Who Are the Métis?

 

Who Are the Métis?

We are not Métis, we are the Sang-Mêlés Acadien of Western Nova Scotia, a distinct indigenous people as defined by Article 33 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. Here in Ke’pek (Chabake) we have two so-called indigenous Métis organizations, the Eastern Woodland Métis Nation of Nova Scotia and the Association Acadien Métis-Souriquois, both organizations are in error to use the word Métis in their names, but so is the Métis Nation of Ontario who persists in using that word to self identify non-status indigenous people in their territory.

This is a historic mistake. Up until 2019 when the Manitoba Métis Federation banned non-Métis people from using the word Métis, the word Métis was commonly used by non-status peoples east of Manitoba to self identify. However the Sang-Mêlés Acadien of Western Nova Scotia have been singled out for special abuse by the Ontario Métis Nation through its proxy the Métis National Council, an NGO funded by the federal government and a certain college professor from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, named Darryl Leroux, who advances the preposterous idea there are no non-status indigenous peoples east of Ontario. In the aftermath of the Manitoba Métis Federation’s declaration to deprive Ontario and British Columbia of the right to use the word Métis the perspectives of the Ontario Métis Nation, the Métis National Council and the settler Mr. Leroux have become irrelevant.

Our struggle as an indigenous people is to reject the idea we are Métis and move forward from the a-historical, racist and colonial “Land of Evangeline” myth as outlined in my “We are Where Infinity Begins" essay and restore our own indigenous history and culture in a respectful way.

 

Blessings from the Chebake

 

Letter to Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

 

Dear Friends at APTN (sent via email to various journalists and editors at APTN)

Jan 24, 2021 

 

A few years back I attended an indigenous youth rally on Parliament Hill which coincided with an AFN general assembly here in Ottawa. Though I’m not a youth myself I was interested in what our young aboriginal people were concerned with. It was a very cold day and everyone was chilled to the bone. It was a great relief to engage in the circle dance not just for the feeling of solidarity, but to get our feet moving and warm up. Being an aboriginal person, but an outlier on the disputed margins I follow indigenous affairs with great interest. The political purpose of the youth gathering was to promote equality of all aboriginal peoples and to question the artificial divide of status and non-status Indians as defined by the Indian Act.

 

As an important aboriginal voice in Canada APTN has the responsibility to represent all indigenous peoples and not just the First Nations AFN milieu. While your work is uniformly excellent, I get the impression your perspective sometimes overlooks the struggles of non-status peoples, nor does it seek to define what it means to be non-status to status peoples. Particularly as the Métis of the west are considered to be a de-facto status people without the so-called benefits. This however is a small criticism given your responsibility to project a national perspective where the AFN and its subsidiary organizations are considered the highest voice of our indigenous peoples.

 

However, this kind of unconscious exclusion of non-status peoples like my people. the Sang-Mêlés Acadien of Western Nova Scotia opens the door for disrespectful abuse from a wide range of commentators from racist settlers to status and non-status people like the so-called Métis of Ontario who characterize us as “raceshifters” and “pretendians.” This negative and hurtful expression is never challenged in the aboriginal media but encourage by silence on the question, who is an aboriginal person in Canada as defined by Section 35, the Indian Act, the various supreme court decisions and Article 33 of UNDRIP. As a result we now have an oppressive media elite of indigenous tastemakers who seem to comment and rule polemically according to their feelings without any regard for others lived Truth, I believe this is not in accord with the Spirit of our indigenous ways. It is my hope the excellent journalists at APTN will work harder to address this important issue in the future.

 

With all respect,

 

Eric Walker dit Pothier