Being Métis is something I’ve known about myself my whole life, but only in the past few years I made it ‘official’ in terms of the registry etc. The past two years I’ve been diving head first into connecting with the culture. Coming back from Back to Batoche (my second year going now) I am feeling so fulfilled and connected, and just overall so overwhelmingly proud to be Métis, but I still can’t help but feel like an imposter.

I’ve been really excited to celebrate being indigenous, but because I am so obviously white looking and haven’t spent my whole life immersed in the culture, I can’t help but feel like I’m forcing myself into spaces I don’t belong. I’ve been meaning to ask my grandpa (where I get being Métis from) family names, and learn more about our ancestors and relatives, but I’m so scared to learn it’s even further back in my bloodline than I think it is. And I think blood quantum is a stupid concept just used to other indigenous people more than they already get, but I still force it on myself so hard and feel almost guilty for calling myself indigenous. It’s like, I know I’m Métis, as I wouldn’t have been given my card and been accepted by MNS.

Any advice on giving myself some grace? I want to celebrate who I am, and the Métis community as a beautiful place I love to be a part of, and want to get more immersed in.

Taanishi all! I am looking to find old/history books collecting Métis folklore and legends. I know that there are several that have come out in the past 20 years, but I'm looking for compilations from the early 20th or late 19th century. Similar to The Orders of the Dreamed, Swampy Cree Legends, or Traditions of the Thompson River Indians of British Columbia.

I know many of these accounts are by non-Indigenous explorers, traders or anthropologists, but they are often the earliest examples of mythologies and stories recorded. Maarsii!

My father was a Sixties Scoop survivor and I’ve been trying to reconnect culturally for a decade now.

However, practices and beliefs are so dependent on the community that I was hoping to find someone with a direct connection to the following communities and families:

Communities: St. Francois-Xavier | Baie St. Paul | St-Lazare

Families: Belhumeur | Desjarlais | Fleury |Hayden | Houle

Unfortunately elders in the biological family are either dead, have dementia, or I’m not connected to them.

Taansi

I was doing some research about our community and they just make things so damn political for us. Initially I thought the Métis that were recognized were only the big 5, but there are a lot of avenues of recognition.

There is the whole Otipemisiwak Métis thinking they govern all of Alberta, but what about the Métis Settlements General Council and their currently 8 Settlements? What about the “Credibly Asserted Métis” Communities who fought for their Section 35 Rights? Or the Independent Métis Communities that left the Métis Nation of Alberta that now make up the Alberta Métis Federation?

Note: Ontario has an Independent Nation called Red Sky Métis Independent Nation that claims a special history of the signing of a Treaty.

Then, there’s the NWT Métis Nation with their new referendum of understanding from the Métis National Council. Prior to that, they had several land claims with the Government of Canada with some backlash from neighbouring Nations. They are now searching for “Beneficiaries” to those Land Claims.

Then there’s the Métis Nation of BC and their “Charters” and them wanting to obtain harvesting rights when the Métis Homeland only stretch a bit west towards BC. They only have one unrecognized historical Métis Settlement which is Kelly.

Then we have conflicts with some Nations claiming to be better than the rest and Nations that may not actually be true Nations just wanting revenue on resources.

All in all, I just wanted to share my findings of our rather “developing” Métis Nation. What do you think of our kind of sporadic governing structure?

Taanishi kahkiyaw kiyawaaw! I read a couple of articles that said that beaded octopus bags used to be a thing that a woman would make for her soon-to-be future husband as a wedding gift.

Has anyone heard about that and confirm if that used to be a widespread tradition, specifically about them being a common wedding gift?

Thank you,

An engaged Michif woman who wants a new beading project, whose family doesn’t know the answer

Image from the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Collection via the virtual Métis Museum.

The movie has come up in Seven Oaks’ online meetings. Elders from Winnipeg were on set. Cool to see this releasing soon!

I was just doing some research on Métis Governance and found that there are Métis entities that exist beyond the Métis Nation and are, in fact, recognized!

