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Métis people (Canada)
Encyclopedia
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada
who trace their descent to mixed First Nations
parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group
, with formal recognition equal to that of the Inuit
and First Nations
. Mothers were often Cree
, Ojibwa
y, Algonquin, Saulteaux
, Menominee
, Mi'kmaq or Maliseet. At one time there was an important distinction between French Métis born of francophone
voyageur
fathers, and the Anglo Métis or Countryborn descended from Scottish
fathers. Today these two cultures have essentially coalesced into one Métis tradition. Other former names—many of which are now considered to be offensive—include Bois-Brûlés
, Mixed-blood
s, Half-breed
s, Bungi
, Black Scots and Jackatars.
The Métis homeland includes regions scattered across Canada, as well as parts of the northern United States
(specifically Montana
, North Dakota
, and northwest Minnesota
).
and Britons
. The majority of Métis who self-identify today are the direct result of Métis intermarrying with other Métis. Over the past century, countless Métis are thought to have been absorbed and assimilated into European-Canadian populations making Métis heritage (and thereby aboriginal ancestry
) more common than is generally realized. Geneticists estimate that 50 percent of today's population in Western Canada
have Aboriginal blood
, and therefore would be classified as Métis by any genetic
measure. There is substantial controversy over who qualifies as Métis. Unlike First Nations people, there is no distinction between status and non-status Métis. The legal definition itself is not yet fully developed. S.35 of the Constitution Act, 1982
makes mention of the Métis stating:
Section-35(2)does not provide a definition of who is Métis. Until R. v. Powley (2003), there was little development in such a definition. The case involved a claim by two members of the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Métis community, Steven Powley and his son Rodney, who were asserting their Métis hunting rights. The Supreme Court of Canada
outlined three broad factors to identify Métis rights-holders:
All three factors must be present for an individual to qualify under the legal definition of Métis, but there is still a great deal of ambiguity. Whether or not Métis have Treaty Rights is an explosive issue in the Canadian Aboriginal community today. Some say that only First Nations could legitimately sign treaties so, by definition, Métis have no Treaty rights. There is one Treaty—the Halfbreed (Métis in the French version) Adhesion to Treaty 3
. Descendants of Métis people included in that Treaty clearly have a claim to Treaty Rights. Another Treaty, the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850, included 84 "half-breeds" in the Treaty. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Métis were initially included in a number of other treaties and then unilaterally excluded under later amendments to the Indian Act
. These Métis and their descendants clearly have a claim as well. One judge has agreed that the Manitoba Act, from the point of view of the Métis it addressed, was, in principle, a Treaty. The descendants of those Manitoba Métis clearly have Treaty rights in that context. On September 23, 2003, The Supreme Court of Canada
ruled that Métis are in fact a Distinct People with significant Rights.
in the 18th and 19th centuries, many British and French-Canadian fur traders married First Nations and Inuit women, mainly First Nations Cree
, Ojibwa
, or Saulteaux
. The majority of these fur traders were Scottish
, French
and Catholic. Therefore, their children, the Métis, were exposed to both the Catholic and indigenous belief systems, thus creating a new distinct aboriginal people in North America
. First Nations women were the link between cultures, they not only provided companionship for the fur traders, but also aided in their survival. First Nations women were able to translate the language, sew new clothing for their husbands, and generally were involved in resolving any cultural issues that arose. The First Peoples had survived in the harsh west for thousands of years, so the fur traders benefited greatly from their First Nations wives' knowledge of the land and its resources.
The Métis played a vital role in the success of the western fur trade. Not only were the Métis skilled hunters, but they were also raised to appreciate both Aboriginal and European cultures. Métis understanding of both societies and customs helped bridge cultural gaps, resulting in better trading relationships. The Hudson's Bay Company
discouraged unions between their fur traders and First Nations and Inuit woman, while the North West Company
(the English-speaking Quebecer fur trading company) supported such marriages. The Métis were valuable employees of both fur trade companies, due to the their skills as voyageurs, buffalo hunters, interpreters and knowledge of the lands.
