. says.
“We need . the numbers
. to show we are a nation and
also’ to try to” get harvest

“Community hopes registration will lead to recognition a as a separate culture

The present
IMAGINE BEING part of an

invisible minority, 2 amember
~ of a distinct. culture, that’s

not immediately recognized.

‘You'd be a person with
a heritage and family his-
tory stretching , back to the
oiit nation’ s: ‘beginning, put”

most Cariadidns do not know ~ “says the Métis are invisible.

much about it or have mis-
taken beliefs about who your
ancestors are.

Then a group who share
your history begin to work

together, forming communi-

ties with the hope of becom-
ing recognized as a nation
with language and hunting
rights and access to govern-

ment money for education

and training.
This is the desire of. the
members of the Northwest

B.C. Métis Association, who —

are eager to register every-
one of proven Métis descent

‘with the hope of receiving

recognition from the federal
government as a nation with

inherent hunting and lan-_

guage rights.
About 1,500 Métis ‘live

in the northwest from the
Queen Charlotte Islands to -

Houston and up to the B.C.-

Yukon border, according to’
the Northwest BC Metis As- -

’ sociation.

Closer to hone, th the Mé-

tis population in Terrace and
Thornhill is estimated to be
between 200 to 300, says

Leanne Ballinger, the re-

gional. registry clerk for the
northwest region. '
“She's currently signing

up people so they can get.

their provincial cards, the
first step to forming a dis-
tinct nation within Canada.
“There’s a bit of urgency
to get the cards done,”

(hunting) cards.”

The association wants
to secure harvesting .rights
which includes fishing, hunt-
ing and food gathering.

“It could be better,” she-
says of the numbers of peo- .

‘ple who have signed up.

_As of Dec. 2005, 82 new.

registrants have ‘been ap-
_ proved in the northwest and
860 new ones have been
approved in the province,
says Ballinger. She hopes to

bolster the numbers here by

500. .
Ballinger has 109 active
files, people she’s helping

register or ones whose in-

formation has already been
sent to Vancouver where
a genealogist verifies their

she

- Storya and photos by Margaret Speirs -

" heritage’

She . estimates there’s

~ about 4,000 Métis’ in: B.C.
and she would like to see ev- ”

eryone registered. ©
Rene Therrien, secretary
and minister for culture, her-
itage and languages for Mé-
tis Nation .B.C.. and a.direc-;.

“money around but we vale
“ways made do,” he says. .

..His uncles hunted and. .

trapped so the meat neverran —

out and -they planted large’ .

gardens i in the summer.
His family would sit

around his grandmother’s

eight-foot-long table “arid

tor in the; snorthwest. region, =!play::cards !or:listen<to'this"!

“Right now the Métis are
not noticed,” he says.

“People say ‘who are the
Métis?’”

The past

THE DEFINITION of
Métis, once just a matter

‘of identifying yourself as

Métis, has undergone some

changes and- now carries -
~ specific conditions.

- Originally, the. word Mé-
tis referred to a person born -
to a parent of European de-
scent and a First Nation par-
ent.) fa
- Today many are born of |

at least one Métis parent, . .
according to the Métis Na- .

tional Council, the national
representative organization
of the Métis in Canada.

“A Métis is a person who.
self-identifies as “Métis, :

. distinct from other aborigi.

nal peoples, is’ of historic
Métis nation ancestry and
is accepted by the Métis
Nation according to a defi- -

wnition ratified at the annual

general assembly of.the Mé-
tis National Council i in Sept.
2002...

Those who previously
identified themselves as Mé-.
tis have. to prove that their:
ancestors came from the

traditional Métis homeland, - |

an area stretching from B.C. -

through the Prairie prov- . :

inces into Ontario, up to the.
Northwest . Territories and
into parts of the northern
US.

The Métis constitute a
distinct aboriginal nation

with a shared history, a»

common ‘culture, -a unique

language, extensive kinship

connections from. Ontario
west, a distinct way of life,

-@ traditional: territory and a ©
consciousness, ©

collective
according to the Métis Na-
tional Council.’

