The BC Métis Federation research team recently had the privilege of meeting with Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens and City Manager Peter Sparanese. This significant meeting resulted from a letter from BCMF to the mayor and council, expressing BCMF’s desire for inclusion and partnership. During the meeting, the BCMF team had the opportunity to share the Federation’s 2024-25 Action Plan and the community-based work that BCMF is undertaking to repatriate Métis history and memory in BC and across the Pacific Northwest.

Director of Research Joe Desjarlais stated, “I want to thank Mayor Siemens and City Manager Sparanese for their willingness to meet with the BCMF research team. We look forward to building a relationship with the City staff to explore in a good way the long history of Métis presence in the Fraser Valley and to frame a clearer understanding of the injustice Métis people faced. This nuanced and complex history is just starting to come to light. It is evident that this is an evolving and growing relationship between Métis people and the City of Abbotsford, and we will forge a future together.”

During the meeting, the BCMF team explained that Métis people in the Fraser Valley, throughout British Columbia, and across the Pacific Northwest corridor have a rich and enduring history that deserves to be represented. Supported by strong knowledge partnerships with community partners, BCMF’s Research Department is deeply committed to recovering these lost kinship networks and restoring the self-determination of all Métis peoples.