In 1812, many immigrants (mainly Scottish
farmers) moved to the Red River Valley
, in present day Manitoba
. The Hudson's Bay Company
, who nominally owned the land called Rupert's Land
at the time, assigned the land to the settlers. The allocation of Red River land caused conflict with those already living in the area as well as with the North West Company, whose trade routes had been cut in half. Many Métis were working as fur traders with both the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. Others were working as free traders, or buffalo hunters supplying pemmican
to the fur trade. The buffalo were declining in number, and the Métis and First Nations had to go further and further west to hunt them. As well, profits from the fur trade were declining because the Hudson's Bay Company had to extend its reach further and further away from its main posts to get furs.
The Government of Canada
exerted its power over the people living in Rupert's Land after its acquisition in the mid-19th century from the Hudson's Bay Company. The Métis and the Anglo-Métis
(commonly known as Countryborn, children of First Nations women and Orcadian, Scottish or English men), joined forces to stand up for their rights and to protect their age-old way of life against an aggressive and distant Anglo-Saxon
government and its local colonizing agents. During this time the Canadian government pressured the Aboriginals to sign treaties (known as the "Numbered treaties
") which turned over rights to almost the entire western plains to the Government of Canada. In return for signing over their lands, the Canadian government promised food, education, medical help, and other kinds of support. Emerging as a Métis leader was the educated Louis Riel
, who denounced the government in a speech delivered in late August 1869 from the steps of Saint-Boniface Cathedral. The Métis became more fearful when the Canadian government appointed the notoriously anti-French William McDougall
as the Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories on September 28, 1869, in anticipation of a formal transfer to take effect in December. What followed was the generally successful Red River Rebellion
of 1869 leading to the Manitoba Act and that province's entry into the Canadian Confederation. However, it also led to the exile of Louis Riel to the United States.
In March 1885, the Métis heard that a contingent of 500 North-West Mounted Police was heading west. They organized a newly formed coalition called The Métis provisional government
with Pierre Parenteau as President and Gabriel Dumont as adjutant-general to action. With the help of First Nations Chiefs Poundmaker and Big Bear
they facilitated the return of Louis Riel to the coalition he founded in 1869. This led to a series of unsuccessful conflicts collectively known as the "Riel Rebellions" or the North West Rebellion. Gabriel Dumont fled to the United States with Louis Riel, Poundmaker and Big Bear surrendering to the government. Big Bear and Poundmaker each received a three-year sentence. On July 6, 1885, Riel was charged with high treason and was sentenced to hang. Riel's appeals went on briefly, but, as mandated by the government of the time, the execution was conducted on November 16, 1885.
, Peter Tomkins Jr., Joe Dion, Felix Callihoo) were instrumental in having the Alberta government hold the "Ewing Commission" in 1934 dealing with land claims. The Alberta government would pass the Métis Population Betterment Act
in 1938. The act provided funding and land to the Métis (The provincial government later rescinded portions of the land in certain areas).
The 1960s saw the emergence of renewed political organizations.The Lake Nipigon Metis Association was the first in Ontario spawning a series of community groups and a major provincial political Association of some 100,000 members. (Ontario Metis and Non-Status Indian Association. The "Alberta Federation of Métis Settlement Associations" was established in the mid 1970s and provides a collective voice for the Métis Nation of Alberta
. During the constitutional talks of 1989, the Métis were recognized as one of the three Aboriginal peoples of Canada. In 1990, land titles passed from the Alberta government to Métis communities through the "Métis Settlement Act", replacing the Métis Betterment Act.
The position of Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
was created in 1985 as a portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet. As the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
is officially responsible only for Status Indians and largely with those living on Indian reserve
s, the new position was created in order provide a liaison between the federal government and Métis and non-status Aboriginal peoples, urban Aboriginals and their representatives.
was the name given by Louis Riel to the independent state he declared during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 in what is today the Canadian province of Saskatchewan
. The governing council was named the Exovedate
, Latin for "of the flock", and debated issues ranging from military policy to local bylaws and theological issues. It met at Batoche, Saskatchewan, and only exercised real authority during its existence over the Southbranch Settlement
. The provisional government collapsed that year after the Battle of Batoche
.
