Youth have a long a history of making significant contributions to Métis culture, politics, and arts. Louis Riel himself was under 30 years of age during the 1869 Red River Resistance. Bailey Oster is proudly carrying on this tradition, having started her involvement in Métis government leadership at just 15 years of age, and having been elected the Vice-President of the Métis women’s organization, New Dawn, when she was only 19. In a short span, Bailey rose to the position of Director of Youth Programs and Services for the Métis Nation of Alberta (now the Otipemisiwak Métis Government), and today is the senior policy advisor of intergovernmental and international relations with the Métis National Council.
In this episode, Bailey tells host David Wylynko how she went from “broke college kid” to a delegate at the United Nations. She describes what works when it comes to bringing young people together to preserve their culture (kitchen tables) and what doesn’t work (smart phones). She also reflects on the astounding success of the book she found time to edit along with Marilyn Lizee. Stories of Métis Women: Tales My Kookum Told Me covers a great range of subjects, including nation-building, culture, identity, and resilience, as well as the disheartening experiences of residential schools, discrimination, and racism.
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