Who are the Métis People?
The Métis people are a culturally distinct group inhabiting parts of western Canada and the northern United States. “Métis” means “mixed,” in French, and as this would imply, the Métis have mixed blood, being the product of relationships between European explorers in North America and Aboriginal women. Métis with a lower-case “m” is also used more generally in Canada and some parts of the United States to describe people of mixed blood who are not considered members of the Métis people. Almost as soon as people began exploring North America, they began a cultural exchange, and many explorers had relationships with native women. The Métis people are the product of years of close association between Europeans such as the French and several aboriginal groups, including the Cree, Saulteaux, Menominee, Ojibway, and Algonquin people. The culture of the Métis people is distinct, mingling aspects of European and Native American culture, and members of the Métis Nation are formally recognized a
People of mixed First Nations and European ancestry who identify themselves as Métis people and are accepted as such by a Métis community and or its leadership. They are distinct from First Nations, Inuit or non-Aboriginal peoples. The Métis history and culture draws on diverse ancestral origins such as Ojibway and Cree, Scottish, Irish, French. (Government of Alberta definition) Métis are people who self-identify as Métis and are not registered under the Indian Act (Government of Manitoba definition) Article 10 of the Métis Nation Saskatchewan Constitution defines “Métis ” as: ‘Métis ‘ means an Aboriginal person who self-identifies as Métis , who is distinct from Indian and Inuit & is a descendant of those Métis who received or were entitled to receive land grants and / or Scrip under the provision of the Manitoba Act, 1870 or the Dominion Lands Act, as enacted from time to time. A person of Aboriginal descent who is accepted by the Métis Nation and / or Métis Community. ( Amended Dec