The Métis National Council was formed in 1983, following the recognition of the Métis as an aboriginal people in Canada, in Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982
. The Métis National Council is composed of five provincial Métis organizations, Ontario having the fewest number of votes. They are:
The Métis people mandate these governance structures through province-wide ballot box elections held at regular intervals for regional and provincial leadership. Further, Métis citizens and their communities are represented and participate in these Métis governance structures by way of elected Locals or Community Councils, as well as, provincial assemblies held annually.
or a mixed language called Michif. Michif, Mechif or Métchif is a phonetic spelling of the Métis pronunciation of Métif, a variant of Métis. The Métis today predominantly speak French
, with English
a strong second language, as well as numerous Aboriginal tongues. Métis French is best preserved in Canada, Michif in the United States, notably in the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation
of North Dakota, where Michif is the official language
of the Métis that reside on this Chippewa reservation. The encouragement and use of Métis French and Michif is growing due to outreach within the provincial Métis councils after at least a generation of decline.
The 19th Century community of Anglo-Métis
, more commonly known as Countryborn, were children of Rupert's Land
fur trade ; typically of Orcadian, Scottish
, or English
paternal descent and Aboriginal maternal descent. Their first languages would have been Aboriginal (Cree language
, Saulteaux language, Assiniboine language
, etc.) and English
. It seems likely that their fathers spoke Gaelic, thus leading to the development of the dialect of English referred to as "Bungee
".
is one of the oldest patriotic flags originating in Canada. The Métis actually have two flags. Both flags have the same design, an infinity symbol, but are different colours, either red or blue. Red was the colour of the Hudson's Bay Company, while blue was the colour of the North West Company.
Later the movement of the fur trade brought about more unions between French and Cree. Descendants of English or Scottish and natives were historically called 'half-breeds' or 'country born' and lived a more agrarian and Protestant lifestyle. The term eventually evolved to refer to all 'half-breeds', whether linked to the historic Red River Métis or not.
Lower case 'm' métis refers to those who are of mixed native and other ancestry, and is essentially an ethnic definition. Capital 'M' Métis refers to a particular sociocultural heritage and an ethnic self-identification that is not entirely racially based. Some argue that people who identify as métis should not be included in the definition of 'Métis'. In fact, not all such people might meet the legal test. Others have gone further and have suggested that only the descendants of the Red River Métis should be constitutionally recognized. The effect of this limitation would mean that people such as the some of the Labrador, Quebec, and Ontario Métis would be excluded from the legal definition and relegated to lower case 'm' métis status.
Eastern Métis
Government of Canada
Other
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
who trace their descent to mixed First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
, with formal recognition equal to that of the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
and First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
. Mothers were often Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
, Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
y, Algonquin, Saulteaux
Saulteaux
The Saulteaux are a First Nation in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.-Ethnic classification:The Saulteaux are a branch of the Ojibwe nations. They are sometimes also called Anihšināpē . Saulteaux is a French term meaning "people of the rapids," referring to...
, Menominee
Menominee
Some placenames use other spellings, see also Menomonee and Menomonie.The Menominee are a nation of Native Americans living in Wisconsin. The Menominee, along with the Ho-Chunk, are the only tribes that are indigenous to what is now Wisconsin...
, Mi'kmaq or Maliseet. At one time there was an important distinction between French Métis born of francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
voyageur
Voyageurs
The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
fathers, and the Anglo Métis or Countryborn descended from Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
fathers. Today these two cultures have essentially coalesced into one Métis tradition. Other former names—many of which are now considered to be offensive—include Bois-Brûlés
Bois-Brûlés
Bois-Brûlés , or Brullis , is a sub-tribe of North American Dakota Indians . The name is most frequently associated with the Dakota in Manitoba near the Red River of the North.The Bois-Brûlés took part in the Battle of Seven Oaks...
