MONUMENTAL METIS
‘This is quite a deal,’ says war vet
George Raymond, a veteran of Korea and other battles, poses for a photograph in front of a new monument created to recognize the remarkable efforts of Metis Veterans during Back to Batoche Days in Batoche Saturday.
BATOCHE — Cancer radiation therapy has sapped George Raymond’s energy, but the Korean War veteran wasn’t going to miss something he’s waited decades to see.
“This is quite a deal. To honour us in this way is a great thing,” Raymond said Saturday on the grounds of the annual Back to Batoche festival.
Raymond and his family have made the trek to Batoche from their homes in Ile-a-la-Crosse several times before, but it wasn’t the fiddling, square-dancing or jig contests that drew them this year.
A monument honouring Metis veterans from the 1885 resistance up to the Korean War was unveiled in a ceremony attended by hundreds.
Raymond, 78, said there used to be a group of 21 veterans in Ile-a-la-Crosse, but he’s the last one left. He said the monument will help others to learn about the conflicts and to understand the substantial contribution of Metis people.
Metis Nation-Saskatchewan President Robert Doucette said 7,000 names of veterans will soon be inscribed on the monument. He said efforts will then be made to honour veterans who served in Afghanistan and various peacekeeping missions.
Like First Nations soldiers, Metis veterans were denied land and other benefits given to non-aboriginal soldiers. The 1885 veterans were forced to fight at Batoche to defend their homes and it’s appropriate the monument is built here.
“It’s hallowed ground out here. This is our homeland,” Doucette said.
The inscription on the monument reads:
“To honour and remember all veterans and to express our pride and gratitude to the Metis servicemen and servicewomen who bravely served our country to preserve our freedom.”
A few hundred metres from the solemnity of the monument, fiddlers, facepainters and others entertained the crowd.
Prince Albert’s Northern Prairie Dancers were back for the fourth year in a row and began with an energetic jig.
“It gives me a positive energy, clears my mind,” said dancer Dakota Ballantyne.
Coming off the dance floor following a Virginia Reel, Bruce Dumont of Victoria, B.C. and Doreen Bergum of Olds, Alta., said they also love the positive energy of the festival.
“It’s all about getting the crowd involved,” Bergum said.
They said it’s important to celebrate and share Metis culture with the youth.
“I love to dance, but I also come to respect the history of my parents and my ancestors,” Dumont said.
One of Back to Batoche’s organizers, Gayleen Poulin, said the monument unveiling and other events drew thousands to the festival. Every campsite was booked and the overflow spaces filled quickly as well.
“It was awesome,” she said. “The sun was shining. There was a bit of wind, so no bugs.”
She said a group who came from France were typical of the increasing diversity of the annual event.
“It’s always been a cultural meeting place for Metis people, but lots of other folks are coming, too,” she said.