Metis Research Articles

Indigenous Peoples and Child Welfare: The Path to Reconciliation

Commissioners were asked to look at virtually every aspect of the lives of the First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples of Canada in the North as well as in cities: their history, the way they are governed, their land claims, their treaties, their economy, their cultures, their education, their health, their living conditions, their relationship with the justice system, the state of their languages and more generally, their situation in Canada relative to that of non-Aboriginal Canadians. The task assigned to our Commission by the Government of Canada was in fact no less than recommending ways to rectify the errors made when Confederation came about in 1867 and, for the first time, make Aboriginal peoples true partners in this great undertaking. That meant recommending ways to lift up the apparatus of colonization that had been imposed upon Aboriginal peoples during the last 150 years and suggesting principles and structures upon and around which to restructure their relationship with Canada.

How "mixed" is mixed language phonology? An acoustic analysis of the Michif vowel system.

Michif, a severely endangered language still spoken today by an estimated 100-200 Métis people in Western Canada, is generally classified as a mixed language, meaning it cannot be traced back to a single language family [Bakker (1997). A Language of Our Own (Oxford University Press, Oxford); Thomason (2001). Language Contact: An Introduction (Edinburgh University Press and Georgetown University Press, Edinburgh and Washington, DC); Meakins (2013). Contact Languages: A Comprehensive Guide (Mouton De Gruyter, Berlin), pp. 159-228.]. It has been claimed to maintain the phonological grammar of both of its source languages, French and Plains Cree [Rhodes (1977). Actes du Huitieme congrès des Algonqunistes (Carleton University, Ottawa), pp. 6-25; Bakker (1997). A Language of Our Own (Oxford University Press, Oxford); Bakker and Papen (1997). Contact Languages: A Wider Perspective (John Benjamins, Amsterdam), pp. 295-363]. The goal of this paper is twofold: to offer an instrumental analysis of Michif vowels and to investigate this claim of a stratified grammar, based on this careful phonetic analysis. Using source language as a variable in the analysis, the authors argue the Michif vowel system does not appear to rely on historical information, and that historically similar French and Cree vowels pattern together within the Michif system with regards to formant frequencies and duration. The authors show that there are nine Michif oral vowels in this system, which has merged phonetically similar French- and Cree-source vowels.

French-speaking Métis of Canada: from discrimination to recognition

French-speaking Métis of Canada: from discrimination to recognition

Aboriginal People and Labour Relations

The original inhabitants of Canada (the Indian, Inuit and Metis peoples) now number approximately one million people. Although they represent only about 4% of the national population, they are a significant force in the Canadian economy. It is, thus, rather surprising to note the limited attention that aboriginal communities and aboriginal workers have received from the trade union movement. There is currently an active movement for the restoration of self-government and self-determination for aboriginal peoples in accordance with their own laws through a constitutionally mandated process and by way of direct negotiations with federal and provincial governments. Developments in this regard will clearly impact on labour relations. This essay attempts to provide a brief review of the present state of labour law as it relates to the aboriginal peoples of Canada, to serve as a foundation on which change may be built.

Maria Campbell's Halfbreed. Reclaiming the Excised Passage

In a 1989 interview, Metis author Maria Campbell complained to Hartmut Lutz that a section of her autobiography, Halfbreed, first published in 1973, was removed by the publisher against her wishes. During a chance meeting with Campbell in Dublin in 2017, and following Indigenous protocols, Deanna Reder and Alix Shield asked her for permission to search for early versions of Campbell's text. With Campbell's blessing, Alix Shield conducted an archival search for any early material, and discovered the excised passage that revealed that when Campbell was a teenager, she had been raped by RCMP officers. This article includes the found text and discusses the impact of its excision.

