Beyond Land Acknowledgements - Stories From the Métis Culture

Sunday, June 1, you are invited to share a Soup & Bannock supper, followed by a talk from Beatrice Demetrius.

Most of the speakers in our series have been Indigenous, and spoken from that experience. Beatrice, on the other hand, will be speaking from her roots and lifelong experience in Métis culture.

Beatrice Demetrius neé Jobin is a Beatrice Demetrius neé Jobin is a Métis mother, grandmother, and chapan (great-grandmother). She grew up in the Alberta farming community of Big Prairie with seven siblings; both parents were Métis.

She worked at the Métis Nation for many years as their lead genealogist and was a member of the Métis culture team, travelling to many different archives in Canada and also to the Utah research centre.

She retired in 2018 but has continued working on a contract basis, researching Métis soldiers of WWI, WWII, and Korea. She has completed and verified the genealogy of over 7000 Métis soldiers to date.

Beatrice is an Elder of the Métis National Council Veterans of Canada and, in April of this year, travelled to Europe to place Métis flags on soldier’s graves at Groesbeek and Holten, Holland.

Beatrice’s knowledge and skill continues to be in high demand; she continues to promote Métis culture and history when asked to do so.

You can expect to be both educated and delighted by this wonderful storyteller!

Event Details:

5:30 pm — Doors open for in-person attendees

6:00 pm — Soup and bannock served (Vegetarian option available)

6:45 pm — Speaker

NOTE: Zoom, on-line attendance opens at 6:40.

ZOOM LINK: https://​zoom​.us/​j​/​9​8​4​2​0​5​85342

You must Register in order to attend. In order to discourage ​‘no-shows’ we are now charging a nominal fee of $5 per person (no charge if attending via Zoom). If this represents a barrier for you, please contact paywhatyoucan@​westwoodunitarian.​ca

This is the final talk of Westwood’s Beyond Land Acknowledgements series which has been ongoing since 2023. We are grateful to all the speakers who have come to Westwood to share their knowledge and their experiences.

PLEASE NOTE: for the health of everyone, we request that you refrain from using scented hygiene products on the day you attend. Westwood is a SCENT-FREE space.