Settlement FAQs

what is a metis settlement

by Yvette Hodkiewicz Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago
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Full Answer

What are the Métis Federated settlements?

These Métis settlements federated in 1975 to protect existing Métis settlement lands following the Alberta Government's dissolution, by order-in-council of four Métis settlements from 1950 to 1960.

What was the purpose of the Métis Settlements Act?

Replacing the previous Métis Betterment Acts, the Métis Settlements Act provides for the legal transfer of land title to the Métis people, local municipal and traditional style self-government, and establishes eight settlement corporations and the Métis Settlements General Council as legal entities.

What happened to the 12 Métis settlements in Edmonton?

The result of the report was the creation of twelve Métis settlements in 1938 by way of the Métis Population Betterment Act. In the late 1950s four of these settlements (Touchwood, Marlboro, Cold Lake, and Wolf Lake) were closed, requiring residents to relocate to the remaining eight settlements, all north of Edmonton.

How do I contact the Metis settlements General Council?

[email protected](780) 822-409610335 172 St NWEdmonton, AB T5S 1K9 www.metissettlements.com Hours of Operation Monday - Friday: 8:30am - 4:30pmSaturday: ClosedSunday: Closed Copyright © 2019 Metis Settlements General Council

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What is a Metis settlement member?

A person who wants to become a member of one of the 8 Metis Settlements must apply to one of those councils for membership approval. In order to be considered for membership, the applicant must: have Canadian Indigenous ancestry. identify with Métis history and culture.

What are the 8 Métis settlements?

The eight current settlements are: Buffalo Lake, East Prairie, Elizabeth, Fishing Lake, Gift Lake, Kikino, Paddle Prairie and Peavine. These settlements are self-governing and administered by the Métis Settlements General Council.

Where are the Metis settlements?

There are 8 Metis Settlements in Alberta, comprising 512,121 hectares (1.25 million acres). The Settlements are located primarily in the east-central and northern areas of the province. Based on the Metis Settlements Census Report 2018, there were approximately 5,632 residents on Metis Settlements in 2018.

Are Metis settlements only in Alberta?

Métis communities are found across Canada; however, the only legislated Métis land base is in Alberta.

What is the difference between a reserve and a Metis settlement?

Map of reserves and settlements First Nations reserves are located in 3 treaty areas or regions across Alberta. Metis Settlements are located mainly in north-west and east-central Alberta.

What are Métis land claims?

METIS LAND-CLAIMS ISSUES Those who did not receive land found their communities widely scattered.

What is Métis land called?

The Rupert's Land territory included all or parts of present-day Northwest-Nunavut Territory, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, and became known to the Métis as the “Métis Homeland.”

What benefits do Métis get in Alberta?

Through this program, you receive coverage for eligible prescription drugs, dental services, vision care, medical supplies and equipment. You also receive benefits related to medical travel such as meals, accommodation and emergency ambulance services.

What is a Métis community?

The term is used to describe communities of mixed European and Indigenous descent across Canada, and a specific community of people — defined as the Métis Nation — which originated largely in Western Canada and emerged as a political force in the 19th century, radiating outwards from the Red River Settlement.

How do you become Métis?

The term “Métis” in s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 does not encompass all individuals with mixed Indian and European heritage; rather, it refers to distinctive peoples who, in addition to their mixed ancestry, developed their own customs, way of life, and recognizable group identity.

What rights do Métis have in Alberta?

As described by the policy, recognized Métis harvesters can fish, hunt and trap for food within specific areas. You can apply to be recognized as a Métis harvester in Alberta through the Métis Nation of Alberta, the Metis Settlements of Alberta General Council or your local Fish and Wildlife office.

What does it mean to be Métis in Alberta?

“Métis” means a person who self-identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Indigenous peoples, is of historic Métis Nation ancestry, and who is accepted by the Métis Nation. Métis people are a post-contact Indigenous nation, born from the unions of European fur traders and First Nations women in the 18th century.

What was the first Métis colony in Alberta called?

1895. First Metis Settlement was established, St. Paul des Metis was formed by the federal government.

Why did the Métis settle in Canada?

The Fur Trade The Métis were expert hunters themselves and developed York Boats and Red River cart systems for transporting goods and furs. Métis communities settled along fur trading routes in Canada's historic northwest, with the largest being the Red River Settlement in Manitoba.

Are there Metis settlements in BC?

The Métis have no land claims in B.C., although three communities are recognized as historic – in Fort St. James and Kelly Lake in the north, and in Fort Langley. The population today is mostly settled across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, the Kootenays, and in the communities of Prince George and Fort St. John.

How did the western settlement affect the Métis?

Those who moved west, either because they felt pressured to leave or because they saw new opportunities to make a living on the western plains, joined a Métis population that already lived in well-established communities along the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers and around many surviving fur trade posts.

Where are the Métis settlements located?

Comprising 512,121 hectares, the settlements are located in east-central and northern Alberta.

When did the Métis Settlements Act come into effect?

After years of negotiations and the threat of legal action, their lobbying efforts were successfully realized in 1990 when the Alberta government passed the Métis Settlements Act, the Métis Settlements Accord Implementation Act, the Métis Settlements Land Protection Act and the Constitution of Alberta Amendment Act.

How many councils are there in the Métis Settlements?

These settlements are self-governing and administered by the Métis Settlements General Council. Each settlement has a council, and the eight councils meet and hold an annual general council assembly. A board of directors oversees the MSGC and includes the eight settlement chairpersons and all four MSGC executive members, who are non-voting members.

Why were the Métis farms so bad?