, Mixed-blood
Mixed-blood
The term mixed-blood in the United States is most often employed for individuals of mixed European and Native American ancestry who are not of Hispanic descent . Some of the most prominent in the 19th century were mixed-blood or mixed-race children born of marriages and unions between fur traders...
s, Half-breed
Half-breed
Half-breed is an historic term used to describe anyone who is mixed Native American and white European parentage...
s, Bungi
Bungi
Bungi may refer to:* Bungi creole, a 19th century western Canadian creole English spoken in the Red River Colony* Bunji, Pakistan, a town in the northern area of Pakistan...
, Black Scots and Jackatars.
The Métis homeland includes regions scattered across Canada, as well as parts of the northern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(specifically Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, and northwest Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
).
Self-identity
Almost 400,000 people self-identify as Métis in Canada. Most Métis people today are not so much the direct result of First Nations and European intermixing any more than English Canadians today are the direct result of intermixing of SaxonsSaxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
and Britons
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
. The majority of Métis who self-identify today are the direct result of Métis intermarrying with other Métis. Over the past century, countless Métis are thought to have been absorbed and assimilated into European-Canadian populations making Métis heritage (and thereby aboriginal ancestry
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
) more common than is generally realized. Geneticists estimate that 50 percent of today's population in Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
have Aboriginal blood
Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood
A Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood or Certificate of Degree of Alaska Native Blood is an official U.S. document that certifies an individual possesses a specific degree of Native American blood of a federally recognized Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community...
, and therefore would be classified as Métis by any genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
measure. There is substantial controversy over who qualifies as Métis. Unlike First Nations people, there is no distinction between status and non-status Métis. The legal definition itself is not yet fully developed. S.35 of the Constitution Act, 1982
Section Thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982
Section thirty-five of the Constitution Act, 1982 provides constitutional protection to the aboriginal and treaty rights of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. The section, while within the Constitution Act, 1982 and thus the Constitution of Canada, falls outside the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms...
makes mention of the Métis stating:
- 35(1) The existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal People of Canada are hereby recognized and affirmed.
- (2) In this Act, "Aboriginal Peoples of Canada" includes the Indian, Inuit, and Métis Peoples of Canada.
Section-35(2)does not provide a definition of who is Métis. Until R. v. Powley (2003), there was little development in such a definition. The case involved a claim by two members of the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
Métis community, Steven Powley and his son Rodney, who were asserting their Métis hunting rights. The Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
outlined three broad factors to identify Métis rights-holders:
- self-identification as a Métis individual;
- ancestral connection to an historic Métis community; and
- acceptance by a Métis community.
All three factors must be present for an individual to qualify under the legal definition of Métis, but there is still a great deal of ambiguity. Whether or not Métis have Treaty Rights is an explosive issue in the Canadian Aboriginal community today. Some say that only First Nations could legitimately sign treaties so, by definition, Métis have no Treaty rights. There is one Treaty—the Halfbreed (Métis in the French version) Adhesion to Treaty 3
Treaty 3
Treaty 3 was an agreement entered into on October 3, 1873, by the Ojibway Nation and Queen Victoria. The treaty ceded a vast tract of Ojibway territory, including large parts of what is now northwestern Ontario and a small part of eastern Manitoba, to the Government of Canada...
. Descendants of Métis people included in that Treaty clearly have a claim to Treaty Rights. Another Treaty, the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850, included 84 "half-breeds" in the Treaty. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Métis were initially included in a number of other treaties and then unilaterally excluded under later amendments to the Indian Act
Indian Act
The Indian Act , R.S., 1951, c. I-5, is a Canadian statute that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves...
. These Métis and their descendants clearly have a claim as well. One judge has agreed that the Manitoba Act, from the point of view of the Métis it addressed, was, in principle, a Treaty. The descendants of those Manitoba Métis clearly have Treaty rights in that context. On September 23, 2003, The Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
ruled that Métis are in fact a Distinct People with significant Rights.
