New Red River cart installation highlights Métis culture at Tourism Moose Jaw – SaskToday.ca

Aug. 1, 2025

Moose Jaw’s position as a major crossroads in pre-railroad Canada underlines the significance of the cart’s new placement at the tourism centre, connecting contemporary visitors to the region’s deep Métis and transport history.

MOOSE JAW — A newly installed Red River cart at the Tourism Moose Jaw kiosk is the latest tribute to the ingenuity and legacy of the Métis people on the Prairies — and a proud step toward deeper cultural visibility in the city’s tourism landscape.

Installed recently in partnership with the New Southern Plains Métis Local No. 160, the full-size cart is a custom-built steel replica, constructed to historical specifications based on an 1850 model from the Smithsonian Institution.

“The cart itself came from a set of prints we took from the Smithsonian Institute in the United States,” said Darrell Hawman, president of the Métis Local No. 160. “It was (built) from (plans for) a traditional Red River cart in 1850 and it was built to spec by the welders at Sask Polytech, (led by) a master welder, Rick Thibault. He spent at least a couple hundred hours, I think, on it.”

Read More: https://www.sasktoday.ca/southwest/new-red-river-cart-installation-highlights-metis-culture-at-tourism-moose-jaw-11008631