Fort McMurray Metis Local 1935 has embarked on an ambitious and innovative project designed to document, collect, capture and celebrate the presence of Metis cultureal traditions and significant contributions of Metis peoples and communities in the Wood Buffalo Region. While the Metis people’s presence in northeastern Alberta transcends the formation of the province by seceral 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, cultureal practices and traditions which are inseparably connected to the land. There is a real urgency to record the stories of these Metis Elders who have lived on the land witnessed these changes first hand.
The “Mark of the Metis Project” is being disgned to create opportunities of northeastern Metis 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 Metis in the province with specific reference to northeastern Alberta. While recognizing that which is common within the Metis Nation, there are many unique experinces and lifeways which are specific to Wood Buffalo Metis people. “The Mark of the Metis” will document that uniqueness.
There are four primary objectives to the Mark of the Metis Project:
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Interview Metis Elders
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Gather Genealogical Information
- Complete Global Information System Mapping
- Establish an Archival Collection
The ultimate long term goal of the project is the establishment of a vibrant northern Metis research Center where research and archival work will carry on, where the history of the Metis is stored, captured and show cased.
Click on an image below to read an excerpt from the Elder interviews conducted by the Metis Local 1935.
