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Métis people (USA)
Encyclopedia
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
/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...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an ancestry. Some Métis also have African or/and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n or/and Pacific Islander
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
ancestry; but Métis people with African ancestry are usually considered "Black".
Contemporarily, "Métis" is used to describe any person of mixed Aboriginal North or South American and non-Aboriginal ancestry. Originally, however, the term referred to a specific community of Métis people of mixed Cree or Anishinaabe and Scottish or French ancestry in upper North America, especially the Michif-speaking peoples of the Red River
Red River of the North
The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...
region in what is today modern 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...
, 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 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...
. The Red River peoples are part of the same ethnic group as many of the Canadian Métis
Métis people (Canada)
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...
peoples.
The word Métis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
is pronounced Meh-tee, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for "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...
."
Geography
Exploration, settlement, and exploitation of resources by historical French and British fur trading interests across North America gave rise to historical Métis communities through the relationships of male Europeans in the fur trade and Native American women.Métis people continue to live throughout the United States from the West to East Coasts, with greater or lesser community identity. A strong Prairie Métis identity exists in the "homeland" once known as Rupert's Land, which extends south from Canada into 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....
, especially the land west of the Red River of the North. The historic Prairie Métis homeland also includes parts of 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...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Many Métis families continue to show up in the U.S. Census in the historical Métis settlements areas along the Detroit & St. Clair Rivers, Mackinac Island, and Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, as well as Green Bay in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. Métis settlements existed all along the Allegheny and Ohio rivers and their tributaries as evidenced by the French names of the many towns and villages in these areas.
Many, if not most of the descendants of the Métis ceased to exist as a distinct people with the arrival of the English speaking settlers. Initially, the light-haired Métis and, later, with the arrival of the many immigrants from southern Europe, the dark-haired Métis intermarried with these new arrivals. Today,unaware of their heritage, descendants of the Métis in the areas of western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois assume they are descended from the more recent immigrants from Europe when, in fact, their European heritage can be traced back hundreds of years.
Current population
Today, in North AmericaNorth 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...
, millions of people could, and many thousands do, claim Métis heritage, as they are the product of European and Native American ancestors. Many people of mixed heritage are not aware of the Métis Identity movement within the USA.
Estimated population
An estimated 10,000 self-identified Métis live in North Dakota (mostly in Pembina County, North DakotaNorth 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....
although their cultural status is softer than their brethren in 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...
, Canada). In addition, many members of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians is a Native American tribe of Ojibwa and Métis peoples, based on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota. The tribe has 30,000 enrolled members...
(a federally recognized Tribe) consider themselves Métis. In the Northeast, the Métis Eastern Tribal Indian Society, often referred to as the Métis of Maine
Metis of Maine
The Maine Eastern Tribal Indian Society , often referred to as The Métis of Maine is a cultural and educational organization based in Dayton, Maine...
, seeks to teach and carry on the North Eastern Woodland Native American heritage to its “mixed blood” (Native and usually European) members of the band. At its Cultural Center located in Dayton, Maine
Dayton, Maine
Dayton is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,805 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. Dayton is one of the smallest towns in York County....
, Métis band elders teach traditional Eastern Woodland Native spiritual and social culture in the Medicine Wheel way, which teaches harmony and respect between the cultures. Membership in this band does not preclude tribal membership in other bands.
Organizations
The United States Metis Nation, Inc. aims "to provide charitable services in support of U.S. Metis Indians – our heritage, culture, and way of life. Metis Nation, Inc. is a "non-federally recognized" tribe.". THe Untied Métis Tribe claims to be "a sovereign Nation as defined by the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Rights."See also
- Anglo-MétisAnglo-MétisA 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,...
- MétisMétisA Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
- Métis people (Canada)Métis people (Canada)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...
- Mixed-bloodMixed-bloodThe 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...
- Black IndiansBlack IndiansBlack Native Americans is a term that refers to people of African-American descent, usually with significant Native American ancestry, who also have strong ties to Native American culture, social, and historical traditions....
- Territorial era of MinnesotaTerritorial era of MinnesotaThe territorial era of Minnesota covers the history of the land that is now the modern U.S. state of Minnesota from the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, to its achieving statehood in 1858. The Minnesota Territory itself was formed only in 1849 but the area had a rich history well before this...
Further reading
- Foster, Harroun Marther. We Know Who We Are: Métis Identity in a Montana Community. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 2006.
- Barkwell, Lawrence J., Leah Dorion, and Audreen Hourie. Metis legacy Michif culture, heritage, and folkways. Metis legacy series, v. 2. Saskatoon: Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2006. ISBN 0920915809
- Barkwell, Lawrence J., Leah Dorion and Darren Prefontaine. "Metis Legacy: A Historiography and Annotated Bibliography". Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications Inc. and Saskatoon: Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2001. ISBN 1-894717-03-1