Metis radio is now on the air.

TORONTO

Louis Riel once said, "Our people will sleep for 100 years, and when they awaken, it will be the artists who bring their spirits back." For Tony Belcourt, the president of the Metis Nation of Ontario (MNO) and the chair of the MNO Cultural Commission, this is exactly what's happening.

"It's gratifying to see how Riel's prophecy has been unfolding. On March 10, with a gala Metis jamboree to celebrate the global launch of www.metisradio.fm, we will have the opportunity to see just how profound Riel's prediction turned out to be," wrote Belcourt in a recent statement announcing the launch of a new Metis radio station.

The web-based station is the first of its kind. On March 10, it went live on the Internet at a gala event at The Berkeley Church in downtown Toronto. Tantoo Cardinal and Ray St. Germain hosted the Aboriginal star-filled event, which included performances by John Landry, winner of the Canadian Country Music Association's Independent Male Artist of the Year Award, Metis fiddle legend John Arcand, and Clint Dutiaume, winner of the first Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for Best Fiddle Album: Willie Dunn, Likewater, Krystle Pederson, Maria Campbell, and the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Singers are also among the 21 artists who took part in the gala event. Aboriginal rights lawyer Jean Teillet, who is also the great-grandniece of Riel, was also on hand for the launch and Metis Elder Marion Larkman said the opening prayer.

Landry was especially proud of participating in the launch of the radio station.

"I am honoured that Mr. Belcourt, the president of the Metis Nation of Ontario, would select me to participate in this historical event. The launch of metisradio.fm will help continue to solidify this generation as well as those generations to come. Through the form of the arts, so amply shown in the talent of our country, this launch will educate both non--Aboriginal, Metis and Aboriginal people of the solid traditions, beliefs and culture they have carried on for centuries. This is truly a positive step, which I am honoured to be a part of," said Landry in a press release issued before the event.

Nicolas Vrooman, a Metis folklorist and historian, also made a presentation at the gala. He provided the radio station with his large collection of interviews and music recordings done with Metis Elders from the Turtle Mountain reservation in North Dakota. The Elders were in their 80s and 90s when recordings were made in 1985 and they tell 500 year-old stories in conjunction with songs sung in the Mechif language.

"People who tune in will, for the first time, be able to see the wonderful history and culture of the Metis people unfold through our music and the stories that go with them," Belcourt said.

The Metis Internet radio station exists thanks to the countless hours of effort by volunteers over the last two years.

Listeners will not be able to download music off the site as all programs are streamlined and pre-recorded. The MNO does hope to eventually have someone sitting in a booth doing live shows, but for now getting the word out about the station is its priority, said Katelin Peltier, a communications officer with the MNO.

By DEIRDRE TOMBS

Birchbark writer