News Centre

National Métis Week is held annually in November in the week surrounding Louis Riel Day. Louis Riel Day is observed to remember and honour Riel's leadership and bravery in leading the Métis people of western Canada during the Red River and North-West Resistance.      

The Métis are one of three constitutionally recognized groups of Indigenous people in Canada whose ancestral roots are a combination of European and Indigenous.  The Métis have a distinct culture and language as well as a shared history and many kin relations.  

Louis Riel was a Métis political leader who fought tirelessly to preserve Métis rights and culture. He led the Métis people of western Canada in two resistances against the dominion, with the latter resulting in his hanging on November 16^th, 1885.  Often referred to as the founder of the province of Manitoba, Riel is also credited with being one of the contributors of Confederation.    

Lifting this knowledge asks us to honour the strength, diversity, and rigor of Métis knowledge systems (ways of knowing) that live in this place. In addition to acknowledging this significant week, we must also be thoughtful to continuously include rich learning opportunities about, and in partnership with, the Métis that live and are related through the disciplines.  

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​Metis Elder Edmee Comstock sharing wisdom with students at Niitsitapi Learning Centre.	​Diverse Learning Support Advisor Shane Cunningham supporting Metis education and professional learning Nov. 1, 2019.

 Student A. Alexson's Metis art piece that won a provincial art contest for the Metis Nation of Alberta.