Our stories
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Find out more about the successes of our institution, our team, instructors, course participants and alumni through their stories below!
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Métis Red River Cart on CPC Campus
Armand Jerome is a Metis craftsman, who grew up in Roblin Manitoba. It was in the late 1990s that he started researching his cultural roots and heritage. He refers to these years as the "Métis resurgence" of Métis culture, which included music, dance, beadwork and the Michif language.
Mr. Jerome was introduced to the story of the Red River Cart by an older Métis man in St. Norbert in 2000. It was through a friend's suggestion that the Métis got involved in the 2002 Indigenous Games that the first Red Rivers Carts saw the day. With his friend, he built Red River Carts using traditional methods and rode them to the 2002 Indigenous Games. Even though their journey was laden with breakdowns and accidents, they arrived at the games on time. This trip was only the beginning of a 20-year journey of creating Red River Carts, using them on historic trails, and visiting historic sites. All of it in celebration of Métis culture.
Over the years, Mr. Jerome built close to 50 carts, committing and dedicating his life to recreating the closest replica of the unique Red River Cart from the Métis homeland. Quite a vocation! Each cart takes about 200 hours to construct – 400 if you include the time needed to gather the materials. He also personally delivered them to different locations through challenging journeys, one of the trips taking up to 9 weeks.
Ten years ago, he met his wife Kelly, who is of Ukrainian heritage. She has became his biggest supporter, devoting her life to his involvement working on Red River Carts and its teachings. Nowadays, the couple are building fewer carts but are still committed to sharing their knowledge of Métis Red River Carts and their symbolism with younger generations to that the Métis heritage lives on. The CPC is proud to exhibit a Red River Cart and a story to share in celebration of the Métis culture.
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