Northeast Métis elders meet to discuss Library on Wheels project – SaskToday.ca

Feb 16, 2023

TISDALE — Métis elders based in the Northeast gathered to discuss their Library on Wheels project, health, Gabriel Dumont Institute and roundtable discussions.

The Métis Nation Saskatchewan Eastern Region II Elders’ Branch Gathering was held in Tisdale on Feb. 8. The meeting was co-ordinated by Métis Nation Saskatchewan Eastern Region II.

Brent Digness, the director for Eastern Region II – which includes Tisdale, Porcupine Plain, Melfort, Nipawin, Wynyard, Preeceville and Hudson Bay – said he was glad to see the gathering and hopes to see more of them in his area.

Elder Margaret Harrison spoke about the mobile library. She spearheaded this idea to bring this library to communities around the northeast, throughout Eastern Region II. Since she started the ‘Library on Wheels’ last year, she has accumulated approximately $5,000 worth of Indigenous books, mainly from the Gabriel Dumont Institute. ER II Elders’ Branch recently received new wheels in the purchase of a van to help store and keep all the books inside, as well as to bring these books and craft workshops around the region. Elder Harrison said that her work and this program is specifically for the elders and the elderly of her communities. There is a youth component, because they want to mentor and teach the children their stories, Michif language, and traditional crafting.

Read More: https://www.sasktoday.ca/north/humboldt-journal/northeast-metis-elders-meet-to-discuss-library-on-wheels-project-6570521