Published · BABA & KOKUM
The Otipemisiwak Métis Government holds its 30th Métis Week in Edmonton from 14 to 22 November 2026. It opens with the 2026 Métis Market on Saturday, 14 November, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the East Court of Londonderry Mall, where Métis artists and makers sell their work. The week stems from 16 November, the day Métis people commemorate the life and death of Louis Riel. For readers of this site the thread is floral: the Dakota Sioux and Cree called the Métis “the flower beadwork people”. (Otipemisiwak Métis Government: Métis Week 2026, updated 2 November 2026; 2026 Métis Market, posted 26 October 2026.)
Métis Week 2026 at a glance
Métis Week began in 1997; the Otipemisiwak Métis Government has declared the week around 16 November as Métis Week. The City of Edmonton has marked it since 1997 and keeps the Métis flag on permanent display in front of City Hall. (City of Edmonton.)
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 14 Nov, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | 2026 Métis Market: Métis artists and makers, cultural activities, live music and dance | Londonderry Mall, East Court, Edmonton |
| 14–22 Nov | 30th Métis Week events; the Seniors’ Tea is by registration, the Delia Gray Gala is for Métis Citizens | Edmonton |
| Mon 16 Nov | Louis Riel Day: commemorative ceremonies on the date of his execution | Métis communities across Canada; Carleton University lists the day in Ottawa |
| 16–20 Nov | Métis Week at Mount Royal University; all events free, everyone welcome | Calgary |
| Thu 19 Nov | Métis Week at City Hall: opening prayer, the Métis Nation of Alberta anthem, singing, jigging and fiddling | Edmonton City Hall |
Sources: Otipemisiwak Métis Government; City of Edmonton; Mount Royal University; Carleton University. Times for the Riel ceremonies are set by each organizer; check the organizer’s page before you go.
Why “the flower beadwork people”
In a history published by the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Patrick Young writes that the Dakota Sioux and Cree “referred to the Métis as the flower beadwork people because of the preponderance of flower designs in their beadwork”, and that floral beadwork “has become one of the most distinctive symbols of the Métis”.
He traces the floral designs to contact with Roman Catholic missions. In the West the Grey Nuns taught Métis women beadwork techniques and designs, and by the 1830s “increasingly naturalistic and colourful floral designs” appear on Métis work from Red River, while geometric designs still dominated Métis decoration until the 1840s. Among the neighbouring Cree, quillwork was geometric before 1800; by the late 1820s the Cree had adopted many of the floral patterns used by the Métis. (Patrick Young, Métis Beadwork, Quillwork and Embroidery, Gabriel Dumont Institute.)
Where the kokum scarf fits
The first Ukrainian settlers landed at Montreal in September 1891, some six decades after those Red River florals. (Manitoba Historical Society.) Patty Krawec, interviewed for the 2025 peer-reviewed article on the kokum scarf, said its pattern is “something that looks like our own geography. The florals are familiar; they look like our flowers.” (Shtykalo & Legault, Canadian Journal of Indigenous Studies 1(1), 2025, p. 108.)
Familiar is the exact word: Prairie Indigenous floral design came first. A beaded flower and a printed flower are still two crafts with two sets of makers. Our page on the kokum scarf pattern keeps the printed kerchief and the embroidered or beaded flower apart, with a source under each line.
How to take part as a guest
- Buy from the makers. At the Métis Market on 14 November, ask the artist about the design before you give it a name of your own.
- Choose the public events. The City Hall programme on 19 November and the free week at Mount Royal are open to everyone; the Seniors’ Tea needs registration, and the Delia Gray Gala is for Métis Citizens.
- Read the history at its source. The Gabriel Dumont Institute publishes the beadwork history quoted above on its Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture.
- In Ottawa, Carleton University marks Louis Riel Day on 16 November.
- Keep the stories apart in your own posts. Name who made the beadwork and, separately, who printed the scarf.
Floral work in your family?
If a beaded piece, an embroidered towel or a printed scarf in your family carries a story, tell us who made it and who told you about it. We add nothing without your permission.
BABA & KOKUM is a community project started at UAFest. No Indigenous community or organization has partnered in this project yet, and nothing here speaks for the Métis Nation.