This project will help to preserve and interpret Métis heritage through exhibits and educational programs. It will also provide an opportunity to house a new and growing collection of Métis artifacts and archival material that is currently dispersed throughout Manitoba. Louis Riel Institute also intends to develop a travelling exhibit which will showcase Métis heritage at events throughout the regions.

As part of the centre, Louis Riel Institute is assembling a database of Métis artifacts from across Canada and around the world. In development for the past few years, the database consists mainly of Métis artwork – beading, quilting, etc. but will also include Métis specific artifacts, oral histories, books, photographs and other valuable archival material that provide a window into the past and which help to celebrate our rich Métis heritage.

Community Consultations

A key component to this project will be community consultations as an effort to identify important Métis heritage collections found in museums and private collections across the province of Manitoba. Research teams will travel throughout Manitoba to meet with members of our Métis communities.

Tragically, heritage collections such as oral histories, photographs and important artifacts are lost to us each year. The information gathered during the community consultations will be added to our database for future reference when developing our interpretive centre’s programming and will help preserve these collections for future generations.

Community members are encouraged to contact us so that their family’s historical artifacts can be documented and photographed.

The Louis Riel Institute hopes the new interpretive centre will increase public awareness and understanding of Metis heritage. This project will also increase the capacity of the LRI to research, collect, preserve and interpret this heritage for the benefit of the Métis people and for all Canadians.

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