President's Corner: October 3, 2025
Posted on: Oct 03, 2025
This week we recognized the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
September 30th is a day of truth-telling. It is a day where we honoured the Survivors of residential schools, we remembered the children who never came home, whose lives were stolen, and whose absence is felt in every Indigenous community across this country.
As Métis people, we know these truths not as distant history but as lived experience.
The legacy of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and other colonial policies lives in our families. It lives in the silences where language was lost, in the disconnection from land and culture, and the trauma that has carried across generations.
And yet, alongside those truths, we also carry the strength of our ancestors, their determination to survive, to govern ourselves, and to pass on our stories, songs, and teachings.
Reconciliation is not a single day, but ongoing work that lives in our communities, governments, and families.
For the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, that work is being carried forward every day by your elected Representatives.
This week, I was honoured to join Citizens and families at Métis Crossing’s event to recognize this important day. At the same time,
Secretary Sarah Wolfe represented our government alongside Minister Sawhney and the Government of Alberta in Edmonton.
In Fort Vermilion, when County Council denied the repainting of the Truth and Reconciliation crosswalk first painted by Citizen Judy Ducharme in 2022, Citizens’ Representative, Bobbi Paul- Alook helped lead a collaboration with Treaty 8 and the Holy Family Catholic School Division. Out of disappointment came something powerful, a new Every Child Matters mural and flag now stand at the site of the former St. Mary’s School.
In Slave Lake, thanks to the advocacy of Secretary Grant Lacombe, a Métis flag now flies proudly alongside others in the community.
This week, Citizens may also have seen my op-ed with Secretary Kaila Mitchell in the Edmonton Journal on Métis ties to Jasper. We reminded Canadians that reconciliation also means recognizing and repairing the displacement of Métis families from their homes in Jasper National Park. You can read the piece here: Opinion: For Métis, reconciliation also means a return to Jasper.
These acts may seem small, but they are meaningful steps toward truth, visibility, and healing.
Looking ahead, we are entering an important season for our democracy. I want to encourage every Citizen to once again make your voice heard and vote in the upcoming elections. We know the Canada Post strike has disrupted mail-in ballots for the early voting period, so I encourage everyone to follow along for the latest information from the Chief Electoral Officer on how to cast your ballot.
Telling our truths, self-government, and democracy all require participation. Whether that’s raising our flag, painting a mural, or voting in an election, every action adds to the collective strength of our government.