Origin
During the height of the North American fur tradeNorth American Fur Trade
The North American fur trade was the industry and activities related to the acquisition, exchange, and sale of animal furs in the North American continent. Indigenous peoples of different regions traded among themselves in the Pre-Columbian Era, but Europeans participated in the trade beginning...
in the 18th and 19th centuries, many British and French-Canadian fur traders married First Nations and Inuit women, mainly First Nations Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
, Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
, or Saulteaux
Saulteaux
The Saulteaux are a First Nation in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.-Ethnic classification:The Saulteaux are a branch of the Ojibwe nations. They are sometimes also called Anihšināpē . Saulteaux is a French term meaning "people of the rapids," referring to...
. The majority of these fur traders were Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and Catholic. Therefore, their children, the Métis, were exposed to both the Catholic and indigenous belief systems, thus creating a new distinct aboriginal people in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. First Nations women were the link between cultures, they not only provided companionship for the fur traders, but also aided in their survival. First Nations women were able to translate the language, sew new clothing for their husbands, and generally were involved in resolving any cultural issues that arose. The First Peoples had survived in the harsh west for thousands of years, so the fur traders benefited greatly from their First Nations wives' knowledge of the land and its resources.
The Métis played a vital role in the success of the western fur trade. Not only were the Métis skilled hunters, but they were also raised to appreciate both Aboriginal and European cultures. Métis understanding of both societies and customs helped bridge cultural gaps, resulting in better trading relationships. The Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
discouraged unions between their fur traders and First Nations and Inuit woman, while the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
(the English-speaking Quebecer fur trading company) supported such marriages. The Métis were valuable employees of both fur trade companies, due to the their skills as voyageurs, buffalo hunters, interpreters and knowledge of the lands.
19th century
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
farmers) moved to the Red River Valley
Red River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg...
, in present day Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. The Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, who nominally owned the land called Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
at the time, assigned the land to the settlers. The allocation of Red River land caused conflict with those already living in the area as well as with the North West Company, whose trade routes had been cut in half. Many Métis were working as fur traders with both the North West Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. Others were working as free traders, or buffalo hunters supplying pemmican
Pemmican
Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree word pimîhkân, which itself is derived from the word pimî, "fat, grease". It was invented by the native peoples of North America...
to the fur trade. The buffalo were declining in number, and the Métis and First Nations had to go further and further west to hunt them. As well, profits from the fur trade were declining because the Hudson's Bay Company had to extend its reach further and further away from its main posts to get furs.
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
exerted its power over the people living in Rupert's Land after its acquisition in the mid-19th century from the Hudson's Bay Company. The Métis and the Anglo-Métis
Anglo-Métis
A 19th-century community of the Métis people of Canada, the Anglo-Métis, more commonly known as Countryborn, were children of fur traders; they typically had Orcadian, Scottish, or English fathers and Aboriginal mothers. Their first languages were generally those of their mothers: Cree, Saulteaux,...
(commonly known as Countryborn, children of First Nations women and Orcadian, Scottish or English men), joined forces to stand up for their rights and to protect their age-old way of life against an aggressive and distant Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
government and its local colonizing agents. During this time the Canadian government pressured the Aboriginals to sign treaties (known as the "Numbered treaties
Numbered Treaties
The numbered treaties are a series of eleven treaties signed between the aboriginal peoples in Canada and the reigning Monarch of Canada from 1871 to 1921. It was the Government of Canada who created the policy, commissioned the Treaty Commissioners and ratified the agreements...
") which turned over rights to almost the entire western plains to the Government of Canada. In return for signing over their lands, the Canadian government promised food, education, medical help, and other kinds of support. Emerging as a Métis leader was the educated Louis Riel
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
, who denounced the government in a speech delivered in late August 1869 from the steps of Saint-Boniface Cathedral. The Métis became more fearful when the Canadian government appointed the notoriously anti-French William McDougall
William McDougall (politician)
Sir William McDougall PC CB was a Canadian lawyer, politician and one of the Fathers of Confederation.Born near York, Upper Canada...
as the Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories on September 28, 1869, in anticipation of a formal transfer to take effect in December. What followed was the generally successful Red River Rebellion
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Settlement, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba.The Rebellion was the first crisis...
of 1869 leading to the Manitoba Act and that province's entry into the Canadian Confederation. However, it also led to the exile of Louis Riel to the United States.
