Métis history and culture are the focus of a new ten-part podcast series.
“Paykiiwikay” – which means “come and visit” in Michif – is the product of a partnership between the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and Canadian Geographic.
Métis author and artist Leah Dorion is the host of the series.
She said the podcast is just one example of the current Métis cultural revival.
“You know there’s so much work to do,” Dorion said. “The Métis communities just on this cultural renewal and we’re just so excited to get that floor and be recognized. Us working together in Saskatchewan to preserve Métis from all these different Métis parts of Saskatchewan.”
Michif educator Russell Fayant, musician and actress Andrea Menard and Elder Norman Fleury are just a few of the prominent Métis individuals featured in the series.
“We got to talk to these cultural keepers and I got to ask them questions about why they do what they do and what it means to be Métis and what it’s like to work in culture,” Dorion said. “So, it was just really nice to talk to people about their passions and how they are working to preserve, protect and document Métis culture in Saskatchewan.”
The series is produced by veteran broadcast journalist and foreign correspondent David McGuffin.
To listen to the podcast series, go to the Métis Culture Podcast website.
(PHOTO: Leah Dorion. Photo courtesy Métis Nation-Saskatchewan.)