Richard Hayden, , who’s
lived in Terrace for nearly .

. 38 years, still owns the 157

acres. previously. owned by: -

‘his grandmother and: the

place. where he grew up in
St. Lazare, Manitoba, about
five miles from the Saskatch-
ewan-Manitoba border. __

He still has his grand-
mother’s “scrip”, which is
like a deed to the land.

“There wasn’t much

grandmother: and her: brother.
- tell stories in Cree.

“We didn’t know. what
they were talking. about
but when they laughed; we
laughed,” he says.

He still travels back there
to spend time in the spring
and. summer, meeting his
cousins there. and taking
along his grandchildren. _

Now that he’s retired, he
wants to.spend more. time
_ there and may | build a house
“or move a trailer onto the

land to stay in to replace the :

houses that burned down. .
Hayden Says it’s impor-
tant to be recognized as a na-

oo

MASON KROEKER, 9, plays marbles at the monthly meeting of the Northwest BC
Métis Association April 19. His mom Heather, who’s the association president, says

‘ of Hazelton.

tion to secure land rights ; and
harvesting rights that were

lost years ago.

“Years ago we could hunt |

without too’ much fear,” -he

said, adding he’s never hunt-

ed around the Terrace area.
Every year for the last 25

~years, he buys a provincial

hunting: ‘licence and sets up

a camp’ at ‘Bear River, ‘along’

the Old Babine’ Trail north

Friends from Hazelton
and his son join him to hunt

for moose, deer and grouse.

They split all their meat,

such as the two moose he

got last year, and make lots

of summer sausage and fry

sausage.

The future

FIFTEEN PEOPLE gathered
at a recent monthly meeting

of the Northwest B.C. Métis -

Association, a: ‘mixture ‘of

-young and old, men and
_° vide what it promised.”

women and children.

hei is learning about their heritage.

- ture and language is passed .

3

Mason . -Kroeker, 9, sits -
- quietly and plays marbles :
_ while his mom _ Heather,
the association’s president, .
‘leads the meeting.
"She says even though he .
‘plays throughout the eve-
‘ning, Mason does listen and
‘takes in-the information he.
hears. He is* very’ interested’ 7
‘in’ the’! Métis" cultute, she.»
says. oe

She wants him to have
opportunities to receive gov-
ernment money for technical —
or post-secondary education,
hunting rights and language
rights.

_ “We're just fighting for
our rights guaranteed to us
by [the Constitution] and to ,
ensure our’ traditional cul-

Ne

“down,” she says. .
“Pm very, "proud: of our...
heritage, I'd like .to’ see a.“

very.strong Métis nation and ‘|

for the government to pro-. ab

g
oo

anyone’ s memories.

yee
u

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - AS:

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD
The Mail Bag

_ Year around centre.
oe needed for Terrace

Dear Sir:
On again, off again, on ‘again — . the sports ‘complex
blues. Maybe someone is trying to tell Terrace council '

something.
In 1999, voters in town agreed by a small: ‘margin to

build a new sportsplex. The rural voters didn’t agree —

probably because to use the old rink enough means extra.
cost to commute, so why agree to pay even more for a
new one?

Perhaps Terrace council should look at buildirig a
cheaper complex that could be used by all our young peo-"
ple all year long without such’a large amount of cash.

-Our rink is used for a few months of the year, mainly
"for hockey and skating. Both of which’are too expensive
for most families to even think about. How about a center
for all of us all year round?
“ James Piper,

nn Terrace, B.C.

set
a " Loy? a

‘Noti in school, please _

Dear Sir:

‘The recent Supreme Court ruling that allowed a ‘Sikh
youth | to .wear his ceremonial dagger to. school i ds abso
lutely astounding, | , ‘

_When applying to immigrate to Canada, the provision.