In March 1885, the Métis heard that a contingent of 500 North-West Mounted Police was heading west. They organized a newly formed coalition called The Métis provisional government
Provisional Government of Saskatchewan
The Provisional Government of Saskatchewan was the name given by Louis Riel to the independent state he declared during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 in what is today the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Although Riel initially hoped to rally the Countryborn, Cree and European settlers of the...
with Pierre Parenteau as President and Gabriel Dumont as adjutant-general to action. With the help of First Nations Chiefs Poundmaker and Big Bear
Big Bear
Big Bear or Mistahi-maskwa was a Cree leader notable for his involvement in the North-West Rebellion and his subsequent imprisonment.-Early life and leadership:...
they facilitated the return of Louis Riel to the coalition he founded in 1869. This led to a series of unsuccessful conflicts collectively known as the "Riel Rebellions" or the North West Rebellion. Gabriel Dumont fled to the United States with Louis Riel, Poundmaker and Big Bear surrendering to the government. Big Bear and Poundmaker each received a three-year sentence. On July 6, 1885, Riel was charged with high treason and was sentenced to hang. Riel's appeals went on briefly, but, as mandated by the government of the time, the execution was conducted on November 16, 1885.
20th century
During the 1930s, political activism arose in Métis communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan over land rights. Five men, sometimes dubbed "The Famous Five", (James Patrick Brady, Malcolm NorrisMalcolm Norris
Malcolm Norris was an influential Canadian Métis leader of the twentieth century and celebrated Aboriginal activist. A Marxist, Socialist, and Métis nationalist he served for a time with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and as an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company...
, Peter Tomkins Jr., Joe Dion, Felix Callihoo) were instrumental in having the Alberta government hold the "Ewing Commission" in 1934 dealing with land claims. The Alberta government would pass the Métis Population Betterment Act
Métis Population Betterment Act
The Métis Population Betterment Act was an Act of the Government of Alberta in Canada, which created a committee of members of the Métis and the government to plot out lands for allocation to the Métis...
in 1938. The act provided funding and land to the Métis (The provincial government later rescinded portions of the land in certain areas).
The 1960s saw the emergence of renewed political organizations.The Lake Nipigon Metis Association was the first in Ontario spawning a series of community groups and a major provincial political Association of some 100,000 members. (Ontario Metis and Non-Status Indian Association. The "Alberta Federation of Métis Settlement Associations" was established in the mid 1970s and provides a collective voice for the Métis Nation of Alberta
Métis Nation of Alberta
The Métis Nation of Alberta was formed in 1932 as the Métis Association of Alberta. Its primary goal was to be a political body to lobby the government on behalf of the Métis people. Its primary founding members were Felice Callihoo, Joseph Dion, James P. Brady, Malcolm Norris, Peter Tompkins. ...
. During the constitutional talks of 1989, the Métis were recognized as one of the three Aboriginal peoples of Canada. In 1990, land titles passed from the Alberta government to Métis communities through the "Métis Settlement Act", replacing the Métis Betterment Act.
The position of Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
The position of Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians was created in 1985 as a portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet. As the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is officially responsible only for Status Indians and largely with those living on Indian reserves, the new...
was created in 1985 as a portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet. As the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada)
The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who heads two different departments...
is officially responsible only for Status Indians and largely with those living on Indian reserve
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
s, the new position was created in order provide a liaison between the federal government and Métis and non-status Aboriginal peoples, urban Aboriginals and their representatives.
