Mitch Bourbonniere, M.S.W., M.S.M., M.B., O.M., C.M.H.W. (C/A) I was born in St. Boniface , Manitoba . I am the father of three beautiful human beings. I have dedicated my life to them and to working for the people . Apart from spending time with family and friends my favourite moments as I transition into retirement is doing our main street walks handing out food, clothing, love and kindness five times a week out of 605 Main St. I trace my Gaudry family line to 1653 on Turtle Island . I acknowledge that my First ancestors who came to turtle island could not have survived without the inherent goodness of the people who were already here . I also acknowledge the unrelenting harms done to the people here by Canada and the churches particularly in the last 150 plus years . I acknowledge my grandfather who made his way to Winnipeg (St Boniface) from the Metis village of Camperville in 1934 . I acknowledge Kenneth Scott for welcoming me into his family as a son through custom adoption at Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake) in 1990 . I acknowledge all the teachers that have come into my life including Charlie Nelson who brought the little boy water drum to Rossbrook House when I was 16 years old . I thank Charlie’s sister Marilyn for taking me to healing events far and wide including to the Oneida nation near Green Bay Wis. . I acknowledge Chickadee Richard, Sharon Richard, Wilfred Buck, Connie Buck, Luke Arcouette, Lyna Hart, Louis Sorin, David Blacksmith, Murray Blacksmith , Curtis Assiniboine, Cyril Assiniboine, Ferland Assiniboine , Larry Morrissette , Vern Morrissette, Thomas Saunders , who I walked with in positive activism in the late 1980s and early 90s. I acknowledge Larry Morrissette for inviting me to walk with him and Ogijiita Pimatisiwin Kinamatwin (OPK Manitoba) and for his children, Greg, Kingsley, Sona, Robert, and Renee who continue to give blessings for this work. I acknowledge Dave Courchene Junior for blessing me with my spirit name and colours at an 1989 ghost dance and for Albert Lands for acknowledging my clan, and Contraire spirit at a shake tent ceremony. I acknowledge the Sundance chiefs, who granted me the privilege to dance , offer flesh and fly with the eagles (Dave Courchene Junior 1988, Paul Hunting Hawk 1992, Ken Courchene 1996 and David Blacksmith 2000 to present) I acknowledge Elizabeth Hill, and Anne Charter for mentoring me through my Masters degree (90-95). I acknowledge President David Chartrand and the Manitoba Metis Federation for their love, passion and loyalty. It was an honour to serve for the MMF child and family service boards for 14 years from 2007 to 2021. I acknowledge elder Stella Blackbird, for allowing me to be her fire keeper at our Urban Circle sweats for 20 years. I honour my kinship relationships with the Harper family (Chris and Hazel) in St Teresa Point , the Campbell-Leary family in Norway House , the McDonald family(Eva)in Crane River and all the families in Fox Lake Cree Nation who welcome me into their homes each month . I honour all the elders/traditional people who I’ve come to love and have relationship with including Margaret and Jules Lavallee , Mary Courchene , Theodore Fontaine, Ed Azure , Myrtle Thomas , Floyd and Faylene Sutherland , Betty Ross , Anne Calahan , Sherry Copenace , Luke Arcouette , Lyna Hart , Dan Highway , Don Robinson , Reid Hartry , Linda Neckoway, Joe Esquash , Senator Mary Jane McCallum , Vern Dano and Billie Schibler. I also acknowledge some of my sisters in the community providing support and guidance, including Chickadee Richard, Tricia Dano, Haven Stumpf, Gina Smoke, Adrienne Carriere , Bernadette Smith and Leah Gazan . I would, especially like to recognize my brother, David Blacksmith, and his wife, Sherryl Blacksmith, who have always been there for me. You have welcomed me into your family and you’re stood by me. You drove back to Manitoba all night through a storm so that you could wrap me in a star blanket when my father died. I will never forget that. David, thank you for sharing your father with me. Sheryl, thank you for being my leader and protector at OPK . I will not share my private thoughts about my immediate family, including my mom, my uncles and aunties, my siblings, my wife and my children except to ask prayers for my oldest son Wawa tey Innini . He suffers like no other human being I know and is ravaged by mental illness. It is a living hell for him . I work every single day to look after him and keep him alive. I worry continuously about the day I leave him behind on this earth for without me he may die on the streets or languish in the back wards of a psychiatric hospital wondering what happened to his Dad .