Métis << may TEES or may TEE >> are people with both First Nations and European ancestry. First Nations are original peoples of the land that is now Canada. They make up one of the main Indigenous groups in Canada, along with the Métis and the Inuit. Métis culture developed primarily in the Red River Colony in what is now Manitoba in the 1800’s. The word Métis comes from an old French word meaning mixed.
Métis settlements developed in the Red River Colony from contacts between First Nations and colonial fur-trading companies. Métis settlers farmed and traded furs, but they chiefly hunted buffalo. Several culturally distinct Métis groups lived in the colony, including French-speaking Roman Catholics and English-speaking Protestants. Most Métis also spoke the Cree language, and eventually many spoke a dialect (variety of language) that was a combination of French and Cree.
The Métis rebelled in 1869 and 1870, after the government of Canada prepared to move white settlers into the Red River Valley (see Red River Rebellion). This area became part of Canada in 1870. Over the next several years, the government systematically forced the Métis off the land. Many English-speaking Métis merged into nearby white communities, but most Métis moved to what is now Saskatchewan.
In Saskatchewan, the Métis again battled the Canadian government, this time in the North West Rebellion of 1885. After the rebellion failed, many Métis in Saskatchewan mixed into white communities. Today, about 625,000 people in Canada and certain border areas of the United States identify themselves as Métis. The majority of Métis people live in Ontario and in Canada’s western provinces.
In 2003, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Métis in Canada were entitled to the same hunting rights as Indigenous peoples with unmixed ancestry. The ruling opened the way for Canada’s Métis to pursue other special rights granted Indigenous peoples in Canada. Such rights include health care benefits and freedom from certain taxes.