Book Review: CHELSEA VOWEL. Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis and Inuit Issues in Canada. (2016)

CHELSEA VOWEL. Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Metis and Inuit Issues in Canada . Portage & Main Press. (2016). 290 pp. $26.00 (paperback). (ISBN 978-1-55379-684-8)

Recognition of context and experience: a civic-based Canadian conception of religious literacy

ABSTRACT Several conceptions of religious literacy exist globally and are informed by the contextual nuances of the scholars who developed them in the UK, US and Australia. As five Canadian scholar-educators across British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, we analyse the well-known religious literacy conceptions of Jackson, Nesbitt, Dinham, Moore and Crisp through a framework based on the recognition of context and experience. In doing so, we propose a Canadian-specific conception that considers the contextual nuances in these four provinces and relates to Canada as a nation and the individual experiences of each author, and recognises the diversity across Canada. We posit that our conception addresses the social and political dynamics and shifts in Canada, namely the changing demography of religious, spiritual and non-religious individuals and the response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report that calls Canadians and its institutions to respond to the wrong towards First Nations, Metis and Inuit people.

Holding Home Together: Katherena Vermette’s The Break

This article reads Metis writer Katherena Vermette’s 2016 novel The Break in order to examine urban Indigenous women’s resilience in relation to understandings of home. As the women in this text gather around young Emily, who has endured a violent sexual attack, they embody a strength that resides in their kinship as well as in interconnected conceptions of home. This reading is significant given the issue of violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada, as well as the growing numbers of Indigenous people finding home in cities. As a Metis woman, I also read this text through my own experience. Through these analyses, this paper contends that portrayals of strong Indigenous women can help to shift dominant understandings of Indigenous people, making space for Indigenous women’s well-being in urban spaces. This article offers a timely and Metis-focused consideration of Vermette’s novel.Keywords: Katherena Vermette; The Break; Metis literature; resilience; urban Indigenous women

The Métis and the Multiple "Me" in Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding

The Métis and the Multiple "Me" in Carson McCullers's The Member of the Wedding

A Dene First Nation’s community readiness assessment to take action against HIV/AIDS: a pilot project

ABSTRACT Background: Among Indigenous people in Canada the incidence of HIV is 3.5 times higher than other ethnicities. In Manitoba First Nations, Metis and Inuit people are disproportionately represented (40%) among people who are new to HIV care. Northlands Denesuline First Nation (NDFN) identified the need to revisit their level of knowledge and preparedness for responding to the increasing rates of HIV. NDFN piloted a community readiness assessment (CRA) tool to assess its appropriateness for use in northern Manitoba. Methods: A First Nation and non-First Nation research team trained to administer the CRA tool at NDFN in Manitoba. Five informants were interviewed using the CRA tool and the responses were scored, analysed and reviewed at community workshops and with stakeholders to develop a 1-year action plan. Results: CRA training was best conducted in the community. Using the readiness score of 2.4 along with feedback from two workshops, community members, the research team and stakeholders, we identified priorities for adult education and youth involvement in programmes and planning. Conclusions: In response to the increasing incidence of HIV, a northern First Nation community successfully modified and implemented a CRA tool to develop an action plan for culturally appropriate interventions and programmes.

Truth and reconciliation: Healthcare organizational leadership.

Health leaders in organizational governance have a key role in enacting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action. This discussion highlights historical and contemporary truths that can underpin action for addressing colonial impacts on Indigenous (First Nations, Metis, and Inuit) health outcomes and healthcare. Emphasis is on white settler roles and responsibilities, where health-related Calls provide a blueprint for health reconciliation leadership. There is broad agreement of the necessity to acknowledge and address key cornerstones of decolonization at individual, intermediary, and organizational stages: racism, white settler power and privilege, and cultural safety. Already existing leadership roles, responsibilities, and inter-organizational networks can form a solid foundation for health leaders to bring the Calls to the table-alongside First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples, in meetings, forums, and conferences and in lobbying efforts to influence the structural, systemic shape, and direction of healthcare in Canada.

