Image by: Gérard DuBois
Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
Section 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes the “aboriginal people of Canada” as being Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples.[1] Since the emphasis of this year’s ReconciliAction YEG project is on Indigenous Governance, it is necessary and important to consider it from Inuit and Métis perspectives. Over the next two weeks we will discuss Métis and Inuit topics in governance. Today, we introduce Métis Governance through a brief history of Métis political organizing.
The Métis peoples are diverse, but unique Métis culture has arisen from European and Indigenous components. However, Métis culture is and always has been “more than the sum of its elements; it [is] an entirely distinct culture.”[2]
Shortly after people with mixed European-Indigenous ancestry arose, the first forms of Métis political organization formed. Métis families began organizing buffalo hunts in the late 1700s and “during these hunts, [the family units] would be transformed into hunting brigades led by the heads of each family unit.”[3] Laws were “adopted ‘for the general good’ of the community and typically forbade activities such as running of the buffalo before the general order had been giving, hunting on the Sabbath, and lagging behind the hunting brigades without the express permission of those in charge.”[4] While early Métis governance was centered on buffalo hunting, laws were also set in place for other important endeavours, like protecting the community.[5]
Late Nineteenth Century: Quest for Recognition
Métis people began to settle, including in the Red River settlement along the banks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. At the same time, shortly after Confederation, the federal government sought to open the Prairies to European immigration. The federal government did not consult with the Métis on the intended incursions onto their land.[6]
In response, the Red River Métis “organized a common response with other residents” to combat incursion by the federal government.[7] Louis Riel headed this provisional government which “dispatched a delegation of Red River representatives to Ottawa to negotiate the terms of the area's entry into Canada” – this activism led to the creation of the province of Manitoba in 1870.[8] However, little of the land ended up in Métis hands and incursions by Canada led many Métis to leave the area.[9]
In 1884, Louis Riel went to Batoche, in present day Saskatchewan, to set up a provisional government for the Métis “and negotiate with the federal government.”[10] The federal government reacted with military force and the battles (known as the Northwest Rebellion) ended with Métis forces defeated and Louis Riel tried and hung for treason.[11]
After the Northwest Rebellion: Red Power and Métis Nationalism
Despite persecution and military defeat, Métis peoples continued to organize politically. In 1887, “a group of former supporters and allies of Riel formed the Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba” which was dedicated to preserving Métis culture and traditions.[12] By the 1930s, provincial Métis organizations formed first in Alberta, and then in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
By the 1960s, there were increased efforts at Indigenous activism, leading this period of time to be later known as the “red power” era. During this time, Ontario and British Columbia Métis organizations also formed.[13] In 1971, Métis peoples and non-status Indians collaborated to form the Native Council of Canada (NCC).[14] The NCC was influential in gaining constitutional recognition of Métis people through s 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Further, in 1983, the Métis National Council, the current Canada-wide Métis political organization, formed.[15]
Thus, Métis governance and political organization has existed as long as Métis people have existed. “Since the era of the buffalo hunt,” Métis leaders have created political organizations, and while the structure of these organizations have evolved, they remain influential.[16]
Until Next Time,
Team ReconciliAction YEG
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[1] Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11.
[2] Canada, Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: Perspectives and Realities, vol 4 (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1996) at 204 [RCAP].
[3] Kelly Saunders & Janique Dubois, Métis Politics and Governance in Canada (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2019) at 20 [Saunders & Dubois].
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid at 20-21.
[6] RCAP supra note 2 at 207.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid at 207-208.
[9] Ibid at 210.
[10] Ibid at 211.
[11] Ibid at 212.
[12] Saunders & Dubois supra note 3 at 30.
[13] Ibid at 33.
[14] Ibid at 34.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid at 35.