First is the Northwest Territory Métis Nation whom not only recently had a Memorandum of Understanding with the Métis National Council, but prior they had actual Land disputes with the Government of Canada.

Another entity are the “Independent Métis Communities” that exist in Alberta. They are classified as distinct larger Métis Organizations, that represent their own Members, and have their own programs and services. The Alberta Provincial Government recognizes these Independent Communities and provides supports and funding. There’s also Independent Communities who attained “Credible Assertion” who hold Section 35 Rights as per the Métis Credible Assertion process.

Aside from these are the Red Sky Métis Independent Nation whom seems to be also classified as an Independent Community, but I’m unsure if Ontario provides supports and funding to them. They also have their own services and programs. I also heard that the BC Métis Federation, at some point, received Government of Canada funding.

There may be other recognized Métis Nations/Organizations out there that I may have missed, but I just wanted to share this and see what ya’ll think.

Hello! I’m working on a Métis beadwork inspired tattoo and I’m not finding a ton of references for the prairie crocus. I see a couple modern, more realistic references but nothing really traditional. I’m wondering if anyone here has any photos I could work from? Thank you everyone for reading ♾️🌷

So a few months back I had become aware of a documentary screening called "The Lands Between Us" which was filmed by a (Manitoban) Metis film maker named Chrystal Lavallee, and sponsored by the Israeli government.

So for everyone during the current MMF election cycle who asks why we should be worrying about Zionism and our Nation's current agreements with Israeli universities, (that train Israeli sold- war criminals) here it is.

The government of Israel has been funding and making propaganda films using our community members and Nations name as authority without consent, to try and paint Israel in a positive light following their atrocious acts now known as "The Palestinian/Gaza Genocide" (Google it).

How they're attempting to use residential school survivors and Indigenous Canadians to do this makes me sick, and I wanna talk about it.

1. I just wanted to post and see what talking points from the Q&A I attended, stuck out to you the most? i.e. Emily's financial "miracle", the supposed peace in Israel Rebecca feels in comparison to Canada.

2. How do you think the Nation and its citizens should handle this issue? Vote? Petition to cabinet?

3. Who is this person? And why is the Israeli embassy touting her as a "Metis Community Leader" and allowing her to make films as such? What gives her that title in the first place??

I could make an infinitely long post about the issues I have with the film, Q&A, and everything I've seen thus far, but I really wanna turn it to you guys and ask what you see? What do you think should be done??

P.S -- I know my questions could have been better researched and more effective, and since I've taken considerable time to study up on the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. For anyone who's new to the topic I highly suggest:

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine - Rashid Khalidi, and; Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid - Jimmy Carter.

Hi everyone,

I’m wondering if anyone can recommend any good books, memoirs, oral histories, articles, or community histories about Métis life in the St. Laurent / Oak Point area of Manitoba, especially during the 1940s, 1950s, or 1960s.

I’m particularly interested in accounts of everyday family life — for example, large families, childhood, community relationships, work, food, language, religion, schooling, or how people lived during that period.

It doesn’t have to be exactly about one family with lots of kids, but anything close to that kind of social or community history would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

i’m going to my first pow wow tomorrow and I want to wear a ribbon skirt

I have a pretty alternative style so I would like to wear my cheetah print and black skirt with a t-shirt that’s cropped. would anyone find that weird or inappropriate? it feels good to me if i’m wearing for any other occasion but im not sure how traditional the vibe is

i have a more traditional option if not! thank you!

I am so excited to launch a brand new season of the Métis Speaker Series. To kick things off, I went straight to the headquarters of Étchiboy to unpack the deep history and meaning behind the Métis sash. It turns out, its journey is a lot wilder than you might think!

In this premiere episode, I sit down with Miguel Vielfaure, the Métis entrepreneur and visionary who has spent the last 20 years blending heritage with humanitarianism by connecting North American Métis culture with South American craftsmanship.

