The Métis Nation of Ontario
Nation to Nation Relations

The Métis are a “people”.  The word “people” or “peoples” has a legal meaning within Canada and internationally.  The Métis are one of the “aboriginal peoples” named in Canada’s Constitution, the Constitution Act, 1982.  This, the highest law in the land, names the aboriginal peoples as “the Indians, the Inuit and the Métis peoples”.  “Indians” is a legal term and these people prefer, today, to be referred to as “First Nations”. 

The foundation of the rights of “peoples” is established in a number of international instruments, primarily, the Charter of the United Nations, the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

As a people, the Métis have the right of self-determination and the inherent right of self-government.  As such, we are a Nation, a people whose legitimacy is established by history, territory, language, custom, values and laws.  On this basis we seek to establish “nation to nation” relationships with others.

North America

First and foremost, it is important for the Métis Nation to restore and rekindle age-old relationships with First Nations.  The MNO has accomplished this goal through a Nation-to-Nation Relationship with the Anishenabek Nation.  It has done this in a traditional way, through song, smoke, dance and feast.  In 2006, in a ceremony and Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, the MNO brought its song to the Drum and the Anishenabek Nation brought its song to the Drum.  The pipes of the Métis Nation and the Anishenabek Nation were lit and shared.  The ceremony was commemorated in a dance and followed by a feast.  (See: Culture – The Michif Song).

The MNO has begun discussions to enter into a similar relationship with the Nishinabe-Ask-Nation.  The MNO has an established “Protocol” with the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) and works closely with the COO in matters of mutual interest with the Government of Ontario.  Talks have also begun on inter-treaty harvesting arrangements and the commemoration of a wampum belt to be shared between the Métis Nation and the Anishenabek Nation.

The MNO, through the Métis National Council, works closely with the Assembly of First Nations and the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami on issues of comment concern at the national and international levels.   The MNO and the Métis National Council have also begun talks with the National Congress of American Indians, the national representative of tribal governments in the United States.  Métis north and south of the Canada/US border share kinship, historic and cultural ties.  Internationally we have common interests within the UN and the Organization of American States (OAS).   Our interests range from human rights to economic development and trade. 

The Métis, as a people within Ontario, also aspire to develop an appropriate relationship with the Government of Ontario and with the Government of Canada.  As a consequence of the historic decision concerning Métis Rights at the Supreme Court of Canada in R v. Powley, the MNO entered into a binding, and equally historic MNO (Métis Nation of Ontario)/MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) Interim Harvesting Agreement in 2004 in order to accommodate the Métis right to harvest in Métis traditional harvesting territories in Ontario.  The MNO is now entering into a new era of discussions and negotiations with Ontario on many matters ranging from health care to access to lands and natural resources.

Central America

The Métis Nation of Ontario has, for many years, been very supportive of the Indigenous peoples of Central and South America through its participation in the negotiations of an “Americas Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”.  These negotiations take place through a “Working Group” established by the Organization of American States (OAS).  The Working Group consists of representatives of member states of the OAS and an Indigenous Caucus made up of representatives of Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and South, Central and North America. 

For the past decade the MNO has also been supportive of the Maya of Guatemala.  The MNO has raised funds to assist Mayan communities that have been devastated by hurricanes.  The MNO has also established relationships with the Q’eqchi Maya of the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala.   Through this relationship, representatives of the Q’eqchi have visited two MNO Annual General Assemblies.  The MNO has also launched a fundraising initiative to assist the community of Secanal II to maintain a teacher in its school.

South America

The MNO has developed a Protocol with the Aymara Parliament, at body that is representative of the traditional governance structures of the Aymara Nation.  The Aymara Nation extends from the Andean communities of Bolivia to southern Peru, northern Chile and northern Argentina.   Representatives of the Amyara Parliament have attended MNO AGA’s and work closely with the Métis Nation at both the OAS and the UN.  The MNO, through the Métis National Council, is currently engaged in discussions to develop a multilateral relationship between the Indigenous peoples of Bolivia and the governments of Bolivia and Canada.

The MNO has also established relations with the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador.  Talks are on-going concerning the provision of assistance to enable the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador to establish a registry.