UPDATE: The March 3rd Information session has been postponed indefinitely.
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The Border City Métis Society is hoping to start becoming more community based in Lloydminster.
The society will be hosting an information session for Métis people, in conjunction with the Lloydminster Métis Society on March 3rd, where they hope to discuss concerns facing their community, and work on becoming more recognized by municipal, provincial and federal governments.
Secretary of the Board for the Border City Métis Society Crystal Miller says that the seminar’s focus is uniting to address issues and work on having a larger voice in the community.
“I don’t think people really know what’s going on because they kind of gave up on anything like that when everything became inactive, when the federal government did have a hold on Métis Nation of Saskatchewan’s funds, so nothing trickled down here. I think that they need to know. They’re Métis, it’s part of their culture, there’s exciting new things happening in the federal government right now, that can help people, help their grandchildren, their families. It’s all about being informed.”
Miller says she has reached out to Mayor Gerald Aalbers and Lloydminster MLA in the Saskatchewan Legislature Coleen Young to work on increasing representation for Métis people in Lloydminster.
“I think it’s support. I know that they’re privy to what’s going on federally and it’s very important. There’s a lot of unrest with Aboriginal people right now. I think it would be a good move for them to show their support, to show their involvement.”
The Border City Métis Society also is the parent company for the Border City Aboriginal Headstart Pre-school Program, which Miller says Mayor Aalbers has worked with before, coming to read to the children in the program. She says the Métis community in Lloydminster knowing they have their local representatives’ support would help prevent unrest.
According to the 2016 StatsCan census, there are approximately 1,950 Métis people living in Lloydminster.