A view of Île-à-la-Crosse. (Google Maps)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Upcoming events

MN-S planning Survivors’ Gathering, Jubilee awards

Feb 22, 2023 | 5:00 PM

Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) is announcing two upcoming events to support and honour Métis families.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee medal ceremonies hosted by MN–S in Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina will take place next week, from Feb. 27 to March 1.

“Métis Nation–Saskatchewan is proud to have the opportunity to recognize our citizens who have gone above and beyond for their fellow Métis people,” it said in a release. “MN–S will award 100 Saskatchewan Métis citizens who have demonstrated exemplary service and commitment to their communities, province, country and Métis Nation.”

Award presentations are planned for the Top of the Inn at Sheraton Cavalier Hotel in Saskatoon at 1 p.m. on Feb. 27, in the EA Rawlinson Centre For The Arts in Prince Albert at 1 p.m. on Feb. 28, and in Government House Saskatchewan in Regina at 1 p.m. on March 1.

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Next month will be an opportunity for Île-à-la-Crosse Residential School survivors to take part in a gathering for support and healing.

The event will be held at the TCU Place in Saskatoon from March 24 to 26.

“We need to and are here to support our Métis residential school survivors. We are losing more of them every day and time is of the essence,” MN–S vice president Michelle LeClair said in the release. “We have to send a clear and concise message on their behalf to both the federal and provincial governments that they need to acknowledge the survivors in a meaningful way and in a way that leaves a legacy.”

Survivors of the Île-à-la-Crosse Residential School in Saskatchewan proposed a class-action lawsuit against the federal and provincial governments in January. The school operated from the 1820s to the mid-1970s. Survivors will join together for support and solidarity, as they look for justice for abuses students suffered attending the residential school.

The Île-à-la-Crosse Survivors Committee initiated the lawsuit, with support from MN-S.

The survivors gathering is also open to Île-à-la-Crosse Residential day school and intergenerational survivors to attend.

MN–S said generations of Métis children were “taken from their loving homes, [and] forced to live in an institution whose sole purpose was to assimilate and colonialize the young. The children were made to speak a language they didn’t understand and practice foreign cultural traditions.”

The survivors gathering will also include a number of break-out sessions and presentations from guest speakers, as well as legal experts to provide an update on the class-action lawsuit underway.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow