The East Prairie Metis Settlement’s roots go back to the 1930s when the “Famous Five” pressured the Alberta governnment to respect their rights and award land in the form of “colonies.”
It was the Metis Betterment Act that was passed in 1939 that gave birth to the colonies, which were eventually renamed settlements.
Elder John Supernault has called the East Prairie Metis Settlement home for 70 years.
While he wasn’t born here, he has lived in the community since he was a child.
His mother is the oldest person in the community.
Outside of Alberta, Metis settlements are a bit of a secret. Not that many even know that there are eight settlements of land for for use exclusively for the Metis people of Alberta.
It’s a large area with a total size of half a million hectares, the Metis settlements are home to 5,000 members who are 18 or older.
In this series, we see the beginnings of the Metis settlements.
Wrong name in the title and first sentence. It’s East Prairie not Paddle