Telling Our Stories: Sharing our History and Truth

In 2021, the Métis National Council (MNC) Annual General Assembly passed a unanimous resolution calling for the formation of an Expert Panel to review the history of the seven Métis communities in Ontario through the lens of the MNC National Definition and contemporary Métis governance.

Grounded in respect for the Métis Nation’s inherent right to self-determination—including the exclusive right to determine who its citizens are—the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) supported this resolution as the Métis Nation’s chosen route to address questions about the seven Métis communities in Ontario’s relationships to the larger Métis Nation.

The Expert Panel’s work commenced in September 2023, beginning the most comprehensive study of its kind. They reviewed primary and secondary sources, expert reports, royal commissions, and academic literature related to Métis Nation history, identity, and belonging. They engaged with Métis Nation elders, youth, academics, past and present leaders, as well as independent experts of Métis history, law, and genealogy.

Importantly—and unlike any other studies of Métis communities in Ontario to date—they also engaged directly with the Métis communities being examined. They personally visited the seven Métis communities in Ontario, met with community members, elders, and youth, and received written submissions and presentations from the communities themselves on this pivotal issue.

As part of its participation, the MNO submitted written submissions to the Expert Panel on each of the seven historic Métis communities that the MNO represents. These written submissions gave the MNO and the Métis communities themselves the opportunity to share their vibrant histories, culture, and clear political identity, as well as their familial and political connections westward.
These written submissions hold the histories and voices of Métis communities in Ontario, reflecting who they are, where they’ve been, and where they are going.

When MNO passed the Telling Our Stories resolution at the 2023 AGA, our Métis Government said we would no longer let others write our narrative. We said we would be the ones to share our history—our truth.

Through these submissions, that’s exactly what MNO has done, and will continue to do.