A man who grew up in Otterburne says Louis Riel Day gives him a platform for sharing his pride in being Metis.

But Barney Morin spent his youth years not knowing of his ancestry. In fact, he was nearly 18 years old when he learned of his heritage.

Morin says he grew up thinking he was French until he learned otherwise from his grandmother and she only found out she was Metis when she was nearly 70 years of age.

Morin says he can not comprehend why someone would want to hide their heritage. But, he says that is what they did in an attempt to get an upper hand on a land sale, a trade deal or to get in school. And because he is young enough, Morin says he is now exploring what it means to be Metis.

"I take it as a big point of pride to try to be able to research that and get into that because my Dad and my aunts and uncles didn't have that chance," says Morin. "So I'm going to take it for them."

And for Morin, that means interviewing Manitoba Metis Federation President David Chartrand and speaking with Metis artists. Morin says he feels lucky to have this opportunity and would hate for the heritage to die off.

Through this process, Morin has released weekly podcasts on what it means to be Metis. He notes the feedback this is generating is overwhelmingly positive.

"When the first podcast came out, the amount of phone calls and messages that I received from people who related so strongly to my story of not knowing their entire life and trying to reconnect back to that or at least maybe knowing their entire life but having no connection to it," he recalls. "A lot of people reached out and that was a really good thing."

According to Morin, usually, the first thing a person does after finding out they are Metis, is get their Metis card. This card gives identity and for him an opportunity to try and live off the land. Morin says through hunting and gathering he has a whole new outlook on life.

"I think a lot of us want to return to the land, a lot of us want to return to gathering our own resources," he admits.

Morin says another thing he has learned about being Metis is how much they like to poke fun at each other.

On Monday, Manitobans will celebrate Louis Riel Day. Morin says there are two days in which the Metis can talk about being proud of their heritage. One of those days is November 16th, the anniversary of Louis Riel's death. The other day is Louis Riel Day. Morin will celebrate Louis Riel Day at Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg hosting a panel discussion on the Metis.

"What Louis Riel Day does for me, is allows the Metis conversation to at least be brought to everyone's attention for one day of the year," says Morin.