Guide to Indian Country - June, 2005 Wikwemikong celebrates with cultural festival First Nations committee to successful summer games Riel's life celebrated Kasabonika catches the eye of tourists Crown-maker says beading is her medicine Centennial event celebrates history of Cypress Hills Arctic cruises provide unique experience Trail leads back to Batoche

WINDSPEAKER'S ABORIGINAL TOURISM SUPPLEMENT Phone: (780) 455-2700Fax (780) 455-7639 Email: edwind@ammsa.com Trail leads back to Batoche By George Young, Windspeaker Staff Writer The Red River Metis Heritage Group plans to load up their Red River carts and take a journey from the small Metis community of San Clara, Man. to arrive July 21 in Batoche, Sask., just in time for the opening ceremonies of the Back to Batoche annual celebration of Metis history and culture. The organization is a cultural group with no political affiliation. They raise their own funds and journey to promote Metis culture. The group formed out of the need for a project that would involve many. Members decided to build Red River carts and drive them to the North American Indigenous Games in Winnipeg in 2002. The project was so successful that they decided to continue and recreate a tradition of cart building and trail riding. Part of the celebration in this year's journey to Batoche is to commemorate the centennial of the province of Saskatchewan. The Back to Batoche Metis Journey and Trail Ride actually started in St. Norbert, Man. last year. The group decided that the journey to Batoche was too long to make in one year, so they picked a mid-way point of San Clara, about 300 miles by trail from Batoche. Armand Jerome, president of the heritage group, explained why the journey is important. "After 1885 we were kind of the forgotten people for many years. But in the last 20 years, and especially the last five years, we have come into our own. This is a monument to the resiliency of the Metis people and their culture," he said. Jerome was quick to point out that while this project is driven by Aboriginal people, the group and trail ride includes non-Aboriginal members. "This is a sign that the Metis people really believed in sharing their area with the Europeans." Jerome said that every night on the journey there will be a sharing circle held, to which Elders from the towns where the trail ride stops are invited. He said the sharing circles can get quite emotional. "Last year we were in Carberry and met a group called the Manitoba Muzzle Loaders. We had a sharing circle with them and they were so emotionally involved with our group that they gave us a flag they had just specifically ordered. It was a gathering flag that the Metis used on the buffalo hunts. It is a small flag and it has three crosses on it. Every time we camp we have this flag up as a promise to these people that we would put the flag up. In a way, our journey is reminiscent of a buffalo hunt in that we send out scouts." Armond Jerome said the cultural journey to Batoche is also a spiritual one. They began it with a smudging ceremony. "We have a cart hub that we filled with water at the ceremony and we had it blessed by a Metis priest. We are bringing this water to Batoche and we are going to be blessing the crosses there with it," he said. Oral Hogan is the group's head cart builder. He said the carts are very true to the original carts made by Metis more than 150 years ago. "We have blueprints and we have looked at carts in museums, read books, and we make them the way the old Metis made them. They have six-foot wheels and they carry five to six hundred pounds, pulled by a single horse," said Hogan. Jerome said the original carts had wood-on-wood axles, and could only travel about 100 miles before repairs had to be made. With the new carts they cheat a little bit by using graphite on the axles to make them last longer. Jerome also said the trail ride also has a modern air, because it includes motor vehicles, trucks and motor homes. "We have many older and retired people on the ride, and this is not an endurance journey where everyone is riding horses and sleeping in tents every night." Jerome said they have had some people tell them they should be completely authentic, sleeping in tipis, travelling only the old trails, and the like. But he believes it is the spirit of the journey that is important, as portions of the old trails no longer exist, and they are not seeking to exclude anyone from the journey. If you are interested in joining the Back to Batoche Metis Journey and Trail Ride, places are available for a nominal fee. You can contact Armand Jerome at ajerome@mts.net for more details. Back to Batoche is held from July 21 to 24.