{"id":74672,"date":"2025-06-17T07:57:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T11:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=74672"},"modified":"2026-01-03T13:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T18:57:02","slug":"new-stamp-commemorates-metis-elder-and-michif-language-keeper-sophie-mcdougall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/17\/new-stamp-commemorates-metis-elder-and-michif-language-keeper-sophie-mcdougall\/","title":{"rendered":"New stamp commemorates M\u00e9tis Elder and Michif Language Keeper Sophie McDougall"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New stamp commemorates M\u00e9tis Elder and Michif Language Keeper Sophie McDougall (CNW Group\/Canada Post)<\/p><\/div>\n

Canada Post hosted an event in Prince Albert<\/span> today to celebrate an upcoming stamp commemorating M\u00e9tis Elder and Michif Language Keeper, Sophie McDougall<\/span>.<\/p>\n

A devoted educator and leader, McDougall (1928-2023) is remembered for sharing extensive knowledge of her culture and language with generations of students and community members over her long life.<\/p>\n

This stamp is one of three Indigenous Leaders stamps that will be issued on June 20<\/span> \u2013 the day before National Indigenous Peoples Day. The set is the fourth in Canada<\/span> Post’s multi-year Indigenous Leaders series.<\/p>\n

McDougall’s life and legacy<\/b><\/p>\n

Born in 1928 in St. Louis, Saskatchewan<\/span>, McDougall (n\u00e9e Margaret Sophie Boyer<\/span>) was a descendant of the area’s original settlers. As a M\u00e9tis woman, she experienced discrimination at teachers’ college but faced it with courage and determination. She spent many years as a dedicated schoolteacher. Her first teaching assignment was in 1945 in a remote area north of North Battleford<\/span> \u2013 at a tiny school with no electricity.<\/p>\n

An Elder with the Prince Albert M\u00e9tis Women’s Association in Saskatchewan<\/span> for 20 years, McDougall translated books and other materials into Michif, the traditional language of many M\u00e9tis.<\/b> Michif is categorized as critically endangered by UNESCO. She also worked with many organizations in Prince Albert<\/span> to document and teach the regional dialect Michif French. In her late 80s she appeared in the YouTube series, M\u00e9tis Women Stories<\/i> and later contributed to the creation of the Learn Michif French app. In 2023, McDougall received the Order of Gabriel Dumont Gold Medal\u00a0in recognition of her lifetime of service to the M\u00e9tis of Canada<\/span>.<\/p>\n

About the stamp<\/b><\/p>\n

The stamp features an illustration of McDougall based on a photograph provided by her family. In the background are photos of the St. Louis Parish and the original St. Louis<\/span> highway and railway bridge in her hometown. The stamp is designed by Andrew Perro<\/span>, with illustration by Jennifer Radia<\/span>, featuring background photography courtesy of the St. Louis Historical\u00a0Society, the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan<\/span> and iStock. It is printed by Lowe-Martin. The issue includes a booklet of six Permanent\u2122<\/sup> stamps, an Official First Day Cover and a souvenir sheet.<\/p>\n

The cancellation site is St. Louis, Saskatchewan<\/span>, and the cancellation mark features an illustration of an old schoolhouse bell, symbolizing the pivotal role that education played in McDougall’s life.<\/p>\n

About the Indigenous Leaders stamp series<\/b><\/p>\n

The Indigenous Leaders series was launched in 2022 and highlights the contributions of Inuit, M\u00e9tis and First Nations leaders who dedicated their lives to preserving their culture and improving the quality of life of Indigenous Peoples in Canada<\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canada Post hosted an event in Prince Albert today to celebrate an upcoming stamp commemorating M\u00e9tis Elder and Michif Language Keeper, Sophie McDougall. A devoted educator and leader, McDougall (1928-2023) is remembered for sharing extensive knowledge of her culture and language with generations of students and community members over her long life. This stamp is …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":74673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[3320,3318,3319],"class_list":["post-74672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-federal","tag-bruce-starlight","tag-julia-haogak-ogina","tag-sophie-mcdougall"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-16 15:29:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74672"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74674,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74672\/revisions\/74674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}