Métis History
and Culture
The Métis Nation evolved
in the historic north-west in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Born of a mixture of French and Scottish fur traders
and Cree, Ojibwa, Saulteaux, an d Assiniboine women,
the Métis in the north-west developed as a people,
distinct from either Indian or European.
Following the annexation of the north-west by Canada
in 1869, the political economy of the Métis was
destroyed. Both the Manitoba Act (1870) and the Dominion
Lands Act (1879) recognized Métis claims to Aboriginal
title, but the federal government moved to unilaterally
extinguish these claims through individual land and
grants scrip. Denied the recognition of their collective
rights, the Métis became Canada's "forgotten
people". Only in Alberta was any action taken to
alleviate Métis distress through the establishment
of Métis settlements by the provincial government
in 1938. The Métis were officially recognized
as one of Canada's Aboriginal Peoples in the Canadian
Constitution of 1982.
The estimated number of Métis in Canada varies
widely, from 300,000 to 800,000. A proposed federal
enumeration could provide a more accurate count of Canada's
Métis population. Métis account for more
than 20% of the Aboriginal population.
Most Métis live in western Canada, both in remote
and urban communities and in Métis-only and mixed
communities. There are over 300 Métis communities;
most are English-speaking with some northern communities
using Cree or Michif. The Métis are distinguished
by their unique Michif languages.
The Métis have never received the benefits governments
grant to Status Indians and Inuit. In its final report
the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples stated "it
is unjust and
unreasonable to withhold from Métis people the
services and opportunities available to other Aboriginal
peoples".
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