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DENINU KU'E/FORT RESOLUTION
Alina Lizotte has taken over the task of helping to establish a new cultural initiative for the NWT.

Alina Lizotte has been training since September to become the co-ordinator of the Metis Cultural Institute in Fort Resolution. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

She is currently training to become co-ordinator of the Metis Cultural Institute (MCI), which is in the process of being established in Fort Resolution by the Northwest Territory Metis Nation.

Lizotte began working in September as a trainee with Kara King, who was co-ordinator until being recently elected to the full-time position of president of the Fort Resolution Metis Council.

Lizotte said her job involves doing "the basics" of what needs to be done to establish the institute.

"I'm just keeping on top of what MCI needs me to do," she said, which includes doing minutes, filing and soon starting to search for funding opportunities.

Lizotte hopes to end her training period and officially become co-ordinator in March.

"That's what I'm working towards," she said.

It is hoped the institute will ultimately involve the construction of a building to house a museum, archives and a gift shop in three or four years.

"In the end, that's what we would like to see is to have our own museum and display of Metis culture in this town," Lizotte said, noting Fort Resolution is the oldest community in the NWT. "So it does have a lot of history here."

However, she said the institute will be for all of the NWT.

"It's not just supposed to be for the South Slave," she said. "It's supposed to be for the whole territory."

No land has yet been selected for the site of the Metis Cultural Institute.

"We're far from that part of the project," Lizotte said.

One of the goals is for MCI to become its own entity, which will allow it to obtain its own core funding.

Lizotte thinks creating a Metis Cultural Institute is a good idea.

"It will bring a lot of employment to the town because we're looking to get a gift shop in there," she said. "And maybe to work toward a museum and we'll need a curator."

One concept for an institute building is it would provide rental space for offices, which could create more employment opportunities in Fort Resolution, she added. "It will be very good for the community."

Lizotte, who officially works for the Fort Resolution Metis Council, is still under the guidance of King, adding it is great to work with her.

"I've always had an interest in my cultural heritage and I am Metis," Lizotte said, adding her job is an opportunity to learn more. "Working with Kara, she's very smart, so she teaches you a lot."

Lizotte has even learned things about her own family.

For instance, she said King recently showed her an old photograph. "I said, 'Who's that?' And she's like, 'Our great-great-grandfather.' And I was like, 'We're related?'"

Currently, the 24-year-old Lizotte is the only worker for the Metis Cultural Institute and works in the old offices of the Fort Resolution Metis Council.

She said she enjoys working on her own and having King and the staff of the Metis Council there to help if she needs it.

"I like that I get to work on my own," she said.

Lizotte was born and raised in Hay River, but moved to Fort Resolution in 2003. Her mother's side of her family is from the community.

She said the institute will be good for everyone in Fort Resolution by attracting more tourists and be a place for children to learn about history.

"I just think it's going to be a really good opportunity for our town," she said.

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