The Métis Nation of Alberta Region One office is hosting registry session this week in the hopes of creating a larger listing of Metis people in the region.
MNA Region One covers an area from Highway 28 North to the Northwest Territories border and from Athabasca to the Saskatchewan border with approximately 6,000 Metis within its area.
The purpose of the registry session is for self-identified Metis people who don't have their Metis cards to come to the session and start their application processes. The session will be held to help applicants with the Métis Nation of Alberta citizenship processes, commission applications, take photos for the registrations, and to answer any questions people may have.
James Cardinal is the MNA Region One president. According to him, people of Metis heritage comprise a significant percentage of the Albertan population — not only in rural Alberta but the urban centres as well. Of the roughly 115,000 Albertans who identify as Metis, 30,000 reside in Edmonton and about 18,000 in Calgary.
"While Métis live and work in virtually every community in Alberta, the higher populace is seen in the estimated 31, 780 (33 per cent) Métis living in Edmonton, and the 17,040 (18%) in Calgary, making up approximately 55 percent of the total Aboriginal population which together represent the challenges and issues faced by more than half the Métis in the province of Alberta," Cardinal said.
Becoming a citizen of the MNA is an essential part of preserving one's culture and history. Having citizenship cards open doors to various MNA programs and services. In order to emphasize how important it is to register and get citizenship cards, Cardinal also speaks about some of the different privileges that Metis people have (in comparison to non-Metis people) — one of the most important aspect being identity itself. He also provides some more numerical facts about Metis people in the Lac La Biche region.
"Becoming a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta gives access to cultural enrichment programs, scholarships, skills training, housing, hunting and harvesting rights and more," Cardinal added, "Now is the time to grow and being recognized by the government as a nation. It is a great time to get stronger. We have about 2,500 self identified Metis in Lac La Biche alone. We have around 1,200 who are cardholders, and now that we have harvesting rights, it's time for our people to practice their culture and their tradition. Although every day and every year is the right time to register and claim who you are. What I would like to see is for the MNA and Metis settlements to become one. We are all Metis people."
Registry Session
Lac La Biche MNA Region One office (10104 102 Ave.)
3:30 pm – 7:30 pm
