Mira Kolodka moved to Brandon, Man., from Winnipeg to help preserve the southern Michif language. She says it was her responsibility as a young Métis woman to help strengthen and revitalize a vital part of her culture.
Since September 2022, Kolodka has been participating in the Michif Master/Mentor-Apprentice (MAP) Language House. Its goal was to increase the number of fluent Michif speakers and share the language with future generations.
But on Jan. 9, she and five other participants found out they were losing their financial support from the Louis Riel Institute, the education authority for the Manitoba Métis Federation. This news came after they learned in December they would need