Greg Poitras is passionate about helping people get their feet on the ground and to be proud of themselves. “We have to love ourselves first, the heart must be open to you as a person so it can open itself up to others,” says Greg.
Greg was one of the Elders for the Xyólheméylh Men’s Wellness Group and he talks about one man that he helped through mentoring. When Greg met him the man was struggling, he was separated from his family with only short visiting privileges to his children. He’s now back with his wife and children. “That is my purpose, to bring people along, to sit with them, hug them and make them look in the mirror every morning and say ‘I love you.’ We have a bond that will be around for a long time,” says Greg
Greg’s father was Métis from Lebret, Saskatchewan and his mother was Norwegian. He was actually born in an Indian residential school with nuns delivering him because there was a snowstorm, and they couldn’t make it to the hospital in Regina.
Greg grew up in a family of four kids, with strong values, respect for Elders and a strong sense of community. He had many aunts, uncles and cousins, one of whom was the late Gil Poitras who was a beloved Elder with Xyólheméylh. Unlike Gil, he didn’t grow up learning to smudge, but he grew up jigging.
“When I was young, I never walked anywhere, I jigged,” says Greg. “I was always around music. My father could speak English, French, Cree and Mitchif, but he never taught me those languages because back in those days, we were the dirt under people’s shoes,” says Greg. The family eventually moved to BC in 1955 which is where Greg grew up. He says there was less discrimination in BC. “The racism didn’t go away, but it wasn’t in your face all day, every day.”
Greg loves to laugh and sees humour as the best medicine. “I like to be transparent, I like to believe I’m a better healer than I am a hurter,” says Greg. He also sees himself as a problem solver, which is reflected in how he spent his working life.
He was a sheet metal worker by trade until he had an accident, falling 32 feet. He retrained as a safety and security officer and worked with the federal government on the Canadian coast guard, western region. He was flying 175,000 air miles a year and jokes that he was on a first name basis with many airport workers across Canada. He worked on the waterfront for many years before returning to sheet metal as a foreman. He was also an organizer with the Louis Riel Métis Society.
Greg has been married to Barb for 52 years, with one son and three daughters, eight grandkids and one great grand kid. “We are very blessed. They all live locally. I’m very fortunate. My strongest values that were instilled in me that I’ve instilled in my kids is that it’s about family, respect for Elders, and to be polite. I have strong sense of community,” says Greg.