Métis

"In the northern part of Alberta, eight Métis settlements, with a combined area of 1,250,000 acres, constitute the only collective Métis land base in Canada. This is the first study to undertake a broad examination of the contemporary politics of an Aboriginal collectivity. The study makes extensive use of data derived from interviews with Métis politicians, their constituents, and government officials. The study presents an unconventional approach to the issue of self-government and applies to the situation of the Métis settlements." -- Provided by goodminds.com

"This book explores Metis land rights in relation to the Manitoba Act, 1870. It provides historical research conducted by the Manitoba Metis Foundation, under the direction of Dr. D.N. Sprague in the late 1970s and early 1980s." -- Provided by publisher

“In this book, Professor D. N. Sprague tells why the Métis did not receive the land that was supposed to be theirs under the Manitoba Act. ... Sprague offers many examples of the methods used, such as legislation justifying the sale of the land allotted to Métis children without any of the safeguards ordinarily required in connection with transactions with infants. Then there were powers of attorney, tax sales—any number of stratagems could be used, and were—to see that the land intended for the Métis and their families went to others. All branches of the government participated.

"Most writing on Métis history has concentrated on the Resistance of 1869-70 and the Rebellion of 1885, without adequately explaining the social and economic origins of the Métis that shaped those conflicts. Historians have often emphasized the aboriginal aspect of the Métis heritage, stereotyping the Métis as a primitive people unable or unwilling to adjust to civilized life and capitalist society.

"He was a master hunter, a renowned warrior and a dauntless leader of the Métis. At a volatile time in western Canada, Gabriel Dumont stood as the living sword of the Métis, prepared to make war or peace as might be good for his people. Dumont came of age during the era of the great buffalo hunts, when entire communities moved according to the migrations of the herds. A crack shot at an early age, Dumont earned his first rifle when he was 11, a weapon he would put to deadly use against buffalo and Sioux alike.

"The Métis are a distinct Aboriginal peoples whose rights are recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. However, since the coming into force of section 35, most case law and judicial and academic commentary has been focused on the rights of First Nations peoples. The rights of the Inuit, with a few exceptions, have been largely dealt with by means of modern treaties and land claims settlements in northern Canada. This leaves the Métis.

"These twelve essays constitute a groundbreaking volume of new work prepared by leading scholars in the fields of history, anthropology, constitutional law, political science, and sociology, who identify the many facets of what it means to be Métis in Canada today. After the Powley decision in 2003, Métis people were no longer conceptually limited to the historical boundaries of the fur trade in Canada. Key ideas explored in this collection include identity, rights, and issues of governance, politics, and economics.

"Ask any Canadian what “Métis” means, and they will likely say “mixed race” or “part Indian, part white.” Canadians consider Métis people mixed in ways that other indigenous people -- First Nations and Inuit -- are not, and the census and the courts have premised their recognition of the Métis on this race-based understanding.

"This book is dedicated to informing social workers and other helping professionals in how Métis people are affected in the child welfare system. Métis peoples today negotiate a form of displacement that has occurred over generations although most Canadians are unaware of this history. The forced removal of children through child apprehension and adoption has been an integral part of displacement, perpetuating further family disruption and dislocation.