I notice that the maps of Métis traditional homeland seem to all include all of Manitoba, including northern Manitoba’s coast of the Hudson’s Bay, even up as far northeast as Churchill, in the Arctic tundra there. But I haven’t heard much about Métis communities or history up by the tundra. A google search was unsuccessful in bringing up more information about Métis communities in this region. Does anybody know more about this?

Thank you for your time!

She:kon sewa'kwe:kon! Leland ion'iats, niti'wake ahkwesasné, my name is Leland and I am from the akwesasne Indian reservation,

I grew up in a large family home with my aunt, uncle, father, and tota (grandmother) along with my uncle's ista, (mom) tota, and all of my cousins. I always grew up as a kainyakeha:ka but through my tota I am part of the Metis Nation of Canada. My grandfather (who adopted and raised my dad) and my mom (whom also adopted me) (both at young age) are from 6 nations and kanawa:ke respectively.

My question is that -as I'm sure with everyone here- has had a fair share of identity issues. Ive been raised in haudenosaunee culture and am very traditional when it comes to haudenosaunee ways but I also don't want to be a "pretendian" and I want to connect better to the Metis Nation but also don't want to use it inappropriately as I have always called myself kainya'keha:ka. My dark brown skin and long black-brown hair has shielded me from questions about it for now I just wanna hear people's opinions and make sure Im in the right spaces and learning properly

Though to the tribe and to anyone's concern, my self identification as a kainya'keha:ka is fine as adoptions within the tribe are legitimate and I can get tribal status, I also want to make sure I also do good and connect to the place I have the blood ties too which is Metis -how can I help the Metis Nation of Canada?-

My dad who was raised traditional as I was, over the last little while has been hiding his indiginaity which is fine but he's expressed his "worry" for myself being so involved in everything within the community as an indigenous person, buisness, school, e.t.c (with a low blood quantum) and sometimes it gets to my head..

I plan to work in education and be a teacher/speaker and indigenous rights "activist"? I hope to be on @seeingredmedia one day ✌️

Tldr - Metis teen, adopted 2 generations into first nations family, doesn't want to use the Metis space inappropriately treading two worlds between blood Metis and adopted first nation, dealing with discrimination internally within family about blood quantum

Niáwen'kowa, I send great thanks, and apologies for such a complex issue 😅

Skén:nen! ✌️

Hello, I’m new here. A couple years ago I found out that I’m metis and would like to know more about culture and traditions. Any literature y’all recommend?

So today I took my son to get his Kindy vaccines and they asked me for the first time if he's at all indigenous. They had never asked me that before but our family is really big into genealogy and we discovered that we have blood relatives that identified as metis from St. Alphonse, Manitoba. It's made me very interested in digging further but of course I have no idea where to begin! My father stopped looking after he misunderstood the requirements for 'being Metis' but I am very interested in this aspect of my possible newfound culture. The only name I have is Marie Anne Paradis. Is there somewhere I can dig deeper into this or is there anyone who might be able to help me out? Or have we been telling ourselves a tall tale this entire time?

Thanks so much!

EDIT: missed a letter

I grew up being told my dad's ancestors were "addicts" and "nothing but trouble". They left the Red River Settlement for Montana, St Peter's Mission, but beyond what I've pieced together, I never got to know their stories or family history. Being so far and disconnected from the land and people that I come from on that side is kind of an isolating experience!

Long shot, but any distant relatives out there? I know we're related somehow!

Very curious to see the results to this one

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Hello everyone

I have a non-Indigenous acquaintance who has recently gotten very into beadwork. They attend free Métis-run beading workshops and have been at it for a couple months now.

They recently expressed that they are considering selling their work, and for some reason I feel sort of weird about it.

Where I live there is already a lot of Indigenous beaders trying to make a living selling their work, and something isn’t sitting right with me about this person learning the craft from Métis artists (for free) and then immediately wanting to compete with them in the beadwork market.

Of course Métis and other Indigenous people don’t own the art of beadwork, but this person isn’t trying to connect with their own heritage/culture/traditions in any way through beading.

Something just feels wrong to me about a settler learning an Indigenous craft from Indigenous people, and then turning around and trying to profit from it as soon as they can. It feels like they’re capitalizing on our traditional knowledge and also taking space from Indigenous artists in an already saturated beadwork market.

So I guess I’m just looking for opinions from other Métis! Am I being overly sensitive or is there some validity in my feelings?

So far I’ve tried to be supportive of this person because I love beadwork and I do want others to be able to enjoy it too, but I always leave our conversations feeling uncomfortable about the approach they’re taking.

My mom is looking to buy some stuff from this online store. I hadn’t heard of it until now.

