They danced the jig, they sang, ate bannock, regaled each other with stories, and proudly displayed their sashes.
The once disenfranchised Metis people also quietly paused to remember the legendary Louis Riel, who spiritual leadership for their unique and rich culture remains after 125 years. With that solemn remembrance, they embraced the honour of their blue infinity flags that fluttered throughout the overcast day on Aug. 16.
The Metis culture came alive in Innisfail after being dormant for more than 120 years, a time when the community was known more as Poplar Grove.
And the emotional gathering of about 100 local and regional Metis citizens at Centennial Park all started with just an idea in early June.
“I was frustrated because there was nothing, nothing to indicate aboriginal people had any participation in settling this area, and that kind of ticked me off,” said Innisfail resident Kay Dahl, whose family traces their history back to the late 1800s. “So I was talking to Diane (Mineault) and said I just wish we could do something. Eventually we will have a (cultural) camp here and our children can come and see how their ancestors lived.”
The daylong event, which did not have time to acquire any municipal or provincial government financial support, was attended by Innisfail town councilors Doug Bos and Gavin Bates, as well as local MLA Kerry Towle. It also featured the appearance of top officials from the Metis Nation of Alberta, including the organization's president Audrey Poitras and vice-president Toby Racette.
“As we create more awareness of who we are as Metis people, more and more want to get involved and wanting to learn about their history and culture, and that is certainly here,” said Poitras, whose organization represents more than 100,000 Metis across the province, with about 4,000 in Central Alberta. “It always takes someone to come out and say, ‘Let's do it.' It took Kay and Diane to make this happen in Innisfail. It is important. There is a lot of our history here. I believe that if this becomes an annual event it will get bigger and bigger every year.”
While the weather was uneven and overcast throughout the day, organizers kept the crowd occupied and energized by highlighting Metis culture through its unique music and dance, which even witnessed Towle taking an enthusiastic turn.
Beverly Lambert, a traditional dancer and cultural facilitator from Surrey, B.C., offered a stunning and passionate exhibition of her Metis culture while urging those attended to never forget their roots, the legacy that was firmly engrained in the western Canadian psyche by Riel.
“I had heard that there had not been a celebration here of Metis culture in 120 years, and I always want to bring people home because we lost our generation of people along the way,” said Lambert, who is originally from Fort Vermilion, AB. “If I have the opportunity to bring people home that is where my spirit is, to bring everybody back.
“When you know as a Metis person that you belong somewhere there is true happiness that comes with that,” added Lambert.
Meanwhile, Mineault, who partnered with Dahl to organize the event with only a single donation - $200 from Racette, said the success of last weekend's gathering has already produced ideas for funding, including from Towle's office, the soon to be locally chartered Kiwanis service group and even from a federal cultural grant program.
”So yes, we are definitely going to do it next year with money,” said Mineault.
But even if this year's celebration was put together with scant funds and just simple inspiration, it produced invaluable pride for local Metis people that will likely never be forgotten or ever taken away.
“I was called an Indian at school. My father told me as a child that the proper term is Metis and I should be proud of it,” said Dahl. “He said never deny it, never be ashamed of it.”
