Who are the Métis?
- Métis culture and nationhood is rooted in intermarriages and other kinship connections between European and First Nations people during the early North American fur trade period. During the 1600s to 1700s, fur traders from France, Scotland, England, and other parts of Europe married First Nations women in what historians have referred to as country marriages, or marriages entered into according to Aboriginal law.
- The children of these couples were mixed Aboriginal people, but they were not yet Métis.
- Over time, these individuals chose to marry other mixed Aboriginal individuals, with such families creating distinct Métis kinship networks, communities, and cultural norms. Gradually, a distinct culture, languages and Nation solidified over generations. Historic Métis communities emerged in the lands now known as B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories, as well as in Montana, North Dakota, and Idaho.
- The term Métis does not encompass all individuals with mixed Aboriginal and European heritage. Rather, it refers to a distinctive people who developed their own worldview, customs, way of life, and recognizable group identity that is separate from their First Nations or European forebears.
- Métis Nation British Columbia defines Métis as:
- “Métis means a person who self-identifies as Métis, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry, is distinct from other Aboriginal Peoples and is accepted by the Métis Nation. MNBC upholds this definition when determining who is eligible for Métis citizenship within MNBC.
“Métis” means a person who self-identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry and who is accepted by the Métis Nation.
The first Métis people documented in British Columbia (BC) arrived in the late 1700's, while working as guides for expeditions through BC including the Alexander McKenzie Expedition. Later on, as the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company expanded their presence in BC and opened various fur trading forts across the province more Métis men and their families moved west for employment with the Companies. Over the decades following the decline of the fur trade in the late 1800's, Métis individuals and families continued to move to BC to escape discrimination and racism experienced across the Western prairies, to be with their families and/or spouses, and to find new employment opportunities. Today, there are over 98,000 self-identified Métis people living in BC.
The term Métis does not encompass all individuals with mixed Indigenous and European heritage. Rather, it refers to a distinct people who developed their own worldview, customs, way of life, and recognizable group identity that is separate from their First Nations or European forebears.
Image: “Fort Babine,” courtesy of the Royal BC Museum (left)
Image: “The Hudson's Bay Company trading post at Fort Babine,” courtesy of the Royal BC Museum (right)