The Metis are on the three distinct Aboriginal peoples of Canada, recognized under the 1982 Constitution. Fiercely independent, the Metis were instrumental in the development of western Canada. But unlike the Indian and Intuit, the historic role played by the Metis has not been acknowledged, nor have their inherent rights to land and self-government been respected by governments.
The Metis people were born from the marriages of Cree, Ojibwa and Salteaux women, and the French and Scottish fur traders, beginning in the mid-1600's. In Canada, Metis families and communities were identifiable as early as the 1600's. Many Metis families followed the fur trade to the Red River area, where they became renowned buffalo hunters. A large community coalesced, in which Metis people maintained their traditional culture. In 1869, the Hudson Bay company abandoned its claim to the Red River area, and the Metis established a provisional government. Scandinavian, Irish and English stock was added to the mix as western Canada was explored.
The word Metis comes from the Latin "miscere", to mix, and was used originally to describe the children of native women and French men. Other terms for these children were Country-born, Black Scots, and Half-breeds.
The Metis quickly became intermediaries between European and Indian cultures, working as guides, interpreters and provisioners to the new forts and new trading companies. Their villages sprang up from the Great Lakes to the Mackenzie Delta. The Metis Homeland encompasses parts of present-day Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Metis culture was a fusion of French, English and Indian influences that took root and flourished until the late 1800's. The Metis developed a unique language called Michif. Their fiddlers combined jigs and reels into their music. Metis attire included woven sashes, embroidered gun sheaths, deer hide caps, and quilted and beaded pipe bags. Our ancestors lovingly surrounded themselves with beauty; they were called the "flower-beadwork people", because of their elaborately decorated clothing and belongings. The Metis developed technologies such as the Red River Cart. Expert hunters, they made formidable soldiers.
They also developed a unique political and legal culture, with strong democratic traditions. The Metis had elected provisional governments to organize buffalo hunts. By 1816, the Metis had challenged the Hudson Bay Company's monopoly in the fur trade, and began to develop a nation consciousness.
The Metis formed the majority of the population at the Red River Colony. Louis Riel's provisional government negotiated the entry of Manitoba into Canadian confederation in 1870. But federal promises of land in the Manitoba Act were not fulfilled. After ten years of delay, the government introduced the now-notorious scrip system. These certificates for land or money replaced direct land grants. Scrip was snapped up by speculators who followed the Scrip Commissions. Aware that the Metis were defrauded of their land, the government ignored the abuse and facilitated the business of the speculators.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 made the crown responsible for the well-being of aboriginal peoples and forbid the dismembering of their lands. But the federal government refused to acknowledge its responsibilities for the Metis, and their political rights as a sovereign people were not recognized. Impoverished and frustrated, the Metis appealed to Louis riel once again and in 1885 he led a resistance in Northwestern Saskatchewan, near the Metis settlements of Duck Lake and Batoche. Despite support from farmers, Blackfoot and Cree, the resistance was crushed by the Canadian army. Riel and his provisional government were arrested and tried, and Riel was executed in Regina on November 16, 1885.