Metis Messenger
Our quarterly newsletter goes out to more than 900 Metis homes, and is an important tool for the development and cohesion of our Metis community. We feel that the newsletter is not only important to the Metis community, but is also a valuable ambassador to individuals and agencies in the wider community. (We distribute approximately 200 additional copies to various community agencies.)
Community Outreach
A poster, "The Invisible People" was developed by our agency to help address the need to identify our children, both in the schools and in the social services system. Efforts are being made to distribute the poster throughout our service area. We've also accessed some funding that will allow us to offer presentations on Metis culture to community centres, service organizations, and to new Canadian immigrants. In the past year, we participated in Folkfest and developed a children's puppet show about Metis history.
Activity Book
"I'm Metis!" is an activity book developed to foster among children (and adults) a knowledge of, and pride in, our Metis ancestry. Within a week of receiving a copy of the book, the funders requested a quote on a bulk order for distribution throughout Saskatchewan and nationally.
Metis History, Genealogy, and Parenting Resource Library
Many of our people have been denied access to their culture, either by the overt denial of the dominant culture, or by the more subtle denial of parents and grandparents who were trained to hide their ancestry and be ashamed of their own traditions. Because of this loss of culture, we feel it's important to have resources available to our clients. We have a number of books as well as audio- and video-tapes dealing with Metis history and culture. We also have parenting resources.
Elders' Support & Involvement
We're pleased to have Elders represented on our board, and to have hosted the outreach program, "The Elders Speak" to address the problem of racism for Metis people. Many of our older community members are isolated, and many are also dealing with the effects of poor health. We feel that it's important to reach out to our elders, not only because it will improve their lives, but because accessing their knowledge and experience will strengthen our community. We've already begun this outreach by offering to help our elders with transportation to the Gatherings.