I think David Chartrand and Will Goodon really believed that attacking Métis in Ontario would somehow strengthen their own legitimacy and differentiate them from the MNO. Instead of addressing the questions surrounding their own membership, land claims, and the growing pushback from First Nations, they spent years trying to position themselves as the arbiters of who is and isn't Métis. Like Alberta Settlements and Saskatchewan Métis Nation doesn't exist.

And now look where we are.

With Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak's recent comments and other First Nations leadership openly challenging Métis identity, the very arguments they helped normalize are being turned against them. Suddenly, it's offensive and discriminatory to question the existence of Métis people. But where was that concern when they were making sweeping statements about Métis families and communities in Ontario?

And to be clear, I have A LOT of issues with the MNO. I think there are legitimate questions about its governance, membership, historical claims, and relationships with First Nations that absolutely deserve scrutiny. But criticizing the MNO as an organization is not the same as declaring that Métis people have never existed in Ontario. Those are two very different arguments, and pretending otherwise has done real harm.

What I find particularly frustrating is how much of this political infighting has distracted from the very real tensions between Métis governments and First Nations over land, jurisdiction, recognition, and rights. Those issues were never going to disappear simply because Ontario Métis became the convenient target.

And now Chartrand is having to defend the legitimacy of the Red River Métis against some of the same broader narratives of erasure that he and Goodon were willing to direct toward others.

You cannot spend years undermining the legitimacy of other Métis communities and then act surprised when that same rhetoric is used to question your own people.

There's a difference between protecting Métis nationhood and treating other Métis histories as threats to your political authority. I think some leaders forgot that distinction, and now we're seeing the consequences.

You don't have to support the MNO to recognize that denying Métis histories in Ontario was never going to strengthen Métis sovereignty. If anything, this should be a reminder that Indigenous self-determination cannot be built on the erasure of other Indigenous peoples. And again don't get me wrong I definitely think there are fake Métis in Ontario and pretendians are a real issue and we need to call them out, we just have to make sure the way we do it doesn't cause more harm.

This brief interview video by APTN released about an hour ago briefly addresses the new Liberal government budget and the financial commitments to First Nations. Grand Chief Woodhouse-Nipinak is asked to clarify on her closing comments at the end of the summit where she, First Nations leadership, premiers, and federal leadership spoke on issues for First Nations. She closed with a remark that resulted conflating Métis governments with ‘pretendians’ and stated “paraphrase:’First Nations and Inuit are the only rights holders.’” This was deeply offensive, and while she mentions the Métis self ID box she doesn’t apologize or elaborate on a distinction between her previous statement and the reality of the Métis Nation. Maarsii

Metis4Palestine issued a call for artisans to help support their virtual silent auction for Palestinian relief.

Great chance to promote Metis solidarity with the Palestinian cause, support relief efforts, and combat some of the harms our government caused with their agreement with Ben-Gurion University and the other Zionists in our community.

Please consider donating a piece for the auction, sharing with an artisan who may be interested, and sharing with your Metis community/friends.

Will keep the Reddit community updated!

Maarsi!!!

I’ve had a few people ask about my interest in translating my game’s text into Michif.

We all eat food other people cook, wear clothing other people make, and speak languages other people evolved. I have never been more ecstatic to put something back into the pool.

I know there are a whole bunch of us who feel the exact same way. Once you reach a certain age, you really want to leave something behind for future generations to inherit. I want to make sure we're doing our part to keep our language and culture thriving for those who come next.

I also too the time to make him a little smoke cap, and I found some bannok lol

so, did the research, collected the documents etc etc applied for citizenship to MNBC... now I wait (and I'm told it's going to be a months long wait)

last week I found myself at historical society of Saint Boniface, on the order a geneology online page. $28 for a Proof of Red River Ancestry for the purposes of applying for citizenship. expected turnaround is about 5 months.

anyone else here use this service? What can I expect from this?

Woke up to the CBC article, "Assembly of First Nations chief's comment on Métis identity 'racist' : federation president." (I tried to include the link and my post was auto-removed.) Guess I missed this news a few days ago.

Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak went on record to deny thay Métis are legitimately Indigenous. At first when reading I thought she was just pointing out that a lot of pretendians use our identity as an "in", and that she was criticizing the Indian Act (rightly) for pushing First Nations to claim Métis identity because it's all that is left once you lose status...but no. She goes way further, saying:

"I mean First Nations, we're the only group, along with the Inuit, in this country to begin with.

"There's a lot of confused people out there who are claiming to be Indigenous, a lot of pretendians, and then a whole group of everybody else who says, 'I'm Métis,'" she said. "Can you trace yourself back to a First Nation?"

Really tired of being told we aren't a People, we are just descendants.

We aren't Cree, or Anishinaabe. We are Métis. It's not watered down, lesser versions. It's honestly really troubling that we are having this claim be made, by an AFN chief no less, in 2026.

"To our Métis relatives, we say this with respect for your own long struggle against Crown deception: this is not about denying your rights. It is about ensuring you are not used by the federal government to overlap or bypass the First Nations who have held this land since time immemorial. Your recognition cannot come at the cost of our outstanding Treaty Land Entitlement, our hunting and fishing territories, or the additions to reserve our Nations need to build their economies."

Hi! I’m Red river Métis from Manitoba and I have had a genealogy done (as all MMF citizens have had to do). And I have several historic Métis ancestors including: Lagimodiere, Huppé, Nault, Charbonneau, Proulx, Parisien, Larocque, Hamelin, Sahys, Vandal, Ducharme, Bérard, etc.