Alter/Native Narratives in Maria Campbell’s Halfbreed

Abstract: Life-writing differs from the traditional chronological narrative of autobiography and has a lot in common with the oral tradition of storytelling widespread in indigenous communities. A close relation can be detected between women’s life-writing and the storytelling tradition embedded in most of the indigenous cultures of North America. Since indigenous voices “had been historically silenced and excluded from the public discourse, published life stories have become an alternative site for indigenous people’s resistance to various oppressive regimes imposed by the dominant society”(Horakova 4). Maria Campbell is one of the first Metis women to write about the injustices faced by Metis people in Halfbreed (1973), paving the way for a new generation of Metis women writers. The Metis, one of Canada's three Aboriginal peoples, have always had to hide their identities out of the shame they were taught to feel when they attended residential schools. Belonging to and ashamed of her Metis origin, Campbell faced racial discrimination and social injustice in her early life until she found refuge in her cultural heritage. Halfbreed is directed towards the reinforcement of Metis cultural tradition in order to alter the Natives’ sense of shame. Campbell succeeded in transforming the meaning of ‘half-breed’ from within. Her pride in her Metis culture challenges the stereotypical image of the Native woman imposed by the Europeans. Her choice of the genre of life-writing including characteristics of the oral tradition, is not only a direct challenge to the prevailing norm of autobiography but also an attempt at questioning “historical” versions of the past that were developed in the “master narratives”. Encompassing both written and oral tradition, the genre life-writing allows Campbell to withhold her Great Grandmother’s teachings (Cheechum’s narrative) together with her own narrative in an attempt to use both narratives to alter or change Metis people’s life. This research aims to show how Campbell’s use of the genre of life-writing with its focus on the Metis people signifies a reconciliation with her cultural heritage and a successful attempt towards an alter/Native narrative. For its theoretical framework, the paper will draw on Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth. إن الکتابة الحياتية تختلف عن السرد الزمنى التقليدى للسيرة الذاتية و تشترک مع تقليد الرواية الشفهية المنتشرة فى مجتمعات السکان الأصليين. فهناک علاقة وثيقة بين الکتابة الحياتية للمرأة و الرواية الشفهية فى معظم ثقافات السکان الأصليين لأمريکا الشمالية. و لأن صوت السکان ألأصليين کان قد تم إسکاته و إستبعاده تاريخيا من الخطاب العام، فإن القصص الحياتية التى تم نشرها أصبحت موقع بديل يتيح للسکان الأصليين الفرصة لمقاومة مختلف الأنظمة القمعية التى يفرضها المجتمع السائد. تعتبر ماريا کامبل من أوائل النساء الميتي (الهجناء) التى کتبت عن الظلم الذى يواجهه السکان الهجناء فى روايتها السلالة (1973)، حيث مهدت الطريق لجيل جديد من الکاتبات اللواتى ينتمين للميتى. و ينقسم السکان الأصليين فى کندا الى ثلاثة أقسام و يعتبر الميتى أحد هذه الأقسام الثلاثة الذين إعتادوا على إخفاء هويتهم بسبب الشعور بالخزى الذى نما لديهم أثناء تواجودهم بالمدارس الداخلية. و قد واجهت کامبل التفرقة العنصرية و الظلم الإجتماعى فى بداية حياتها حيث أنها تنتمى لسلالة الميتى ومثلهم تشعر بالخجل من هويتها الهجينة حتى وجدت ملاذا آمنا فى التراث الثقافى الذى تنتمى اليه. و يعتبرکتابها السلالة موجهة نحو تعزيز التراث الثقافى لسلالة الميتى لتغيير الشعور بالخزى لدى السکان الأصليين. و قد نجحت کامبل فى تغيير معنى ’الهجين‘ من الداخل. إذ أن فخرها بثقافة الميتى کان تحديا واضحا للصورة النمطية التى فرضها الأوروبيون على المرأة الأصلية. و لا يعتبر إختيار کامبل لهذا النوع من الکتابة الحياتية و الذى يتضمن خصائص من الرواية الشفهية تحدى صريح للسرد التقليدى للسيرة الذاتية السائدة فحسب و لکنه أيضا محاولة للتشکيک فى الإصدارات التاريخية للماضى فى ’روايات السادة‘. و بما أن الکتابة الحياتية تشمل خصائص کلا من الرواية التقليدية المکتوبة و الرواية الشفهية، فإن الکتابة الحياتية سمحت لکامبل بإحتواء تعاليم جدتها لوالدها (رواية شيشم) جنبا الى جنب قصة حياتها فى محاولة لإستخدام الروايتين فى تغيير حياة السکان الأصليين للأفضل. يحاول هذا البحث توضيح أن إستخدام کامبل لإسلوب الکتابة الحياتية مع الترکيز على سلالة الميتى يدل على التصالح مع موروثها الثقافى کما يعد خطوة ناجحة نحو الحصول على الرواية البديلة للسکان الأصليين. و يستخدم البحث منهج فرانز فانون فى کتابه معذبو الأرض.

