The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) is focusing its efforts to ensure access to proper housing for Métis people in the province.

Minister of housing and property management Will Goodon says they just want those in their community to be able to grow up in a safe, warm, dry place that allows them to grow and live comfortably. He adds the biggest priority for them is to ensure elders have a place to call home.

"Affordable housing for families is a huge priority for us as well," explains Goodon. "but we're also moving into other projects, including a Ronald McDonald style home transitional housing for children."

He mentions, while the Métis name makes most people think of the child of a settler and an Indigenous person, Goodon wants to point out that they are their own community. They want to be viewed as their own people with their own set of traditions.

"We have our own culture," notes Goodon. "We have our own language, music, dance, food, but more importantly we have our own political activities that happened and that goes back to the battle of Seven Oaks, which we call the victory at Frog Plain."

He's hopeful that as Canadians heal together, they can continue to grow and be recognized as a fully unique culture.

"My father lived in a log house with a dirt floor and a sod roof," says Goodon. "Housing is still one of the most important issues at the top of everybody's mind."