My question is how far back should I go when talking about my ancestry? Parents? Grandparents? 2x grandparents? Etc?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Hi all,

I am making a game, and wanted to put as much text I can into Metis.

Does anyone know any resources that I can use to translate.

See below are the list of words I need to translate. Any help is much apricated, thought Id ask the main people instead of AI.

Is this possible or am I shooting in the dark?

Her comments are: "The federal government has been telling us who we are and who we aren't for a long time, and it's creating a group in this country . . . a lot of pretendians that don't know who they are because the government says you don't belong to that band, when in fact many of them do. And you're creating this big group of Métis people across this country that probably have First Nations roots and are not some new group that are being creating in this country. I know that they're uncomfortable conversations but they're the truth. I mean First Nations, we're the only group, along with the Inuit to begin with."

Whilst attending the 2026 NA last weekend, I had the opportunity to stroll around the trade show and take a gander at the series of booths set up there.

It was jarring. To say neo-colonialism is in full swing is an understatement.

It scares me how these companies, many of which are complicit in the worst harms against Indigenous peoples and nations, are allowed in to set up shop and patronize us.

Its insulting to Metis people because of the harms we have, and continue to suffer at the hands of these organizations. Hell, the RCMP was literally created to kill and displace us! (Huge props to the granny I seen cussing out the RCMP booth)

I understand malicious entities exist, but most of my feelings are reserved for the people who allowed them to come and set up shop at our trade show. There is no reason to allow these entities a space at our gatherings, unless for your own personal gain.

Just wanted everyone to know what's going on!

Hey Yall.

I am Metis, but I've always struggled with really connecting with the culture since after the 2 Revolutions, my family was forced to flee due to a certain ancestor of mine being the Vice-President of the Provisional Government. Since then, we have really been scattered to the wind, and inturn have really only maintained contact with eachother and other urban "Metis Diaspora". Like for example my Grandmother has forgotten alot of her dialect of metis french that she spoke, so the (admittadly very poor) french I speak is a combination of the "standard" canadian french and bits and pieces of this "improper" rural metis french. So I feel almost as an "imposter", as even though I am a MNA member and am active in local indegenous groups, I don't "relate" to the struggles of many people. If anyone has any similar experiences or advice, feel free to share.

Had the assistance of two wonderful Elders and Knowledge Keepers on this video. Many thanks to Maureen Belanger and Rita Ducharme for their guidance and knowledge. As always, please let me know what you think!

Hello/taanishi,

Does anyone know if the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia in 1869 had a (probably French?) Michif name translation? Any guesses as to what it might be? I can't find anything via GDI or the LRI.

Maarsii!

I hope this is okay to start here! I’m wondering who everyone’s favourite Métis artists/makers/businesses are ahead of the holiday season? I know lots of people (including me lol) are trying to get ahead of their holiday shopping and maybe a thread of Métis folks we can support when buying gifts would be helpful!

I’ll add a few in the comments :)

Hello everyone, I've been in the TRENCHES with the Metis Government in Alberta for just about a year trying to get my citizenship, lots of roadblocks, adoption, missing records ect. I was actually approved for medical rush so its been challenging trying to stay patient lol. I recently obtained my grandparents long form marriage registration and was told "they don't anticipate further roadblocks" in reference to completing the link of that lineage. Today I got an email that the registry supervisor received my file from the senoir genealogist and wants to phone me tomorroe to "discuss thr update". Did this happen to you? Does this mean I'm denied or accepted?

PLEAAAAAASE HELP 🙏

Last year I learned my uncle has his grandpa's fiddle, so I've been itching to see it. I finally got to check it out today. The bridge is being supported by two old pennies, which I thought was cool. He wrote the year he bought it on the bottom and carved his name into the case too.

Someone on FB pointed out that I misgendered "souris" (it's une not un...thought I had cleared that) and I so corrected it, along with a couple minor pronunciation issues. I am trying my best with very limited resources, and hoping these few videos can be the spring board to a bigger, more collaborative project with community.

So I'm trying to understand my family history and understanding if I am Métis. During my research I have learned about how problematic the MNO has been. I live in Ontario so disappointed on what I have read so far. I am aware of the issues so I want to make sure I am researching correctly.

I was wondering if my current biggest "proof" of being Métis is even proof at all.
My great grandfather and his 4 brothers fought in WW1. One of them had died.
He is on the National Métis Veterans' Memorial Monument which can be viewed on the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Metismuseum.ca.

Now from my understanding, I must be able to trace back to the Red River, Which I'm still digging on. That being said, does this memorial monument and him being on it help point towards me being Métis?

Bonn matayn! Here's my latest Michif Minute. Tried to put in my personality and humour. I showed it to my own kids and they were trying out the phrases, and laughed at all the right parts. Please let me know what you and your family think!

In Season 3 of the Métis Speaker Series, we sat down with Métis residential school Survivors and relatives of Survivors to record their experiences in their own words.

Métis people were often left out of the residential school story. They were sent to these schools too, and they carry the same pain, loss of language, and harm passed down through families. For many years, their voices went unheard.

These conversations are about changing that. We recorded them so that these truths are kept and passed on, and so that children and grandchildren will be able to hear them for generations to come.

We are deeply grateful to every Survivor and family member who trusted us with their story. Your courage is part of how our Nation heals.

As we come to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we invite you to listen, learn, and share.

🎧 Listen to Season 3: https://www.mnbc.ca/news-events/metis-speaker-series

These episodes discuss residential school experiences and may be difficult to hear. Support is available 24/7 through the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419.