Organizations
The Provisional Government of SaskatchewanProvisional Government of Saskatchewan
The Provisional Government of Saskatchewan was the name given by Louis Riel to the independent state he declared during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 in what is today the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Although Riel initially hoped to rally the Countryborn, Cree and European settlers of the...
was the name given by Louis Riel to the independent state he declared during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 in what is today the Canadian province of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. The governing council was named the Exovedate
Exovedate
Exovedate is the name coined by Métis leader Louis Riel and given by him to his council of the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan during the North-West Rebellion in Canada. Ten years prior to this date on December 8, 1875 after attending a mass in Washington, D. C., Riel had a religious vision...
, Latin for "of the flock", and debated issues ranging from military policy to local bylaws and theological issues. It met at Batoche, Saskatchewan, and only exercised real authority during its existence over the Southbranch Settlement
Southbranch Settlement
Southbranch Settlement was the name ascribed to a series of French Métis settlements on the Canadian prairies in the 19th Century, in what is today the province of Saskatchewan...
. The provisional government collapsed that year after the Battle of Batoche
Battle of Batoche
The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. Fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,...
.
Constitution Act, 1982
The Constitution Act, 1982 is a part of the Constitution of Canada. The Act was introduced as part of Canada's process of "patriating" the constitution, introducing several amendments to the British North America Act, 1867, and changing the latter's name in Canada to the Constitution Act, 1867...
. The Métis National Council is composed of five provincial Métis organizations, Ontario having the fewest number of votes. They are:
- Métis Nation British ColumbiaMétis Nation British ColumbiaThe Métis Nation British Columbia , formerly Métis Provincial Council of British Columbia, is an aboriginal organization representing Métis people in British Columbia, Canada. Its current president is Bruce Dumont, Vice-president is David Hodgson....
- Métis Nation of AlbertaMétis Nation of AlbertaThe Métis Nation of Alberta was formed in 1932 as the Métis Association of Alberta. Its primary goal was to be a political body to lobby the government on behalf of the Métis people. Its primary founding members were Felice Callihoo, Joseph Dion, James P. Brady, Malcolm Norris, Peter Tompkins. ...
- Métis Nation - SaskatchewanMétis Nation - SaskatchewanThe Métis Nation—Saskatchewan is an organization that represents the approximately 80,000 Métis people in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is affiliated with the Métis National Council....
- Manitoba Métis FederationManitoba Métis FederationThe Manitoba Métis Federation is an aboriginal organization in Manitoba, Canada. Its current president is David Chartrand. MMF is an affiliate of the Métis National Council.-History:...
- Métis Nation of OntarioMétis Nation of OntarioMétis Nation of Ontario is an aboriginal organization for the Métis population in Ontario.It is affiliated with the Métis National Council.-External links:*...
.
The Métis people mandate these governance structures through province-wide ballot box elections held at regular intervals for regional and provincial leadership. Further, Métis citizens and their communities are represented and participate in these Métis governance structures by way of elected Locals or Community Councils, as well as, provincial assemblies held annually.
Language
A majority of the Métis once spoke, and many still speak, either Métis FrenchMétis French
Métis French, along with Michif and Bungi, is one of the traditional languages of the Métis people, and the French-dialect source of Michif.-Michif:...
or a mixed language called Michif. Michif, Mechif or Métchif is a phonetic spelling of the Métis pronunciation of Métif, a variant of Métis. The Métis today predominantly speak French
Canadian French
Canadian French is an umbrella term referring to the varieties of French spoken in Canada. French is the mother tongue of nearly seven million Canadians, a figure constituting roughly 22% of the national population. At the federal level it has co-official status alongside English...
, with English
Canadian English
Canadian English is the variety of English spoken in Canada. English is the first language, or "mother tongue", of approximately 24 million Canadians , and more than 28 million are fluent in the language...
a strong second language, as well as numerous Aboriginal tongues. Métis French is best preserved in Canada, Michif in the United States, notably in the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation
Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation
Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation is an Indian Reservation located primarily in northern North Dakota. It is the land-base for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians ....
of North Dakota, where Michif is the official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
of the Métis that reside on this Chippewa reservation. The encouragement and use of Métis French and Michif is growing due to outreach within the provincial Métis councils after at least a generation of decline.
