Submitted by: MNO North Channel Métis Council President Yvonne Jensen
(Left-right): Tammy Morningstar, Roxanne McCoy,MNO North Channel Métis Council PresidentYvonne Jensen, MNO Historic Sault St. Marie MétisCouncil Secretary Steve Gjos, MNO Historic SaultSt. Marie Métis Council President Kim Powley andPCMNO Youth Representative Mitch Case. Clickhere for larger picture.On September 14, 2017, Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) North Channel Métis Council President Yvonne Jensen and a crew from her Council, the MNO Historic Sault St. Marie Métis Council (HSSMC) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) met at the Mississauga Delta Cemetery.
The crew included HSSMC President Kim Powley, Provisional Council of the Métis Nation of Ontario (PCMNO) Youth Representative Mitch Case, MNO HSSMC Secretary Steve Gjos and Roxanne McCoy and Tammy Morningstar who are President Jensen’s cousins and Tamara Flanigan from the MNRF and two of her co-workers.
Several of President Jensen’s ancestors are in the cemetery, which was in quite a state of disrepair. Restoring the cemetery was very important to President Jensen who has been working with Flanigan for four years to try to get permission to have the cemetery cleared up. Flanigan recently received the ok to proceed with the clean up.
To reach the cemetery, Flanigan and her co-workers paddled in by canoe and the rest of the workers went by boat.
Throughout the cemetery there were fallen branches from trees and overgrown of weeds and bushings that covered most of the tombstones. Flanigan`s team went in and did a lot of the heavy work including chain sawing and cutting a lot of tree debris.
Secretary Gjos and Representative Case performed a smudging ceremony for the area and also performed a pipe ceremony. Afterwards, the workers placed red roses on all of the tombstones.
There are 14 people buried at the cemetery that the workers clearly identified.
A big thank you to the MNRF, Flanigan and her team for helping the MNO get this cemetery restored.
Posted: October 16, 2017