KETTLE & STONY POINT - The Anishinabek Nation and the Métis Nation of Ontario will re-new their traditional ties as Nations, as the sacred Pipes of both Nations are bound together by the Great Spirit. The 2005 Anishinabek Nation Unity Gathering and Grand Council Assembly will be the forum that will see both these Pipes brought together for the first time in many generations.

Grand Council Chief John Beaucage	MNO President Tony Belcourt

Both Nations will also each bring their songs to the Drum. Last August, the Many Eagle Set Thirsty Dance (Sundance) Song was passed to the Metis Nation by Elder Francis Cree at Turtle Mountain, North Dakota. The song was first sung to commemorate an alliance of the Assiniboine, Cree, Chippewa and Michif peoples in the early 1800's.

The Métis Nation has always carried their traditional pipes which guided their discussions as a Nation. Even back beyond the time of Louis Riel, Métis elders carried sacred Pipes just as their Anishinabe ancestors had for millennia.

On March 10, Metis Nation of Ontario President Tony Belcourt was presented a pipe during a brief ceremony in Toronto at the opening gala of www.metisradio.fm. During the ceremony held in Toronto, Anishinabek Nation representatives and Elders from Turtle Mountain - President Belcourt was given a pipe to guide his leadership.

Belcourt will smoke this pipe on June 25 alongside Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief John Beaucage. In a ceremony led by Elder Gordon Waindubence, these pipes from the Métis Nation of Ontario and the Anishinabek Nation will be brought together, tobacco will be offered, then smoked in unison. They will then each bring their songs to the Drum.

WHAT: 2005 Unity Gathering and Grand Council Assembly Pow-Wow

WHO:Metis Nation of Ontario President Tony Belcourt Grand Council Chief John Beaucage Elder Gordon Waindubence

WHERE: Kettle and Stony Point First Nation Near Forest, Ontario

WHEN: June 25, 2005

TIME: 1 p.m.