Jade Rooney of Yellow Grass is running for President of the Saskatchewan Métis Youth Council. He said he plans to connect the Métis youth with their culture, beginning with the most basic of needs: food.

"A big branch of my platform, probably one of the most central things, is my traditional food procurement plan," said Rooney. "Within the pandemic we've seen how a global supply chain can be interrupted as a nation."

"I believe that food stability for our citizens is of the utmost importance. I'm a firm believer that culture starts at the table and resonates out from there."

"As President of the Métis Youth Council, I will work to put traditional foods on the plates of our Métis youth who otherwise may not have the opportunity to express their culture through Métis cuisine," he shared.

"The first kind of route to this is traditional meat accessibility. I want to create a means of accessibility to traditional meats such as wild game as well as bison."

Rooney noted buffalo was not only essential to the Métis but to First Nations peoples as well as European settlers.

"There was so many and it was so easy for people to hunt them and survive off them that, you know, we have missing out on some of that stuff is kind of a bit of a shame," he expressed.

"By utilizing partnerships with the Ministry of Environment, the Food Bank as well as local farmers and ranchers, I believe that every Métis citizen can have the opportunity to acquire historic and culturally significant meats."

"With rising inflation within Canada, particularly in the grocery store, the time is now to secure our food for the health of our nation."

Rooney said he also wants to establish a seed bank of traditional Métis crops.

"Gardening was and still is today, a significant part of Métis life. Historically, the utilization of various crops and vegetables was a staple. Crops would be stored for the long winter months or traded."

Some of these trades, Rooney pointed out, prevented members of the Hudson Bay Company from starving to death in the harsh winters during the fur trade era.

"The establishment of tradition of a traditional seed bank for the crops historic to the Métis would help to enable food stability of the nation. This would also help in the logistics of getting food to our northern communities.
By offering a seed bank, not only can we give independence to citizens to grow their own food, but we can also accept donations of surpluses to help our most disadvantaged citizens."

Rooney said he also wants to develop a Métis Nation Sk community cookbook.

Other aspects of his platform include a mentorship program, workshops, and graduation sash presentations.

"Having volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters as a high school student, I understand the importance of youth mentorship, not only for the youth but also for the mentor," shared Rooney. "With my program, I strive to pair people together who have knowledge of traditional practices, such as artisans, hunters, and trappers etc, with newcomers to these fields. Not everyone has had the opportunity to participate in some of these very significant traditions, I aim to give all Métis youth that opportunity."

"When I think of Métis, I think of a people who are very resourceful and independent. A historical 'jack of all trades'. Many Métis would participate in a variety of occupations in a single year. It wasn't uncommon to farm during the summers, hunt Buffalo, and trap during the long winters. It is my plan to bring on various workshops that offer practical skills and something for everyone. If elected I will build a comprehensive library of courses and workshops on traditional skills, such as Hunter Safety Classes, Trapping Courses, Sewing workshops, and traditional foods cooking classes, to name a few."

Graduation Sash Presentations are the final part of Rooney's platform.

"The Metis sash is a culturally significant piece of clothing. What started as a functional piece of equipment for early Métis trappers and traders, has blossomed into a meaningful article today. If elected I would put forward a proposal to bestow all Métis high school graduates with a sash of their very own, commemorating their achievement of graduation, as well as welcoming them into the Nation as adults."

The vote is only open to Métis Citizens of Saskatchewan who are youth ages 16 to 29. Advance voting will be on Friday, November 5, 2021, and election day is Saturday, November 6, 2021.

Follow Rooney's journey HERE.

Read more about the election HERE.