I don’t watch drag race, but I saw a clip of drag race Canada that made me bawl lol (context: I am constantly crying. It’s just a part of my life.. so possibly this won’t be as tear-invoking for yall). Several contestants were speaking about their experiences as Métis in Canada, and someone was gifted a sash… idk if anyone else saw this, but it just made me so proud that such experiences were being brought up on such a big show. Trigger warning though, they do talk about being snatched from their families and put into foster care. Wondering if anyone else saw, and specifically what others thought of the sash gifting? Never seen it happen in this context

What's going to happen in Métis world now.... this is crazy.

I've heard this from them many times. To them, they think this is a "gotcha" moment. Why do they assume I don't care about the rest of my heritage?

Contrary to their beliefs, I am not reconnecting for money, status, or "oppression points" (I.e. the settler move to innocence). I am reconnecting for culture.

And the joke's on them. I AM reconnecting with my Ukrainian, Swiss-German, and British Isles roots, just as much as my Metis roots.

That said, they aren't entirely wrong. All my heritage is all incredibly valuable to me, and the rest DOES matter. I'd say connecting with European roots is every bit as important and people should value it just as much. A culture doesn't need to be indigenous to warrant preservation and in fact decolonization is a collective effort and European identities need to be decolonized as well.

In fact, I believe this is a big reason why actual pretendianism exists. French Canadians and other white people grow up feeling spiritually disconnected, culturally bland, and stricken with white guilt. So they appropriate Indigenous identities to mitigate all of that. It is actually a very toxic cycle.

What they don't realize, is that all their European ancestors were originally Indigenous people (of Europe) and one point or another and were colonized as well. There are thousands of years of ancestors crying out for acknowledgement and justice. There is actually A LOT of cultural richness there and millennia of European pre-christian culture. Those identities getting colonized and folded into Empire is what led to colonization of the Americas (and the globe) in the first place. So why not decolonize those cultures?

And I think this is part of the problem with gatekeepers. They treat us reconnecting people like those pretendians, wrongly of course. But if people actually valued decolonizing European cultures, then the pretendians would be much less in number and the gatekeepers wouldn't have as much of a leg to stand on.

Just some thoughts.

I’ve connected with some family on here already but I’m curious to see if there’s anymore out there. My mom spent a lot of her childhood in Duck Lake and Wingard. Her great great grandfather founded Windgard. My family names are Erasmus McKay Budd Peterson Kennedy McCorrester Ballendine (also spelled Ballentyne)

Maybe this is a silly question, but I’ve been having really bad imposter syndrome as I’m trying to reconnect and I often question whether I’m “Métis enough” to even be trying to reconnect, I just want pure honestly. Here’s my situation: I’ve always known I’m Métis and have had my mnbc card since I was a child, my mom had hers since the 90s. Luckily we’ve always had “legal proof” and had a good understanding of our ancestry, which dates back to 1812 in red river. My family names are bear, Moran/morin, and Landry/laundry. My grandpa was raised by his grandma who was Cree/Métis, she spoke fluent Cree and little English, and taught him quite a few traditional ways (hunting,fishing,gathering etc). My grandpas mom was full Métis, he wasn’t raised by his dad and had no clue who he was but ancestry tests are pointing towards the fact that he was probably Scottish. My grandpa had a hard upbringing and had a lot of shame, trauma, and fear about being Métis. Because of this, he didn’t pass anything on to my mom and she didn’t pass anything on to me. He eventually reconnected in his 80s and joined his local Métis association, it wasn’t until then that he started opening up more about being Métis and I learned that he actually still knew how to speak some Cree. My moms mom is welsh and my dad is Scottish. I wanted to reconnect because when my grandpa passed away I started to understand how much being Métis was a part of my grandpas life and how he was made to feel so ashamed and scared to express that. I realized that with him gone I had lost my only connection to the culture and felt as though if I made no effort to continue it then the colonial forces that made my grandpa so ashamed would have been successful, and that really bothered me. I wasn’t raised with the culture at all, and neither was my mom. Reconnecting feels important to me but I don’t want to take up spaces that aren’t meant for me. When I do try to connect with community, I feel like a faker. Maybe it’s been too long and I’ve been raised too white to be reconnecting, I’m willing to accept that, but I need honest opinions. Sorry for the huge tangent, any thoughts are appreciated❤️

Hello, I’m looking for a part time job in Calgary. Something part time while I’m in school (post secondary). Like many I’m having trouble. I’m almost 20 without a lot of work experience or solid references. Looking at some retailers they have a section to check if you identify as metis, which I am. Does anyone know whether this would help or hinder my application to somewhere like Safeway or CO OP? Or suggestions where I could apply around the university to get some work experience? My last few jobs didn’t hire me back after summer, but no one gave me a reason that I did anything wrong.

Hey! I'm doing a project on Metis Legends, and I'm looking for any stories featuring Kookoush. please let me know any stories I can search and where to find them if possible! Thanks!

My partner made a comment about how morbid it is to celebrate Louis Riel Day on the date of his death, though learning about our history has taught me that he was a martyr for our people. He was ready to go, and his trial and death, and it showed just how serious Eastern Canadians were about suppressing and eradicating our Nation.

(Louis Riel Day is Nov 16th, but I get it off on a Monday because I work for the Metis Nation 🎉)

Spent all day yesterday (the anniversary of Riel’s execution) on this piece. The frame was a labour of love but I’m so happy with it!

