Bunibonibee Cree Nation's Sarah Harper turns 111

A Manitoba Cree elder celebrated her 111th birthday on Thursday.

Sarah Harper markedthe occasion with friends and family inBunibonibee Cree Nation, a.k.a Oxford House, about 570 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, where she has spent most of her life.

'She's jovial, she's happy, she likes to joke and she likes to ask you, 'Oh how's so-and-so doing. She just asked me about my parents," said Sheila North Wilson. The Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanakflew into Bunibonibee to celebrate with Harper Thursday afternoon.

"She's very, very much sharp and she loves people and to be with people."

Harper had six children of her own, North Wilson said, and is now a grandmother and great-grandmother. North Wilson said she might be the oldest Indigenous person in Canada.

North Wilson said she doesn't know Harper's secret to longevity.

"She chews snuff everyday and has potato chips, I don't know if that has anything to do with anything," she said.

• Oxford House woman turns 109

Harper is still in good health, North Wilson added.

"She uses a wheelchair most of the time, but she's able to walk. She's able to communicate, she can see well. Her hearing is a little not that great, so people have to talk really loud to her ears," North Wilson said.

"But other than that she looks pretty good. I think she's going to make it for a few more years."