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By the time the fur traders penetrated into the interior of present-day western Canada, the Métis Nation was developing, a blend of Indian and European cultures that was distinct from both.
The Métis Nation asserted itself from the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816 to the Red River Resistance in 1870. Louis Riel’s provisional government asserted Métis Nationhood that year, demanding recognition of Métis rights and control over lands and natural resources traditionally held.
During the negotiation of Manitoba’s entry into Confederation, a grant of 1.4 million areas of land was reserved for exclusive use of the Métis. The Métis believed that adding this land grant, an area close to the size of Prince Edward Island, to the lands they occupied before the transfer to Canada would provide a land base to ensure the survival of their language and culture against the onslaught of settlers.
The Government of Canada formally recognized Métis Aboriginal title to calm the resistance, and to defuse a politically organized and influential nation. But the creation of a Métis land base was undermined by government delays and neglect that facilitated the work of speculators who profited from the demand for land from settlers and the railroad.
After the 1885 Resistance at Batoche, the government began issuing land and money scrip to Métis people outside the province of Manitoba. Land that had been part of the original 1870 claim was not available to the Métis. By issuing the scrip on an individual basis, instead of collectively to the Métis, the government gave the Métis two choices: to accept scrip, or to give up their identity and take Treaty as Indians.
This unilateral extinguishment of Métis rights violated the principles of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which set the standard by which governments were to deal with Aboriginal peoples. The Royal Proclamation provided that the land of Aboriginal peoples were not to be dismembered, piecemeal, by encroaching settlers. The Crown assumed responsibility for protecting the rights of Aboriginal peoples.
Scrip destroyed, rather than securing, the base of land and resources the Métis relied on to continue to live as a distinct Aboriginal people. This attempt to extinguish Métis Aboriginal title did not provide a sufficient land base or resources to allow for a collective future for the Métis. They were pushed to the margins. Yet resistance continues. To this day, the Métis cherish their collective aspirations and political organizations, their continued relationship with the land and reliance on hunting, trapping, gathering and fishing.
- Métis National Council
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Telephone (780)455-2200 Toll-Free Alberta (800)252-7553 Fax
(780)452-8946
100-11738 Kingsway Ave, Edmonton, AB T5G 0X5
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