“My people will sleep for 100 years and when they wake it will be the artists who give them their spirit back" - Louis Riel

Hello hello! I live in northern CA and feel so so separated from my Métis heritage. My aunt and grandma moved here from Montana; great aunt is enrolled in the little shell band and they grew up in that community in Montana (grandma never wanted to enroll, worries about being on govt lists). I went to one powwow in Montana when I was maybe 8? And met some cousins, but otherwise I have no family near me.

I won’t go into the history of my difficulties trying to reconnect, because that story has been covered often on this page. I guess I’m just curious if there are any other Métis living in this part of the state… feels unlikely but I wanted to give it a try. I don’t have the means to just go to Montana, and besides that I would feel weird going to try and meet family that I don’t know at all without some help from my grandma, who isn’t healthy enough to do that now.

Tansii my relations! I am a 20 year old Métis woman living in metro Vancouver and was looking for some family/ kinship out here. My kokoom is from scrip land in Wingard Saskatchewan near Duck Lake. My family settled there after the red river resistance. My 4x great grandfather is John Richards McKay also known as little bearskin. My Métis identity runs through till my Kokoom who left Saskatchewan and moved to bc. My family names include McKay, Peterson, and Erasmus. If anyone else here is connected to these names/ duck lake scrip land please let me know!

I’m talking like 1 or 2. The culture is important and I feel like a few that are managed democratically could help preserve Métis heritage and secure a position at the bargaining table for better rights and recognition.

Tansi, bonjour!

I’ve been learning Southern Michif for a couple years now, and I’ve decided now it’s time to start learning French and Plains Cree. I think being able to share language with lots of people from different Métis communities is a good thing to do, and I enjoy the process of learning.

With that in mind, do you have any books about Métis history/culture/life/identity/arts and crafts/communities/experiences/etc. that are written in French or Cree? I’m not yet at the level of being able to really read them properly, but I like to look at them for practice and as motivation to keep learning. For example, I hope to read the Diaries of Louis Riel in their original French someday.

I would also potentially expand it to books about Cree and/or Saulteaux peoples on the prairies and/or the voyageur and coureur des bois ancestors of the Métis if you have a particularly good book to recommend. Currently I have borrowed from the library ‘Sacred Stories of the Sweetgrass Cree’ and ‘peepeekisis ātayōhkēwina’ which are both fully bilingual in English and Plains Cree.

(And for that matter, if you have ANY favourite French language book I’d still be happy to hear about it lol)

My great uncle (right) Elzear Chartrand from Camperville. He did not come back from WWII. I’m not sure the person beside him, anyone I can ask in the family is gone and my cousin said he can’t remember.

I am métis, but I grew up in a shitty environment and never really connected with my culture. My mom would souffre constantly and we would listen to chants, but that’s the most I got. I am proud of my héritage, but I feel like a phonie. I want to get more connected to my roots but I don’t know how and I feel like a fraud. Any suggestions?

*ignore spelling mistakes, my phone is in French lol

Hey y'all, I was hoping to have a bit of a discussion on how we define our communities, and nuance our understanding of Métis nationhood. With that said, I understand this is a hotly contested issue at the moment. My family comes from northern Alberta & has ancestral connections back to Red River so I have no personal stake, except insofar as I decide who represents me. What I'm looking for information and understanding on is:

What stories/evidence of connections are offered from the communities that the MNO claims in order to justify their inclusion in the larger Métis nation?

What is your understanding of Métis organization & nationhood?

What are your current feelings with political representation available to you as a Métis person?

What rights ought to available to Indigenous folks without legal status and why?

Btw this store in Prince Albert has some awesome things there. I got a blanket and sheet set, a water bottle, a couple tshirts, some books, and some pens

I’m going to shamelessly hop on the “any cousins out there” band wagon.

Anyone else out there in the Reddit void with Perreault, Carrière, Beauchemin, Ducharme, Nault, Goulet, and Landry ancestors?

Edit - Hey y’all!! It’s been so heart warming to see all these comments. Genuinely needed to know I’m not alone, and this was truly so healing.

Just for fun, to see just how closely related I am to some of y’all, here is a snippet of just some of my ancestor’s names:

Marie Rose Ann Perreault, Joachim Perrault, Edouard Perreault Morrin, Jean Baptiste Perreault, Mathilde Carrière, Eli Carrière, André Carrière, Madeleine Beauchemin, André Millet Beauchemin, Marie Charron Ducharme, Madeline Ducharme,

My family was primarily located in around modern day Winnipeg mainly St. Vital, St. Norbert and St.Boniface. Later they were farther south Manitoba and into southern Saskatchewan.

Thank you again everyone for commenting. Even if we have never met in real life, it’s so heartening to know y’all are out there and we are still going strong!

TW: Residential Schools

Hello, I'm working on my genealogy and came across papers mentioning that some of my ancestors were sent to St. Boniface school in Winnipeg, James Shortt school, St. Mary's school in Calgary. Were these schools considered residential schools? I am having a hard time getting a straight answer with my online research.

I am able to track my Métis ancestry 8+ generations but ironically I've have more issues getting information about my closer ancestors than ones further up the line. No one in my family identifies as Métis (even though we have very clear, direct Métis lineage) and from the very limited information I have, it sounds like great grandparents only embraced the French side, not the First Nations side of their Métis heritage. I'm trying to understand why none of my Métis culture got passed down and wonder if it was due to my ancestors attending residential schools?

Thank you in advance for your help

I’m related to Bremners, Bouchers, L’esperances, Hogues, Twatts, Taylors, Goyans, Grenons. Any cousins?

I’m also hopping on the trend , is anyone related to me through these last names?

-Lagimodiere , Huppe, Nault, larocque, Charon, ducharme