Late Michif language keeper honoured with new stamp

CBC

21-06-2025

A woman from St. Louis, Sask., credited with sharing her knowledge of her Métis culture and Michif language with generations of students and community members over her life, is being featured on a new stamp.
According to Canada Post, Sophie McDougall translated books and other materials into Michif for 20 years while serving as an elder with the Prince Albert Métis Women's Association.
Michif is categorized as critically endangered by UNESCO.
McDougall, who died in 2023 at the age of 94, also worked with organizations in Prince Albert to document and teach the regional dialect of Michif French.
She appeared in the YouTube series Métis Women Stories in her late 80s — and later contributed to the creation of the Learn Michif French app.
In 2023, McDougall received the Order of Gabriel Dumont Gold Medal in recognition of her lifetime of service to the Métis of Canada.
"She was our storybook," said Angela Rancourt, a Métis educator and friend of McDougall's, in an interview with Canada Post Magazine. "She was a database of all our stories."
Recalling the period before the development of the app, Rancourt said they needed to find a way for families to be connected to the language.
"It was Sophie who said, 'Get it on the phone, get it on their phones!'" Rancourt said.
Another friend of McDougall's, Métis researcher and educator Cindy Gaudet, said McDougall was "our kinship archives."
"Everyone would go to Sophie if they needed to know something," Gaudet told Canada Post Magazine. "'Are these people related, how are we related, when did the church get moved, what was going on at that time, when was that event?'"
According to Canada Post, McDougall was a descendant of the original settlers of the St. Louis area, approximately 105 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.
Canada Post said the stamp features an illustration of McDougall based on a photo provided by her family. Photos of the St. Louis Parish, and the original St. Louis highway and railway bridge in her hometown, appear in the background.
On a commemorative envelope that is also available, the postmark features an illustration of an old schoolhouse bell, in recognition of McDougall's years as a teacher — and the postmark location is St. Louis.
Canada Post said its Indigenous Leaders series, launched in 2022, highlights the contributions of Inuit, Métis and First Nations leaders who dedicated their lives to preserving their culture and improving the quality of life of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
It said this stamp is one of three Indigenous Leaders stamps that will be issued in time for this year's National Indigenous Peoples Day, which is this Saturday. The set is the fourth in Canada Post's multi-year Indigenous Leaders series.
Last Friday, the stamp honouring Julia Haogak Ogina was celebrated in Ulukhaktok, N.W.T. On Thursday, the stamp recognizing Bruce Starlight was celebrated in Tsuut'ina Nation, Alta.
Bronwyn Graves, Canada Post's director of stamp services, said it was the Métis National Council that suggested McDougall be honoured.
"If you take a look at all of the honourees in this year's stamp series, there's a real focus on language preservation," Graves said.
Graves said Canada Post recognizes how important it is to Indigenous communities to preserve their language as a means of preserving their stories and their traditional teachings.
Canada Post hears from Canadians all the time who say they research someone featured on commemorative stamps if they aren't familiar with them, she said.
Graves said that when the Donald Sutherland stamp came out in 2023, most people knew who he was, but there were a few who didn't, adding that perhaps younger generations learned about the late actor through that stamp.
"Likewise, maybe people who are from very different communities, or who don't know their Indigenous history quite as well, may learn a little bit of something through these stamps about not just Sophie's life and contributions, but also the Métis community as a whole," Graves said.