'Our Grandmothers' artifact collection acquired for future Métis centre at newly reopened Portage and Main
Manitoba Métis Federation unveils 142-piece collection to mark reopening of intersection to pedestrians
A trove of artifacts dating back two centuries — including silk- and quillwork, beaded jackets and fur stretchers — have found their way to the site of a forthcoming centre at the heart of downtown Winnipeg showcasing Métis history.
The Manitoba Métis Federation unveiled a newly acquired 142-piece collection, titled the "Our Grandmothers Collection," on Wednesday at the future Red River Métis National Heritage Centre, housed at the former Bank of Montreal building at the southeast corner of Portage and Main.
"This is truly a reflection of the MMF's commitment to bring our history home," said Anita Campbell, the MMF's minister of finance, human resources and information technology at a news conference.
"The reopening of Portage and Main ties in very well to the opening of our heritage centre, where we'll be inviting our citizens, the public, researchers, artists, schoolchildren and visitors from all around the world to come and learn about our people, our history and our culture."
The unveiling coincides with MMF's celebration of the reopening of Portage Avenue and Main Street to foot traffic, which happened Friday after nearly 46 years.
The federation completed a stewardship transfer of the Our Grandmothers Collection this year with Gregory Scofield, an author, University of Victoria professor and Red River Métis beadwork artist who is the curator of the collection. He spent more than two decades hunting down and preserving the artifacts.
For the collection, "coming home means the grandmothers, first and foremost, are not lost or circulating out in the world far away from us, their little ancestors," said Scofield, author of Our Grandmother's Hands: Repatriating Métis Material Art.
"It also means they're not sitting in boxes or storage bins. It means they are not being used as currency in galleries or auction houses with prices attached to their worth.... It means they are no longer forgotten."
The collection includes dozens of items, including ornate bead-, silk- and quillwork, along with embroidery and weaving, art, clothing, horse blankets and fire bags — some dating back to 1830, said Campbell.
The works, most made by Métis women, join a growing collection amassed by the federation to be unveiled in early 2027, when the Red River National Heritage Centre is slated to open.
"The collection represents our homeland geographically and demonstrates our migration, fashion, mobility and identity as a people," said Campbell, who is also spokesperson for the Infinity Women Secretariat, a non-profit affiliated with the MMF that advocates for Métis women.
"This is more than a collection. It is an artistic and culturally relevant legacy."
The broader collection includes poems by Louis Riel, the Métis leader recognized as Manitoba's honorary first premier in 2023 after legislation passed by the NDP government.
'Bold, transformational' investment in downtown: mayor
The federation bought the former Bank of Montreal building at Portage and Main in 2020, with plans to transform it into the centre. Last year, it acquired two nearby buildings — 333 Main St. and 191 Pioneer Ave. — along with a surface parking lot.
Provincial Housing, Homelessness and Addictions Minister Bernadette Smith, who is a member of the Métis Nation, acknowledged the significance of the location as a hub for trade, diplomacy and kinship.
"It's also a place where the Métis Nation was born and where its spirit continues to thrive," said the Point Douglas MLA.
"Today we mark more than just a reopening of a street corner — we celebrate the powerful act of reconnection between the Red River Métis and the land that had always been called home."
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham acknowledged the MMF's efforts to help revitalize the iconic street corner, which reopened to street-level pedestrian crossing on Friday, after decades of allowing only underground crossing at Portage and Main.
While the idea of reopening was voted down in a 2018 plebiscite, Gillingham led a motion to do that, without public consultation, in 2024, on the heels of a report that pegged cost of repairs to the barricaded-intersection and underground concourse in the range of $73 million.
That same report suggested it would cost much less to reopen Portage and Main.
"The MMF's investment in this intersection and in the city's core … is bold, transformational and deeply appreciated," Gillingham said.
"There's so much work that we have yet to do, but it's part of the progress we're all making … to build a downtown for everyone."
MMF President David Chartrand said on top of acquiring roughly 600,000 square feet of space downtown in recent years, the federation has also moved about 600 of its employees into its offices in Winnipeg's core, in part to help downtown recover from a lingering economic downturn driven by the pandemic.
"I can't wait to see the finishing product of the beautification of downtown," said Chartrand.
"It's not yet finished…. The beautification that we [have] the privilege of seeing, where the mayor and city is going, is going to make you feel a great sigh of relief that Portage and Main is alive."
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