Silencing the Other Within: Metis Music at Manitoba’s Old-Time Fiddle Competitions

AbstractAbstract. This essay examines Metis-style categories at fiddle contests in Manitoba, Canada. I argue that these categories, although positioned as spaces of alliance, function to contain Metis reemergence and resurgence. Adapting the concept of the “other within” (Bohlman 2000:191), I suggest that Metis-style categories provide a space for settlers to internalize Metis identity. This internalization allows participants to practice a (settler-defined) Metis identity without having to engage with the Metis nation or develop a nation-to-nation relationship. Metis-style categories thus create the semblance of encounter, an act that works to silence the Metis nation.

“Pop‐Up” Métis and the Rise of Canada's Post‐Indigenous Formation

“Pop‐Up” Métis and the Rise of Canada's Post‐Indigenous Formation

Bannock as medicine.

It’s been difficult to figure out who I am. Doctor? In training. Metis? Yes. Knowing what it means to be Metis? Not fully yet. Knowing how it really feels to be Indigenous and marginalized in Canada? Not a clue. The history of Metis people stems from rejection: first, rejection by the

Communing with the Dead: The “New Métis,” Métis Identity Appropriation, and the Displacement of Living Métis Culture

Communing with the Dead: The “New Métis,” Métis Identity Appropriation, and the Displacement of Living Métis Culture

“We See Hard Times Ahead of Us”: York Factory and Indigenous Life in the Western Hudson Bay Region, 1880–1925

Focusing on the community of York Factory and the surrounding region in northern Manitoba between 1880 and 1925, this article traces the transformation of the Muskego Cree and Metis peoples of the district from independent traders, hunters, and wage labourers to a colonized people with diminished economic opportunities. Through evidence gathered from Hudson’s Bay Company journals, reports, and accounts, as well as from Department of Indian Affairs records, missionary correspondence, and oral history, I describe how the establishment of a fur trade mode of production incorporated the Indigenous economy of western Hudson Bay into an international market of trade and production, making the people of York Factory part of a global economy based upon a capitalist exploitation of resources. I also suggest that, beginning in the late nineteenth century, the Hudson’s Bay Company conspired to mitigate the economic impacts of resource depletion on its profit margin in the York district by pursuing an arrangement with the Canadian government to assume financial responsibility for the Indigenous people of western Hudson Bay. The article will trace the process through which changing capital interests, both local and global, came to manipulate an age-old pattern of subsistence and labour, debt and trade, as well as economic interdependence.

From New Peoples to New Nations: Aspects of Métis History and Identity from the Eighteenth to Twenty-First Centuries by Gerhard J. Ens and Joe Sawchuk

From New Peoples to New Nations: Aspects of Métis History and Identity from the Eighteenth to Twenty-First Centuries by Gerhard J. Ens and Joe Sawchuk

Aboriginal Rights Litigation, Negotiation, and Practice among the Metis of BC: Community Perspectives on Creating Legal Change

This paper examines the perspectives of Metis people in the southern BC interior about how to deal with the rejection by the courts of all three Metis rights claims in the province. The perspectives of those directly involved in the three cases, along with community members in the subject areas (Thompson/Shuswap, south Okanagan, Kootenays) reveal that people generally prefer negotiation to litigation in the BC context, as lack of understanding of Metis history, territories and communities in BC creates difficulties for BC Metis litigants. Negotiation was viewed favourably by participants, but continuing to practise rights was seen as more important than gaining state recognition of rights.

Metis Nation of Alberta (MNA): collaborative research practices and procedures

Metis Nation of Alberta (MNA): collaborative research practices and procedures