in the Wood Buffalo Region.
While the Métis people’s presence in northeastern Alberta transcends the formation of the province by several centuries, it is poorly understood and has been systematically rendered invisible in mainstream historical accounts of the development of the province of Alberta. Compounding the issue is the unprecedented scale of industrial development in northeastern Alberta which has disrupted and is continuing to disrupt traditional livelihoods, cultural practices and traditions which are inseparably connected to the land. There is a real urgency to record the stories of these Métis Elders who have lived on the land witnessed these changes first hand.
The “Mark of the Métis Project” is designed to create opportunities of northeastern Métis individuals, families, and communities to tell their stories and document their rich histories and traditions on their own terms and in their own unique and culturally meaningful ways. The project in its entirety is intended to serve as a focal point for gathering and celebrating the contributions, participations, emergence and on-going development of the Métis in the province with specific reference to northeastern Alberta. While recognizing that which is common within the Métis Nation, there are many unique experiences and lifeways which are specific to Wood Buffalo Métis people. “The Mark of the Métis” will document that uniqueness.
It will outline the different elements of the “Mark of the Métis” project while also presenting the preliminary findings of research to date. In this way the project will demonstrate the importance of community based research and suggest possible ways for other communities to tell their own unique stories.
There are four primary objectives to the Mark of the Metis Project:
- Interview Metis Elders
- Complete Global Information System Mapping
- Gather Genealogical Information
- Establish an Archival Collection
