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Batoche National Historic Site

Lessons From A Métis-Led Snowshoe Through Elk Island National Park

Keith Diakiw deftly wraps a red-striped Métis sash over my winter coat and around my waist, tying it loosely on the left to signify that I’m taken and not single. One of my fellow “geo-explorers” opts to have her sash tied in the middle as a hard-working Voyageur would have during the fur trade era. Another chooses to be a Métis princess with the sash wrapped over her left shoulder across her heart.

Parks Canada's Most Memorable Public Toilets Of 2022

Call them what you like — outhouses, pit privies, vault toilets, washrooms, bathrooms or just plain old public toilets. When you spend the year touring Parks Canada's national historic sites and national parks for stories — like I just did — you'll need to use the facilities on a regular basis. And by facilities, I don't mean the "facilitrees" when you're desparate and have to go in the great outdoors, and I don't mean the cush indoor ones with flush toilets found in heated/air-conditioned visitor centers. I mean the standalone ones that aren't always as clean and fragant as you'd like and where you consider yourself lucky if there's a good supply of toilet paper and sanitizer.

Visiting Batoche, The Spiritual Capital Of The Saskatchewan Métis

In the café at Batoche National Historic Site, cooks transform bison from Parks Canada’s herd into stew and burgers, and local Saskatoon berries into iced tea and tarts. In the exhibition room, I try rug hooking while surrounded by the colorful creations of traditional Métis rug makers like Margaret Harrison. In the gift shop run by the Friends of Batoche, I buy a book that shares Métis Elder stories about important river plants in the area like pasture sage, chokecherry and cattail, and notes their names in Michif.

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