Senator Thistle And Susan Schank
(Left-right): MNO Great Lakes Métis Council
members Senator Ralph Wolf Thistle and Office
Coordinator Susan Schank. (Photo by: Nelson
Phillips) Click here for larger picture.

On June 22, 2017, Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Great Lakes Métis Council (GLMC) Senator Ralph Wolf Thistle and Office Coordinator Susan Schank participated in the Indigenous 150+ event in Owen Sound. The event was launched to help non-Indigenous people gain a better understanding of their Indigenous neighbours.

Senator Thistle provided a brief history of the Métis history and culture and also answered questions from attendees.

Indigenous 150+ was at the Roxy theatre and included prayers, drumming, Métis teaching and the screening of two short films.

Indigenous 150+ was described as honouring a movement to “put Indigenous voices at the centre of the commemoration and Canada’s 150th anniversary.”

The Indigenous 150+ event addressed two of the 94 Calls to Action made in 2015 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by fostering co-operation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and creating ways to work together.

“I want other Canadians to know that this is Métis and First Nations land that we stand on,” said Senator Thistle. “And the Métis and the First Nations were a big part of the building of this nation.”

The founding partners of Indigenous 150+ included the M’Wikwedong Native Cultural Centre, the MNO GLMC, First Peoples Group, City of Owen Sound, City of Niagara Falls, Ontario Power Generation, NationTalk and the Ontario Arts Council.

Posted: August 1, 2017