Batoche Historic Site lands to be transferred back to Métis people of Saskatchewan-صحيفة الصوت

Land at the Batoche National Historic Site, an area significant and close to Métis people’s hearts in Saskatchewan, will be transferred back to Métis control, the federal government announced Friday.

A federal news release said the transfer will include 690 hectares of land at Batoche, located 78 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

No fixed date for the transfer has yet been announced.

“The Batoche grounds have always been important to our Métis citizens, our history and the resistance,” Métis Nation-Saskatchewan president Glen McCallum said in a news release.

“The repatriation of Batoche lands is tangible and starts the path to reconciliation.”

McCallum said Métis people will determine what the best use of the repatriated lands is and that their ancestors’ ultimate sacrifices will be honoured.

The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan will specifically be responsible for the western lands of the National Historic Site.

Batoche was founded in 1872 by Xavier Letendre, a Métis merchant who established a ferry service on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River at a village he nicknamed Batoche. 

Batoche was where Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont and a Métis provisional government battled with armed federal government forces, marking the end of the 1885 Northwest Resistance.

“These lands hold deep cultural, spiritual and historic significance for the citizens of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan,” the federal government’s statement said. 

“Parks Canada has long worked with Métis at Batoche National Historic Site, and this transfer of land and commitment to collaborative management marks a significant step in the ongoing relationship” 

In 1996 the federal government transferred the Back to Batoche festival grounds to Métis ownership. That land is now managed by the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan. In 1998 Parks Canada and the Métis Nation-Saskatchewn entered into a shared management partnership agreement to maintain the historic site. 

Minister of Northern Affairs, Prairies and Economic Development Canada Daneil Vandal and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada and Parks Canada Steven Guilbeault attended the 50th annual Back to Batoche event Friday at the national historic site, where the announcement was made. 

The event celebrates Métis culture, honours Métis veterans and gives Métis people a chance to reconnect with their homeland.