The 19th Century community of Anglo-Métis
Anglo-Métis
A 19th-century community of the Métis people of Canada, the Anglo-Métis, more commonly known as Countryborn, were children of fur traders; they typically had Orcadian, Scottish, or English fathers and Aboriginal mothers. Their first languages were generally those of their mothers: Cree, Saulteaux,...
, more commonly known as Countryborn, were children of Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
fur trade ; typically of Orcadian, Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, or English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
paternal descent and Aboriginal maternal descent. Their first languages would have been Aboriginal (Cree language
Cree language
Cree is an Algonquian language spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Labrador, making it the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. It is also spoken in the U.S. state of Montana...
, Saulteaux language, Assiniboine language
Assiniboine language
The Assiniboine language is a Nakotan Siouan language of the Northern Plains, spoken by around 200 Assiniboine people, most of them elderly. The name Asiniibwaan is an Ojibwe term meaning "Stone Siouans"...
, etc.) and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It seems likely that their fathers spoke Gaelic, thus leading to the development of the dialect of English referred to as "Bungee
Bungee language
Bungi is a creole of Scottish English strongly influenced by Orcadian, Gaelic, Cree and Ojibwe, and spoken by the Red River Métis in present-day Manitoba, Canada...
".
Flag
The Métis FlagMétis Flag
The Métis Flag was first used by Métis resistance fighters in Canada prior to the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. The flag is either blue or red with a white infinity symbol superimposed on top. The blue flag is used to associate the Métis employees of the North West Company, while the red...
is one of the oldest patriotic flags originating in Canada. The Métis actually have two flags. Both flags have the same design, an infinity symbol, but are different colours, either red or blue. Red was the colour of the Hudson's Bay Company, while blue was the colour of the North West Company.
Distinction of lower-case 'm' versus upper-case 'M'
The term Métis was originally used to refer children from the union of Frenchmen and Native women. The first records of "Métis" are shown as early as 1600 on the East coast of Canada.Later the movement of the fur trade brought about more unions between French and Cree. Descendants of English or Scottish and natives were historically called 'half-breeds' or 'country born' and lived a more agrarian and Protestant lifestyle. The term eventually evolved to refer to all 'half-breeds', whether linked to the historic Red River Métis or not.
Lower case 'm' métis refers to those who are of mixed native and other ancestry, and is essentially an ethnic definition. Capital 'M' Métis refers to a particular sociocultural heritage and an ethnic self-identification that is not entirely racially based. Some argue that people who identify as métis should not be included in the definition of 'Métis'. In fact, not all such people might meet the legal test. Others have gone further and have suggested that only the descendants of the Red River Métis should be constitutionally recognized. The effect of this limitation would mean that people such as the some of the Labrador, Quebec, and Ontario Métis would be excluded from the legal definition and relegated to lower case 'm' métis status.
See also
External links
Western Métis- Manitoba Métis Federation
- Métis Nation-Saskatchewan
- Métis National Council
- Métis Nation of Alberta
- Métis Nation of Ontario
- OMAA - The Woodland Métis Tribe
- Métis Provincial Council of British Columbia
- Métis Nation of Greater Victoria
- Vancouver Métis Community Association
Eastern Métis
- Eastern Woodland Métis Nation (Nova Scotia)
- Métis Nation of Ontario
- Niagara Métis Association
- OMAA - The Woodland Métis Tribe
- Quebec Métis Nation
- Red Sky Métis Independent Nation
- Sou'West Nova Métis Council
- Upper Canada Métis Family
Government of Canada
- Aboriginal Canada Portal
- Canadian Genealogy Centre
- Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
- Differing Criteria for Métis
- Métis—The Kids' Site of Canadian Settlement
- Métis National Council Historical Online Database
Other
- A History of Aboriginal Treaties and Relations in Canada Site includes contextual materials, links to digitized primary sources and summaries of primary source documents.
- Métis Museum (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
- MiLan Metis Healing Art Project—MMHAP