'Our right to be here': Metis Nation of Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly continues

Jason McKay (also known as 'The Wandering Métis') travels around Saskatchewan sharing Métis stories. (Hallee Mandryk/CTV News)

Discussions regarding the Metis Constitution and recognizing the nation’s culture were continued at day two of the annual Metis Nation of Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly in Regina.

Jason McKay, also known as 'The Wandering Metis', travels around the province, capturing stories, celebrations, cultural events, and the Metis way of life.

He was present at the assembly, documenting the weekend and spoke to CTV News about the importance of such gatherings – and how citizens can get accurate information on the what the nation is working on.

"It's important to attend so you know first-hand what's going on," he explained. "[So] you don't read on Facebook second hand, third hand, fourth hand information. Come here and find out for yourself that as a citizen. If you're a card-carrying citizen, we have the right to be here."

"So, it is important to come to these meetings and just be heard and listen to the democratic process. We as the citizens elected the officials to speak on behalf of us. It's our right to be here to listen to the democratic process again," he added.

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Much of the weekend was spent evaluating the Metis constitution.

However, there were also opportunities for those in attendance to showcase their culture through a 'Mini Metis market' which featured Metis owned businesses.

McKay expressed that while there may be differing opinions regarding the politics of the event, there is a sense of comradery in being able to take part in the democratic process.

"Whether you're from the north, whether you're from the south or whether you're from the central part of this province, strong. We are all Metis and we should all be sticking together and fighting together like our ancestors did, like Louis Riel did and Gabriel Dumont did," McKay said.

"They gave their lives for us, and so we should all be sticking together instead of instead of fighting each other."

Following the conclusion of the weekend, McKay expressed that he plans to continue travelling around the province and sharing the stories of its Metis people on his platform.

"You'll be able to see the travels that I've done around Saskatchewan so far," McKay said.

"I plan [to keep] going and to the citizens and visiting them where they are, because that's the heartbeat of the nation is the citizens and the citizenship."