Grab your coffee or tea and tune in as we dive into:

• 🛶 The sash’s roots as a practical, everyday voyageur tool (and a literal back-saver!).
• 😲 The era of 19th-century “knock-offs” (who knew the sash had counterfeits?!).
• ✨ How Miguel is using custom-woven sashes today to champion mental health awareness, and inspire the next generation to build their own traditions.

It’s the perfect blend of history, culture, and heart—and a fantastic way to honour and learn about Métis history this month. ❤️

👉 Click the link to watch the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IftwPagzQm8

Hi

Last Sunday I volunteered alongside a man who identified as Metis as in he literally said "I am Metis". I've already asked AI, but I would prefer to hear from an actual person as this evening I am attending a talk by an artist who identifies as Michif. What's the difference when someone calls themselves Michif versus Metis? And yes, I have already emailed the artist to ask them, but have yet to receive a reply.

Hey there!

I know I have treaty mixed into my lineage; some of my ancestors just have Cree names, but most have Frenchy names with Cree names.

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I was just curious to see if any of you carry spirit names, or non government names given by an elder.

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I don't know if I necessarily have a right to claim a spirit name, but I have been yearning to do so for quite some time.

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Please tell me!

Been wanting to go hunting have never been before and have my harvestor card and just recently got my gun license I just wanna know all the do's and don'ts when it comes to hunting with the harvestor card

hey everyone i understand there are no actual Métis people who originated in eastern Canada but i’m wondering if any Red River Métis people have moved out there and what was their experience? i will be hopefully moving to fredericton for school in the fall and i’m worried i’ll tell someone i’m Métis and they’ll be like me too! and i’ll ask them to clarify and they mean eastern Métis and then i’ll have to explain that no they’re not actually Métis and then they’ll call me a racist enthosupremacist (which yes has actually happened to me)

Taanshi kiyawaaw!

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In this video https://youtu.be/XithI4MvQfo?si=E-eCAzf-MPCQMdpq Maria Campbell interviews two Metis Elders, Jeanne Pelletier and Clementine Longworth. Around 36:20, Jeanne mentions a card game, which sounds to my ear like "daakwii" which she calls Indian Poker. Is anyone familiar with this game, know what the rules are, or know where I might be able to find out more about it?

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Marsii!

Hello! I am Metis and Cree and have been feeling really drawn towards the idea of ceremonial tattooing in different Indigenous cultures. I know that most people connect that with the Inuit Tunniit, but there is also a lot of evidence that Cree cultures did ceremonial tattoos as well.

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My big question is does anybody know of Metis communities doing ceremonial tattoos?

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For example, I am thinking mainly about lines on the chin, marks on the temple, dots on fingers, etc. These are all common for women in Inuit and many First Nation's cultures and I am really curious about if that was adopted by the Metis as well?

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If anyone HAS heard of this, do they know of ways to earn them through ceremony in present times? I know there's been a big revival of this in recent years and as a trans woman I am feeling really drawn to marking this progression to womanhood with a chin line.

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Hope this isn't too scatterbrained!!! Thanks y'all 💞

Taanishi! I am looking for a Southern Michif mentor. Someone I can meet with weekly to help teach me the language and talk to aen Michif. I live in Saskatoon happy to meet in person or online! Maarsii for anyone who is willing to work with me or help me find someone who is ♾️

Testing out some new set builds for Michif Makers and you can never get it right on the first take.

Hoy fue la ceremonia de inauguración del Mundial en Canadá (ayer fue la de México), y al igual que en México, hubo una presentación con los pueblos indígenas. Vi a una chica entre ellos con un atuendo que me pareció métis, ya que también llevaba un violín, y alguien bailaba con una escoba. Deduje que eran métis, y casualmente encontré su página de Facebook. Pero tengo una pregunta: si viste la ceremonia, ¿representaban a los métis? Si es así, ¿qué opinas? Además, ¿qué simboliza ese baile con la escoba? No soy ni métis ni canadiense, así que pregunto por ignorancia. ¿Qué significa? Me pareció extraño, pero sé que tiene algún significado. Espero no estar siendo indiscreta. Saludos.

I've attached an image of the ceremony for the part I'm telling you about.