_ should be that they: leave such provocative symbols be-
‘hind.’ | >,
"This is Canada and if you want to come to Canada,
these are our rules. If you don’ tlike them fair enough, stay

_ where you are. : md
How could our supreme court rule such a decision?
. ,. >. DL. Bulleid, |
cr “Terrace, B.C Cc.’

Choose another way
to honour Vesta Douglas.

An open letter to:
The Coast Mountains School District
I and a number of oldtimers were very distressed to.

our Mrs. Vesta Douglas.
~ Many of our children went to Uplands when i it was first

‘built. Our children’s childhood memories are all associ- oe

ated with Uplands.

a!

read the article about renaming one of two schools to hon- “i.

oa

°~ [realize other schools havé been named: after oldtiti.

_.ers, justly so. These schools were ‘named as they. were.
’ built, not changed later on.

By changing the name, you strip some of their heritage: Pao ve

from these many students, teachers and principals. ' fo

Mr. .Meek no doubt had? Mrs: Douglas’ s.. interest at
- heart; but please don’t take away the memories from hun- «-
dreds of others by changing the name. Even the awards.
they won from Uplands will not be so special anymore.

So often newcomers, as we oldtimers see them, come
up with new ideas, with no thought of how. things came to -
“ be -bechuse ihey;: of course, do‘not’know the history. ~

ci; Weare: proud’ ofall: aspects of ‘the history ‘of ‘Terrace :

_and, in fact there are still many around that remember the

~ facts. < ,
‘Surely there is ; ‘something, somewhere that i is suitable

c

to honour Mrs. Douglas j without disturbing other people’ Ss.

memories...

» 1 would like to ‘suggest naming the new school on the
bench which is now called Mountainview, as it does not
carry any person’s name as yet, therefore should not upset -

Jo Sandhals, * ,
_ (Terrace, B: Cc.

Won't be belittled~

> Dear Sir: - ee

.. I want to ‘give: Jen: Paquette from Edmonton’ my: feed
back on the letter she wrote to The Terrace Standard con- -
cerning ‘the $100 million the provincial government is..

. providing aboriginal people to better enable themselves: .
_to make resource use and other decisions.° She feels the;
“province, shouldn’t be giving money to just one group. °

'. It is very obvious that you are jealous and don’t have*
the knowledge of why the government is giving First Na-

“tions money. The government has always separated us: °:

"from everyone ‘elsé. ‘It has been going on for hundreds of
years, or have you forgotten?!”

‘Tam First Nations. I have a great job, an education and |
will not be belittled by your ignorance and stereotyping. I.
“pay property taxes just like everyone else. I am Proud of
my nationality regardless of what ‘you think.

Who do you think you are talking down to ‘First Na-”
tions like we don’ t know how to work or go to’ ‘school?.°

. _ Diane Lukassser,
‘Terrace, B. c

“Music festival remains |
a northwest treasure

‘Dear Sir:

Tam writing as a father and a grandfather of perform
ers who took part-in this: year’ s Pacific Northwest Per- -
forming Arts Festival.

. After attending. a nuinber of. sessions ; at this festival |
‘Tam moved to. express. appreciation. for:the many: hours.
expended by all of the volunteers who organize this fes-
tival. a
' Thanks. also are extended. to. the. ‘many outstanding
teachers who bring the gifts of the performing # arts. to the

. children and adults of this community.

‘I do quite a bit of adjudicating myself, and am ‘always
impressed, by:.the high standard that is ' ‘achieved ‘by s sO_

' many of the participants’involved ‘here. This can come .

only from having dedicated and competent teachers, SUP.
 portive parents, and. inspired students. : °°.
_ Terrace has much to be proud of i in this festival and its:
‘scores of people irivolved. - bogs :

-. The ‘arts make a. community: liveable an
oPhank you for: ‘amaking uch'a‘community:

“About the Mail Bag

‘The’ Tertaee Standard. welcomes’ letters.. Our address
is 3210 Clinton St; Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2, You can’
fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom@..
terracestandard.com. No attachments, please. Name,
address and phone number required for. verification.

a

Green Lake (Cariboo) »B. c. ae

wy

ton
uh