Thursday's unveiling celebration attracted a large crowd. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Acknowledging the past

‘It’s our history”: handmade Red River cart finds new home in Prince Albert

Aug 29, 2025 | 3:00 PM

The sound of fiddle music filled the air as a special commemorative item was officially unveiled on Thursday at the Métis NationSaskatchewan (MN-S) Western Region II office in Prince Albert.

The Red River cart was handmade and donated by a man from the Canwood area. Region Director Sherry McLennan called it a special moment.

“He got a hold of me and said that he was making it because he’s from Western Region II, and all the good things that we do here, he wanted it to belong here. So we thought, you know what? Let’s have it here.”

The cart represents a significant aspect of Métis history as the simple conveyance was used in their settlement on the Red River. With the carts, Métis were not restricted to river travel to hunt bison.

This particular cart was first used and viewed by the public during the Prince Albert Exhibition parade where MN-S Western Region II won first place.

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“It’s a blessing to us, because it reminds us every day of the hard work that they put in and how they had to get around, and we just have it so easy now,” McLennan said.

Also donated is a Buffalo coat and a Hudson Bay blanket that are also on display for people to see. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Garry Patterson is the man who made the cart and while his initial plans were to have it sit in his front yard off Highway 55, he decided it would be seen by more people and get more respect at the Western Region II office in Prince Albert.

“It just felt like that’s where it deserved to be,” he told paNOW.

Patterson, a retired plumber, first started building smaller versions of the carts roughly five years ago during the pandemic. While it took him some time to perfect how the wheel was made, he’s since made carts for multiple family members and also sells them through his daughter’s Edmonton-based business.

With respect to the large cart donated to the WR2, Patterson explained the wood was cut locally in Canwood and took about a year to dry before it could be used for construction. There was no user manual and so Patterson who relied on historical writings, made several tweaks along the way.

“I learned a lot about building wheels and I discovered a lot of things about how these were built and repaired and it was quite a process and it just expanded my knowledge about Métis ,” he explained.

Sonny Vandale sits in front of the cart. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

On the back of the cart is a plaque bearing the names of Patterson’s grandparents William and Elizabeth Vandale. Patterson said they were not militant but did protest and essentially squatted on a small piece of land between Debden and Big River.

“I always felt people at their age who would do something like that deserved some recognition,” he said. “Like they say, you don’t die until the last person mentions your name.”

Sonny Vandale, 82, is from the St. Louis area and was on hand for Thursday’s unveiling celebration.

“That was the way of our traveling in the old days, you know, they come across the prairie with that and a bunch of people would walk behind there and it was the culture. It was our culture and it’s nice to have it here,” he said. “It’s our history.”

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell