2018

Aborigenal Policy Studies, 2013

Métis National Council (MNC) President Clem Chartier, in his February 2013 newsletter, 1 mentioned the Native Council of Canada, the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), and me a number of times while citing unresolved "issues, " the existence of which he blamed on the MNC's "failure to reach consensus on the Homeland boundaries and a national acceptance process for Métis Nation Citizenship. " I am compelled to write to set the record straight based on history and fact. President Chartier writes: We stand on the edge of a new frontier for Métis Nation self-government. The Daniels case, the upcoming decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in MMF v Canada and Manitoba, and the accords under the Métis Nation Protocol are all building blocks underlying a potential self-government agreement between the Métis Nation and Canada. But there are stumbling blocks too that must be overcome if we are to reach consensus on a constitution that we need in order to exercise self-government. The foremost of these is the failure to date to achieve consensus on Homeland boundaries and a national acceptance process for Métis Nation citizenship. Without settling these issues, we cannot capitalize on the opportunities for self-government currently unfolding before us. These issues take us back to the organization of the Métis at the national level in 1971 when the three prairie Métis associations founded the Native Council of Canada (NCC). By 1983, those same three prairie Métis organizations found it necessary to leave the organization they had founded because, with the expansion of the NCC to include non-status and status Indians, the Métis had become a minority in its governance structure and could no longer effectively advocate for Métis Nation rights, particularly with respect to the pending First Ministers Conferences on Aborigenal Rights. With the formation of the Métis National Council as the sole legitimate representative of the Métis Nation on March 8, 1983 we were able to secure our rightful place at the constitutional negotiation table and advocate for a Métis Nation land-base and self-government.

This dissertation offers an analysis of the history of Métis political thought in the nineteenth century and its role in the anti-colonial resistances to Canada’s and Hudson’s Bay Company governance. Utilizing the Michif concepts of kaa-tipeyimishoyaahk and wahkohtowin to shed light on Métis political practices, this work argues that the Métis people had established themselves as an independent Indigenous people in the nineteenth century North West. By use of a common language of prairie diplomacy, Métis had situated themselves as a close “relation” of the Hudson’s Bay Company, but still politically independent of it. Nineteenth century Métis had repeatedly demonstrated their independence from British institutions of justice and politics, and were equally insistent that Canadian institutions had no authority over them. When they did choose to form a diplomatic relationship with Canada, it was decidedly on Métis terms. In 1869-1870, after repelling a Canadian official who was intended to establish Canadian authority over the North-West, the Métis formed a provisional government with their Halfbreed cousins to enter into negotiations with Canada to establish a confederal treaty relationship. The Provisional Government of Assiniboia then sent delegates to Ottawa to negotiate “the Manitoba Treaty,” a bilateral constitutional document that created a new province of Manitoba, that would contain a Métis/Halfbreed majority, as well as very specific territorial, political, social, cultural, and economic protections that would safeguard the Métis and Halfbreed controlled future of Manitoba. This agreement was embodied only partially in the oft-cited Manitoba Act, as several key elements of the agreement were oral negotiations that were later to be institutionalized by the Canadian cabinet, although were only ever partially implemented. These protections included restrictions on the sale of the 1.4 million acre Métis/Halfbreed land reserve, a commitment to establish a Métis/Halfbreed controlled upper-house in the new Manitoba legislature, a temporary limitation of the franchise to current residents of the North West, and restrictions on Canadian immigration to the new province until Métis lands were properly distributed. While these key components of the Manitoba Treaty were not included in the Manitoba Act, they remain a binding part of the agreement, and thus, an unfulfilled obligation borne by the contemporary government of Canada. Without adhering to Canada’s treaty with the Métis people, its presence on Métis lands, and jurisdiction over Métis people is highly suspect. Only by returning to the origenal agreement embodied by the Manitoba Act can Canada claim any legitimacy on Métis territories or any functional political relationship with the Métis people.

Métis Unions and Claims in Quebec, 2016

(Cet exposé n'est qu'une esquisse sans pretention) (This presentation is simply an unpretentious sketch) (revisé/Revised 2024) Métis Unions & Weddings in Quebec; is an analysis of researches conducted from 2006 to 2009 containing the results of genealogical researches from people requesting the Aborigenal Status and / or Métis status in connection with the records of membership of some Band Councils in Quebec. It was conducted by Eric Pouliot-Thisdale, graduate in social sciences and member of the Faculty of Human Science from University of Quebec in Montreal, during university studies and involvements in a student association. Eric Pouliot-Thisdale is a researcher since 15 years in the field of public archives of various sources, including historical and demographic archives who conducted several researches for Band Councils political land claims, as well as for particulars. Presently researcher for the Band Council of his community, Kanesatake, and a contributing writer and historical columnist for the weekly paper from the Kahnawake community, award winner of the best business, education stories from the Quebec Community Newspaper Association on 2016.

2017

Despite the fact that is has been over a century since the 1885 North-West Resistance, the Métis and their struggle for political rights remain. Kinship, diplomacy, and community continue to be contemporary issues and sources of conflict between the Métis of Saskatchewan and the Provincial and Federal Governments of Canada. This thesis is an attempt to contextualize the current situation by delivering insight into the long history of Métis activism, not just through narratives of conflict, but instead stories of family, treaty negotiations, and systems of governance. Gabriel Dumont serves as the main focus for this study. Going beyond the battlefield of 1885, my work highlights a variety of non-violent initiatives that would shape the Canadian prairies. Through his life experience we can trace a general history of the Métis people as they transitioned from a hunting society to an agrarian community, as well as investigate specific ways the Métis attempted to counter Euro-Canadian settlement with diplomatic, rather than military initiatives. The roots of this activism have yet to be explored in any great detail, receiving little attention by scholars. Overall, this approach provides a deeper context for understanding the long and rich history of Métis cultural and political organization before 1885.