MMF holds opening ceremonies for Ste. Madeleine Métis Days

August 22, 2026

Ste. Madeleine, MB, in the National Homeland of the Red River Métis - Today, the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the National Government of the Red River Métis, held the opening ceremony for Ste. Madeleine Métis Days, the celebration and commemoration of the village of Ste. Madeleine, the historic site where a Red River Metis village was burnt to the ground to make room for cattle pasturing.

"After a year where we were forced to cancel our celebrations due to wildfires, and a delay this year due to flooding, it's good to be back to Ste. Madeleine," said David Chartrand, President of the MMF. "I know many people were lonesome for the sense of community, the music, and the laughter that come with our gathering, particularly the Elders and descendants of Ste. Madeleine."

While the weekend's festivities brought joy and laughter to the participants, the Red River Métis community also came together to honour the people of Ste. Madeleine. It was in the 1930s, during the height of the Great Depression, that the government determined that the village that had stood for more than 40 years and was home to hundreds of people should be removed and the land dedicated to cattle pastures.

While the families were away for the summer, earning a living harvesting from the land or working for local farmers, their homes were burned. Families, some with 10 or more children, came home from their summer's labour to find ashes where there had once been homes and a community. Winter clothing, household supplies, schoolbooks, and foodstuffs were burned. Family dogs were shot. Oral tradition suggests that Ste. Madeleine's church was dismantled and used to build a pig barn in St. Lazare.

"Manitobans and Canadians should understand that what happened to Ste. Madeleine took place in the 1900s, not the 1800s," said President Chartrand. "The anger, the hurt, and the pain of this should be in everyone's hearts, considering what was done to human beings and fellow Canadians in the name of Manitoba and Canada. Not one person spoke against these actions, and today, people still don't want to remember this shameful time in history. To this day, the anger I feel about what was done to the residents of Ste. Madeleine is one of the reasons I fight for Red River Métis rights and recognition."

A monument detailing some of the history of the town will be unveiled over the weekend, as part of the MMF repatriating the land surrounding the cemetery.

"Ste. Madeleine is more than a place for the Red River Métis - it is a feeling," said President Chartrand. "The feeling of coming home, of sharing culture together, and feeling the connection between the land and you. We come back here for that reason, and because of the people who rest here, the people who descend from them, and because we can never forget what we fight for."

 

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For more information, media may contact:
Kat Patenaude
Media Relations Advisor
Manitoba Métis Federation
204-801-7710
Kat.Patenaude@mmf.mb.ca

 

Believe in Yourself; Believe in Métis.

The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) is the democratically elected National Government of the Red River Métis, also known as the Manitoba Métis. The Red River Métis are a distinct Indigenous Nation and People and Canada's Negotiating Partners in Confederation and the Founders of the Province of Manitoba.

 

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