Friends in the City

In the early 1950s, more and more First Nations and Métis people were settling in Winnipeg, often young, some just out of residential school. No organization met their needs: housing, jobs, health care, and simply a place to gather.

Women took the lead. In 1954, Marion Meadmore, originally from the Peepeekisis Nation in Saskatchewan, joined other activists to create the Urban Indian Association. In June 1958, at an Indian and Métis conference, social worker Mary Guilbault moved to establish a referral centre. Dorothy Betz, born in 1929 at Pine Creek First Nation in Manitoba, was among those most instrumental in founding it. In 1959, the Indian and Métis Friendship Centre opened at 376 Donald Street: sewing groups, history lectures, a library. Dorothy Betz would volunteer there for seven years before managing its Court Program.

The movement grew. The National Association of Friendship Centres was founded in 1972 and today represents more than 120 centres. In Quebec, 11 Indigenous friendship centres offer services in 14 cities; Montreal's was founded in 1974.

At a time when so many people arrive in a city with a phone as their only compass, these centres remind us of something simple: you don't put down roots in a city through a screen, but thanks to someone who opens the door and recognizes you.