What are

[Wonderer]

What are Metis?
Big brouhahah going on in Alberta about "Metis".
Thanks in advance.

[Aaron-IN]

Not sure if this is what they are talking about but the Metis are an Indian tribe, indigenous to Canada I believe.

[Wonderer]

Hmmm.
They were talking about Natives, Whites, and Metis. That is what got me wondering.

[Tripper]

A general search on "Metis" would give you the answer, but anyway they are a mix of N. American native and French settlers.

[fishncamp]

Yes,the metis are a people mixed with both aboriginal and early french ancestry.

[Johnny_Canuck]

You are partly correct. Here in Canada Metis are a mix between Canadian Aboriginals and Europeans. These Europeans may be French but they could also be English, Scottish, etc. Most Metis though are a mix of either French, English, or Scottish because these were the predominite Europeans who first explored Canada.

[Bryan]

Johnny_Canuck is right on. There are about 60,000 Metis in alberta and the federal goverment has just granted them similar privilages as the natives in that they can now fish and hunt any time anywhere without a license and no limits on anything in the name of sustinance hunting. This is something that the Canadian sportsmen are dead set against as most of these people do not and have not in the past sustinance hunted or fished. It is widely believed that the new laws will only encourage trophy hunting and wide spread gill netting for profit hence depleting the resources of our country. These rights are being granted to fourth and fifth generation Metis that have bought groceries and licenses like you and I all their lives.

[alanexpup]

Hi. what they need to do is define sustenance. To me that is catching enough to eat and feed your family, not sell for money so you can buy what ever you want. it looks like the french in ottawa are trying to screw the rest of the country before they go for their independence again. just cant trust those french

[Canadian Guy]

Few of them ever do the hunter gatherer thing. It's easier to go with welfare cheque in hand and get your groceries. There are no young natives or "Metis" in the bush. They are all over 60 and on the last lap. Time will settle this.

[Wonderer]

Thanks.
I don't understand any of this rights and privileges stuff, but thanks.

[Yankee]

Johnny, How do they know who is Metis and what does it take to qualify for these special privileges. Do you know where a man could find out?
This is bazaar.

[Bryan]

To be granted these rights a Metis has only to prove a blood relationship to a person of aboriginal decent within (I believe?) the last 5 generations. Also if I am not mistaken there is government funding of university and college benefits as well. All courtesy of the ol' tax payer. These rights are gauranteed in our countries constitution if you can believe it...

[Yankee]

More bazaar by the minute!!!!!!!!!!
Why would these people be selected to have any special privileges?
Are they an actual group with a culture? I mean why or how are they deserving of this?
I am amazed at this.
You got to be kidding!

[rebelrn2001]

I don't see it as any different than the "Native American's" in the US. No different.

[Johnny_Canuck]

You would need a whole history lesson to understand our (Canadian) relationship with our Native people. Our culture though somewhat similar to yours is very, very different. It is a total mistake for some on the forum to be bad mouthing Metis or Natives. They have been discriminated against for the last 200 years and it is only recently when we have been trying to rectify this.

My old mother used to say, "to have an opinion one needs to be knowledgeable on the subject".

[BraxII]

Let me start by saying Discrimination is WRONG and should not be tolerated.

But, by special treatment, special interest groups never become part of the whole but become more alienated. I strongly believe special rights and other things that segregate cultures or races, promote discrimination and prejudice. Some examples are, Indian spearing, The Black Miss America Pageant, The united Negro Collage fund, Indian Casino gambling.

Outdated fishing and hunting rights need to be corrected, on both sides of the border. The old excuse of saying “it is my heritage” does not hold water. Using this same argument, decedents of other groups should also have the right to practice their heritage. Let’s say you came from a long line of trappers, or buffalo hunters or commercial fisherman.

These people do not live off the land in a primitive way today. That way of life is long gone. The Indians in Wisconsin do not go on the lake in hand made canoes with torched to spear walleyes. The go out in a motorized boat with 1 million + candle power electric lights. How is this practicing their heritage?

I have great respect for the heritage of the Native Americans, but it is just that a Heritage, not a modern-day way of life.

[Alces]

Alanexup wrote:
it looks like the
>french in ottawa are trying to screw the rest of the country
>before they go for their independence again. just cant trust
>those french

I hope you are referring to the french from France, I am a canadian and I speak french, was born and raise in that language and I am not in the process of screwing up the country before Independance.

You have to understand one thing, early settlers, from France, England or Scotland moved through the continent pushing and making friends with the natives. In the process some signed threaty others just got oral agreement, the supreme court of Canada, made of 11 judges, two of french speaking origin, decided unanimously that you HAVE to respect those rights....what can you do?

[Yankee]

Hold on, I am not discriminating. This forum has been kind of dead all winter anyway, so let me explain.
I am trying to understand the situation and asking questions to learn how this could be.
What you are saying, Johnny-Rocket, is the Metis are a recognized as a race of people, in the sense Jews were (by the Nazis).
If so, yes at least it is somewhat plausible, given athe prevailing politically correct atmosphere of the day. However, the way it was described above, it merely sounded as if any person of a certain lineage (like Cajuns in USA, for example), were now exempt from laws.
From the outside looking in I'd have to think this is discrimination, in reverse. By definition, dicrimination is conducted when giving special rights to a certain lineage of citizens? This is exactly what is going on.
Is this helpful to the Metis? Is this fair to the Metis?
Let us carry this further. If you want to help these people truly better their lives, then the ones who live in cities should have free country club golf memberships as well.
I guess the big question is will this actually help these people subsist?
Or is this being done so these chosen people can turn around and sell their newly created rights for money?
Or just to create controversy?