Marred by mismanagement and rampant paternalism , the Métis farms were an abject failure. The Métis had no input into their governance, and government officials were often arbitrary, unhelpful, racist, and likely using the Métis for cheap labour. More importantly, the government did not understand that the Métis preferred wage labour employment to farming. By the late 1950s, it was clear that the farms were not working; southern Métis were moving to the cities to look for wage labour opportunities, while those living on the farms often subsisted on government relief. Not surprisingly, most of the Métis eventually abandoned the Métis farms, and the government moved towards integrating the southern Métis into the province’s cities. However, as late as the 1970s, homelessness, housing and property ownership were still matters of grave concern for the province’s Métis.

What was the original structure of the Métis?

The original governance structure was paternalistic; government and church officials had the largest say in governing, although the Métis had limited self-governing authority relating to hunting, fishing, and trapping. Four of the original settlements — Cold Lake, Marlboro, Touchwood, and Wolf Lake — were later dissolved.

What was the Métis population betterment act?

In 1938, the Alberta government passed the Métis Population Betterment Act, which, based on the recommendations of the Ewing Commission, established a land base for the province’s Métis.

Who oversees the MSGC?

A board of directors oversees the MSGC and includes the eight settlement chairpersons and all four MSGC executive members, who are non-voting members. In consultation with the Alberta Minister of Indigenous Relations, the MSGC makes policies that are binding on the settlements.

What is the Métis Settlements General Council?

Métis Settlements General Council (MSGC) is the governing body for Métis Settlements. See their newsletter the Messenger (published quarterly) for news updates beginning in Spring 2016. The registry, membership list, and land interests found on this website are maintained by the Government of Alberta.

How many Métis settlements are there in Canada?

The Métis Settlements Act of 1990 established the current eight settlements in Alberta. An online copy of the act, current as of June 1, 2015, is available here . There are eight Métis settlements in Canada, all of which are located in Alberta, including: Paddle Prairie. Peavine.

Why was Women of the Métis Nation created?

By motion of the Métis National Council, Women of the Métis Nation was been created to enable Métis Women to take an active role within Metis Nation governance.

What is the North Slave Métis Alliance?

"The North Slave Métis Alliance represents the Aboriginal rights-bearing Métis people of the Great Slave Lake area, Northwest Territories, who primarily exercise and assert their Aboriginal rights in the region north and east of Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories.".

What is the Métis National Council?

Métis National Council. Since 1983, the Métis National Council has represented the Métis Nation nationally and internationally. It receives its mandate and direction from the democratically elected leadership of the Métis Nation’s governments from Ontario westward. Women of the Métis Nation.

When was the Métis history published?

Published by Ottawa Native Council of Canada 1979. Métis history, law and legistlation, and land claims.

Where are the Métis located?

For information on Métis identity visit Indigenous Foundations. All Métis settlements in Canada are located in Alberta. See the following resources for more information:

Overview

There are 8 Metis Settlements in Alberta, comprising 512,121 hectares (1.25 million acres).

Find a Settlement

Search by location to find a Settlement. If you have questions or need help finding a Settlement, contact the Settlement directly.

How many Metis settlements are there?

A person who wants to become a member of one of the 8 Metis Settlements must apply to one of those councils for membership approval.

How long does it take for a settlement council to decide on a membership application?

Decision on the application by the Council – A Settlement Council must consider every application for membership made to it within 90 days of the application being received at the Settlement office.

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Overview

Métis people in the United States

Métis people in the United States are a specific culture and community, who descend from unions between Native American and early European colonist parents – usually Indigenous women who married French, and later Scottish or English, men, who worked as fur trappers and traders during the 17th to 19th centuries in the fur trade era. The women were usually Algonquian, Ojibwe and C…

Background

Métis is the French term for "person of mixed parentage" and derives from the Latin word mixtus, "of mixed" race.
Starting in the 17th century, the term métis was used as a noun in connection with the fur trade and by settlers to refer to people of mixed European and indigenous American parentage in New France (which extended from southern Quebec through the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, …

Métis people in Canada

Métis people in Canada are specific cultural communities who trace their descent to First Nations and European settlers, primarily the French, in the early decades of the colonisation of Canada. Métis peoples are recognized as one of Canada's Indigenous peoples under the Constitution Act of 1982, along with First Nations and Inuit. On April 8, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada Daniels v Can…

The Medicine Line (Canada–U.S. border)

The Métis homeland existed before the implementation of the Canada–U.S. border and continues to exist on both sides of this border today. The implementation of the border affected the Métis in a multitude of ways, with border enforcement growing from relaxed to increasingly stronger over time. In the late 18th century, to early 19th century the Métis found that in times of conflict, they could cross the 49th parallel North in either direction and the trouble following them would stop a…

See also

• List of Métis people
• Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians
• Multiracial people
• fr:Métis

Citations

1. ^ "Métis Nation". Library Archives Canada. 15 October 2013.
2. ^ "Métis Homeland". Rupertsland Institute. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
3. ^ "Métis > Identity". Indigenous Peoples Atlases boner of Canada. Canadian Geographic. Retrieved March 13, 2022.

General bibliography

• Andersen, C. (2011). Moya Tipimsook ('The People Who Aren't Their Own Bosses'): Racialization and the Misrecognition of 'Métis' in Upper Great Lakes Ethnohistory. Ethnohistory, 58(1), 37–63. doi:10.1215/00141801-2010-063
• Andersen, C. (2014). "More Than the Sum of Our Rebellions: Métis Histories Beyond Batoche". Ethnohistory, 61(4), 619–633. doi:10.1215/00141801-2717795

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