Long-planned Mtis National Heritage Centre in Winnipeg gets $5M boost

A first-of-its-kind Mtis National Heritage Centre in the works for nearly 15 years is getting a multimillion-dollarlift from the federal government.

Carolyn Bennett, minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations,announcedmore than $5 million in funding on Friday for the construction of the Winnipeg-based centre.

The facility, whichwill showcase the contributionsof Mtis people to the development of Canada, is key to advancing reconciliation,a news release about the funding announcement states.

"Thefirst-of-its-kind in Canada, theMtis National Heritage Centrewillprovidemembers of the Mtis nation withan opportunity to tell their story," the news release says.

"Itwill provideCanadianswithan opportunity tolearn abouttheheritage, language, culture, methods of governance, and contributionsof the Mtisnation before, during, and after Confederation."

There is no timeline for the start of construction,and a location has yet to be finalized. ButManitoba Metis Federation presidentDavid Chartrandlauded Friday's announcement as a major step forward.

"I am so pleased this heritagecentrewillbe inthe birthplace of the Mtisnation and the heart of the Mtisnation homeland," he said in a news release.

"This is our home. This is our land. As partners in Confederationand as neighbours and friends, I look forward to the day when I can welcome visitors from Manitoba, and indeed from around the world, to this centre of excellence.

"By teaching our history to other Canadians,we are able to reaffirm our place in confederation and the rights that come with it."

The Mtiscontribution to Canada is still not well known, Bennett said,and the new centre "will teach Canadians what, unfortunately, most of us never learned in school."

The minister added the centre will celebrate Mtisaccomplishments but also delve into dark chapters, like "the terrible tragedy of Louis Riel [hanged for treason in 1885 and nowrecognized as a founder of Manitoba], who was a member of Parliament but never allowed to take his seat."

"There are so many stories and histories."

Long time coming

Chartrandsaid he was first asked in the 1990s to start lobbying for the development of aMtismuseum.

"It's something we've been waiting for, for a long, long time," he said on Friday. "There's none like it nowhere else in the world."

A feasibility study and business plan was completed in 2005 and it was estimated at that time that the proposed 40,000-square-foot facility would cost a minimum of $20 million to build.

The hope at that time wasto start construction by 2008 and locate it in Bonnycastle Park, near the corner of Assiniboine Avenue and Main Street.

At the time, however, city officials said they had not been approached about using the land at Bonnycastle Park.

Little was heard again about the heritage centre until2015, when theManitoba Metis Federationagain announced funding from the federal government and identified Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park across Assiniboine from Bonnycastle Park as the spot the centre would be built.

The centre was described at that time as a place where the history of the Mtis nation and their significant role in the development of Canada would be presented through exhibitions, workshops, presentations and community gatherings.

In 2017, the federal government and RCMP agreed to return a series of artifacts connected to Mtis leader Louis Riel his crucifix, knife and a book of poetry to the Mtis people in 2018, when it believed the heritage centre would finally be opened.