With the news that Metis are viewed by the Canadian government in the same way as First Nations and Inuit, everyone wants to know what benefits Metis get. People who suspect they are “partly Indian” want to know for sure and get their Metis Status card, but there is so much conflicting information that it is difficult to find the correct answers.

Pride

Obtaining Metis status is a way to show pride in your ancestors and their hard work at the beginning of North America’s first economy, the fur trade. Considering that it is the native women who did most of the work, it is time for all of us to honor our great-grandmothers and the sacrifices they made for our benefit.

Community

Metis Status provides access and companionship to our extended kinship community. Because Metis groups can only apply for government funds based on their registry membership, obtaining a Metis Status card helps our communities in many ways. Without membership, Metis communities will not get funding. Every person who stands up and gets their Metis Status card helps build what was lost for generations of hiding our identity.

Because most of the fur traders were French, their unions with native women represent the majority of the Metis in North America. Most of the people who grew up in a French-Canadian town or village don’t even realize how much of their culture is actually Metis, or that they have fur traders in their ancestry, or how many people in their community are of Native descent. American people. Getting a card with the organization that represents your ancestry type is not like being in a club, it is about being part of a family and a community.

Obtaining a Metis Status card means that your genealogy has been verified to be true and accurate. It is proof that you are actually “part Indian”. The card you have describes the cultural community to which you belong.

Programs

Social programs are varied and can include health programs, health studies for particular hereditary diseases, cultural learning programs, assistance programs, cultural and heritage workshops, improvement incentives, work programs, housing assistance, family programs ( well-being of the baby, family counseling, etc.) preservation of heritage and culture, etc. Funding for programs depends on agreements with the Canadian government and the number of registered members of an organization.

Representation and rights

Some groups would like to have harvest rights, hunting or fishing rights, or even access to harvest plant material. Rights to any of these are determined by agreements signed between the government and the individual organization. There are many different organizations that represent many different Metis groups. Being Metis or having a card does not entitle you to automatic rights. Standing up and being counted when obtaining a status card better helps these groups negotiate rights on your behalf. So, right now, you cannot go hunting or fishing just because you have a Metis card, unless your group tells you that there are agreements to do so, and the way in which the activity should be carried out.

We don’t know what the future holds for anyone. In our communities today, there are some areas where people cannot harvest certain plant materials. Having Metis Status with a particular organization could mean that your community has a voice in bargaining for rights, for now and for the future.

Education

Considering that Native Americans have traditionally had fewer high school, college, and university graduates than the average population, and Native Americans have traditionally been underrepresented in the workforce, and Native Americans are the group fastest growing people, the government now understands that they will need training as they will be a major source of labor in the future. For all these reasons, the government is encouraging educational institutions to make accommodation for Aboriginal people, whether they are First Nations, Inuit or Metis.

Having a Metis Status card can help secure a place in a particular educational program, for example at a college or university. Considering that the ancestors of the Metis families helped build the economy of this continent, and then they had to hide their identity for generations or had their rights taken away, and considering that the hard work of these native ancestors never has been duly registered and recognized, it is time for the Metis to take their place in the programs if having a status card helps to do so.

There are also scholarships and scholarships that Metis can apply for. The request for such funding should really be based on genuine need, as there are many Metis families who lack the resources for education.

Workplace

Large corporations typically have a policy that encourages the hiring of the 4 underrepresented groups of people in the Canadian workplace: Visible Minorities, Disabled, Aboriginal, and Women. Aboriginal people under the Canadian Constitution Act include First Nations, Inuit, and Metis. Whether or not this helps with the workplace is debatable and depends on the circumstances.

We pay taxes

All Metis people pay taxes, just like everyone else in the country. Will there be any change in that? Who knows.

Describing themselves as “French Canadians” has been PC’s way of speaking French and native. Although their culture is Metis, there are still many misunderstandings and Hollywood stereotypes about what it means to be Aboriginal. And many Metis feel unworthy to claim it because they believe they need to learn and become First Nations culturally, but that is not true. Metis culture is no more like First Nations culture than being a Filipino would make someone Chinese. And there are as many types of Metis culture as there are communities where Metis have lived.

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