It sells Métis products and says it’s a Métis store, but it seems like the products are made by Peruvian artisans?

Just wondering what everyone’s thoughts are on this. Should Métis products be bought from Métis artisans or is it fine to support Peruvian artists making Métis products?

My mom is looking to buy a ceinture fléchée for my cousin’s graduation. We’re in Winnipeg if anyone has alternative suggestions. I know there’s a lady around here who makes them but my mom’s worried about time/cost.

Im a little confused here. The debate is quite confusing for me. My ancestry traces back to the red river settlement. However my family is stranded out here in alberta. Got all the genological work done, scrip documentation, census records other things etc.

Because im here in alberta i filled for status with the MNA. I didnt think much of it, but i got some advice that it would be faster than the MMF. Then afterwards i can apply with the MMF. Regardless, i guess there are people in alberta, sask, Ontario and Quebec who are Mètis. That being said, are they historically tied to the red river settlement? What history explains this because i never read anything about it at this time. As far as im aware, i know about louis reil the red river resistance, and the land scrip that applied itself afterwards (northwest halfbreed commision) sorry for the archaic language im just quoting it verbatim.

But as for individuals from Ontario, what is being used to identify them as Mètis? What is the history here im confused? Did they get scrip or something? Maybe my memory is a little foggy about how land scrip worked.

So I've discovered I have Metis heritage from the Red River Settlement. It goes back quite a few generations. I'm not sure how to behave. Let me explain.

The Metis comes from my father's side. He would never say it. He was horribly racist actually. I don't know how much of any Metis ways were passed down. He was a good hunter and trapper, maybe it's connected? Also, I see the dysfunction passed down in my family and I'll never know if any of it has to do with the intergenerational trauma that resulted from the attempted genocide brought by the Europeans.

I have been spending a lot of time with the Treaty 6 Indigenous friends. I'm spending time taking in their traditions and participating in ceremonies. As a disabled person, I don't have the physical or emotional means to explore the local Metis community and the Indigenous community. But I would love to have an outward appearance like a sash that would connect me to people at powwows and ceremonies.

I know that wearing a sash in different regions carries different meanings. In different regions, a sash is meant to be earned and gifted and not purchased. I have reached out to my local Metis/Mechif community and they have endorsed wearing a sash. They actually said that anyone can buy and wear a sash, even if they aren't Metis as long as they are honest about their heritage.

Even with the support of my local Metis community, I still feel wrong wearing a sash. My husband wears his sash at ceremonies and he gets lots of special interactions with everyone around. I would love to have that.

Bit of a lurker here, I’m a full status aboriginal person yet my family historically were Métis and were apart of Louis Riels government then had to flee after the whole thing lol. Now my question is if my descendents lose our status or other family members, would we qualify for membership? Just curious

Kinda part of my identity but i have problems with my hair they are thinning and stuff and its just annoying. I feel like id be losing a part of who i am but im sick of my fucked up scalp.

I always understood that they were two different things. Bannock was baked in an oven or over a fire while frybread was cooked in oil. I make both and have different recipes for each, my bannock recipe being more cake like and not suitable at all for frying. My frybread recipe is thinner and cooks well in oil. Am I completely out to lunch? Would love to hear what others have to say!

Has anyone attempted/succeeded using their Métis identification to cross the border? I know of 1 person who has used it successfully at the Alberta border. Looking online though I get a lot of conflicting information about Métis being able to use it due to us not having blood quantum listed on the card.

Are vision quests in Metis culture exclusively for women or do young men do a vision quest or something like it?

Tân'si! I'm currently learning Northern-Michif and was wondering if there is anyone currently doing the same here in the Lower Mainland that would be interested in being my language partner?

I think it would be great to learn together as it's not so easy to learn any language while not having someone to speak it with.

Please let me know if you're interested and hopefully we can link up some time soon!

Miyokîsikan'si (Have a good day!)

Education? Medical? Clothing etc?? I can't find info anywhere. Specifically for children. My husband is treaty, but my kids aren't. It's a bit confusing, but they are Metis as my husband has Metis blood, but he was brought into treaty status through his great great aunt or something like that.

What're your top 3 favorites?

Since I was young, I have known that my mother's side of the family is Métis, but I didn't know much about our ancestors until last year. I recall that my grandmother was told by her relatives not to bring it up when she was younger, and it was intentionally hidden by her older relatives. Later, I discovered that one of my root ancestors was labelled a "savage" on her daughter's marriage documentation, so I can see why this approach was taken and passed down. Also, several of my family members registered with the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) in recent years.