[bigfish1965]

The Metis were given the same rights as Native Canadians based on the treaties signed by our forefathers. The Metis argued that they were part of those treaties and the Supreme Court agreed. Most of our laws refer to a specific lineage to qualify as a native, and the courts ruled the Metis were within this definiton.

[Yankee]

Thank you. That is a good explanation. Now I understand the thinking.
Bigfish, do you think it will help them have a better life and suffer less prejudism?

[Johnny_Canuck]

Let me reply. Yes, it does make a tremedous difference to them and their communities.

Please check out this web site. It is the web site of the Metis community of St. Laurent of Manitoba.

" St. Laurent's new web site - it was created to celebrate the community's inclusion in the Smithsonian Institution in September of 2004. As it would be for any community, this is a major event in our history so we hope you'll celebrate with us."

http://www.stlmb.ca/english/home.htm

Here is further information on the Metis of Manitoba.

"WINNIPEG - A euphoric contingent of Métis from the small Manitoba community of St. Laurent marched in Washington Tuesday, celebrating their contribution to the new U.S. National Museum of the American Indian. Though it was one of about 1,000 aboriginal communities in the western hemisphere celebrating the museum's opening, St. Laurent is also one of the few with its own exhibit in the new $219-million US museum.

"It's important that the culture of the Métis is finally recognized in such a grandiose way," said Denis Tetrault, one of the Métis who took part the opening ceremonies Tuesday.

"I think you can't get better than being represented in the Smithsonian."

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2004/09/22/Arts/metismuseum040922.html


Here is the site of my search for the Metis Nation, as they like to be refered to.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Metis+of+St.+Laurent,+Manitoba&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Boy, do you have a lot of research and reading to do. Hey, you just may become an expert on the Canadian Metis Nation.

[Yankee]

Thanks to you and others in this discussion, I am getting up to speed.
I appreciate your help.

[Can_Man]

Not so fast, listen up to what the Natives have to say about Metis and their claimed "rights"

A group of First Nations in western Manitoba is asking the Doer
government not to recognize Métis hunting cards.
Manitoba Métis Federation president David Chartrand is shocked that some
of the strongest opposition to what he considers a constitutionally
protected aboriginal right is coming from another aboriginal group.

"They've been oppressed all along and now they're trying to oppress us,"
he said, after receiving a copy of a Dec. 1 letter from the Swampy Cree
Tribal Council to Premier Gary Doer.

It raises concerns that negotiations on the harvester cards the MMF
started issuing to its members last fall are proceeding without
consultation with First Nations regarding the impact on their treaty
rights.

The MMF is pushing the Doer government to allow Métis to hunt at any
time on provincial Crown land -- as status Indians can under 19th
century treaties -- provided Métis card holders respect conservation
rules set by the federation.

In an interview, Swampy Cree executive director Frank Turner said Métis
people should not have hunting rights beyond those of non-aboriginal
people, who must get a licence and stick to government-regulated hunting
seasons. Turner said First Nations were the first people in Canada.

"Europeans were the second people in this country. The third people
would be the Métis."

Swampy Cree chiefs are worried that if Métis people gain the legal right
to hunt based on their traditional use of the land, non-aboriginal
descendants of the first European settlers could demand the same thing.

While assistant Swampy Cree executive director Rob Ballantyne said
recognition of Métis hunting cards might not make a big dent in fish and
game populations, they would be in jeopardy if non-aboriginal people won
the same right.

"What good are our treaties if there's nothing there?" Turner asked,
noting that First Nations in Northern Manitoba have sometimes had to
voluntarily shut down fishing or moose hunting in areas where
populations were in decline.

Dennis White Bird, the grand chief for Manitoba's First Nations, added
fuel to the fire last week with his comments to the Free Press about
hunting. "As First Nations people, we're forced to show a status card,
which is a Government of Canada document. The Métis status card, well
you can buy those."

The MMF is issuing harvester cards for $10 to people who can trace their
ancestry to the Métis living here at the time Manitoba was created.

Turner said Swampy Cree chiefs discussed their concerns with Doer and
his cabinet during their recent tour of Northern Manitoba.

[Wonderer]

I did more checking, and here is where I found quite a bit of information.
www.outdoormessageboard.com
Ugly situation, all in all.

[Louis Riel]

Our Metis in Manitoba changed the face of Canada and forever enshrined our rights after we did battle with Ottawa. We would have won the battle had it not been for the new railway. Had my General Gabriel Dumont blown up tracks and killed the railway workers during constructtion as was suggested we would all be American now. Canada owes a huge debt to our Metis forefathers. Get your facts staight as well boys. We are a Country rich in heritage......and a common suspicion of our neighbours to the south.

[Bryan]

Point taken. Canada owes a huge debt to your forefathers. Great, we'll let them hunt and fish all they want. You buy a license like everyone else.

[Brian2]

The federal government / courts have recognized the Métis as indigenuous people.

The so-called right to harvest animals without a license at any time of the year and most anywhere that they like is self-declared and came almost immediately on the heals of the federal decision.

There will be many challenges to this from not only the other first nations but by provincial goverments across Canada, epecially here in the west.

[Wag]

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.
Danged train, anyway. That wasn't fair!
:)