Last year, I learned about my roots while charting both sides of my family tree with my paternal grandmother's help. Together, we discovered and recorded my paternal family history. Motivated by this process, I wanted to learn more about my maternal family's Métis past, better understand that part of my identity, and join a community with a shared ancestry and heritage. So, I applied with the MNO and was accepted relatively quickly, as several members of my immediate family previously registered.

I learned that I am a descendant of George McPherson (Sr.), a Métis trader who resided in Rainy Lake, Rainy River, and other parts of NW Ontario. He also served as an interpreter for the signing of Treaty 3 and was a witness of the signing alongside Nicholas Chatelaine. This, among many other historical facts, places my roots in the Northwestern Ontario / Treaty 3 Métis Community within the MNO.

Trader [George] McPherson's family, North West Angle, Lake of the Woods, Ontario [Back row: Margaret McPherson, George McPherson Jr, Sophia Morrisseau Front row: George McPherson Sr, Margaret Adhemar.

At the time of acceptance into the MNO, I had what I thought was a general idea of who the Métis people are and what Métis culture is. Still, I was unaware of the polarizing and contentious situation surrounding the MNO, First Nations, Métis National Council (MNC), and the Mantiboa Métis Federation (MMF).

Fast forward a few months after acceptance. I became aware of the successful vote to remove around 5400 MNO members from the registry due to a lack of hard evidence of Métis heritage. Initially, I thought this was concerning but also good. I was curious and wanted to know more. This is where I began reading about events and disagreements within the various Métis governing bodies, First Nations, and the Government of Canada.

Now, one year later, and after all the disagreements and conflicts surrounding Bill C-53 and the MNO communities, I feel less connected with my identity than before registering. Previously, things were simple; my maternal family and I were Métis, and that was that. It's not something I thought about often, and I only mentioned it to others on a few occasions when the topic came up. Still, it was one part of my identity, one which I hoped to understand and connect with better.

I began looking deeper into my Métis heritage at a time when that heritage was being questioned and scrutinized. From the start, I didn't know who had the right answers. I have read about the various opinions and stances from all sides, which has left me confused, embarrassed to mention, and questioning my identity.

I am now reluctant to acknowledge my identity, including in this sub, but also in everyday life. Is my identity based on falsehoods? Will people think I'm a pretendian, appropriating culture or race-shifting? Should I be registered with the MMF or other first nations? Will others think I am trying to take advantage of some sort of benefits of new laws? Who's right and who's wrong?

It's hard to describe how I feel about everything, and this post is only a small snippet of it all. Just looking to share my perspective.

I recently had a discussion with another member of this group that got me thinking about how important it is that we are all on the same page regarding the language we use to refer to ourselves. Especially when talking about important issues surrounding identity.

The question this poll is asking is: Do you know the difference between “Métis” and “métis” ?

Since the answers are anonymous I hope we will all answer as honestly as possible.

Maarsi for your participation!

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Taanishi! I'm a Métis filmmaker based in Edmonton. This March, we're going to start shooting a puppet series that introduces children (ages 4-6) to Métis culture and language. Looking forward to sharing more photos and clips in the coming weeks.

https://preview.redd.it/jduwotiuulhc1.jpg?width=1848&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed50e5506d7be374ace8213da16682f83d225010

And since then I have been working diligently to learn about this part of my heritage and culture, and while I love what I am learning I have some anxieties. I really don’t want to be that person that pretends to be someone they are not.

Growing up I did not know I was Metis. I do have a lot of Indigenous family who are Annishnaabe on my Dads side of my family. Two years ago my Dad and I found out from another cousin on his side that we, and a large portion of my Dads side of my family are Metis. My dad and I even have status with the Metis nation of Ontario.

My main worry is that I didn’t grow up with the culture, and as an adult now on my journey to learn about my identity through my heritage, I just don’t want to be that person that pretends to be someone they are not. And I don’t want to offend anyone.

I have been trying to get involved and learn what I can and I love what I have been learning but I don’t want to insert myself somewhere where I don’t belong. To make it harder my dad passed away last year and a lot of my aunts and uncles on my dads side have also passed away. I’m not particularly close with my cousins anymore because of this. My dad would be the one that helps me figure this stuff out but I have to figure it out on my own now and I’m overwhelmed.

I don’t want to be seen as the token white person for it either and I know skin colour doesn’t determine the experience with being Metis but idk. I really love what I’ve been learning about Metis and Indigenous culture but ultimately I don’t want to be seen as a phony. There’s still a lot I don’t know and I don’t want to offend anyone. Figuring it out on my own as an adult is tough and I don’t know if It’s okay to explore this side of my identity…. Do I even have that right?