The Manitoba Métis Federation is an aboriginal organization in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Its current president is David Chartrand

David Chartrand

David Chartrand is a politician and aboriginal activist in Manitoba, Canada. He is the current leader of the Manitoba Métis Federation. He was born and raised in Duck Bay, Manitoba.-External links:*...

. MMF is an affiliate of the Métis National Council

Métis National Council

The Métis National Council is the representative of the Northwest Métis people within Canada.-History:The National Council was formed in 1983, following the recognition of the Métis as an aboriginal people in Canada, in Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982...

.

History

In 1967, at the annual meeting of the Indian and Métis Conference, sponsored by the Winnipeg Community Welfare and Planning Council, a number of Métis attending the meeting realized that they could only make their concerns heard if they had an independent voice.

They subsequently met in private and decided to form a Federation of Métis people. Thus the Manitoba Métis Federation was founded on October 1, 1967 and incorporated as a non-profit association under the Companies Act of Manitoba in December 1967. Those present at the first meeting, who can be called the founders of MMF, were Reverend Adam Cuthand, Elizabeth Isbister, Edward "Ed" Simard, Tom Eagle and Angus Spence. Dr. Adam Cuthand was appointed as the first voluntary non-paid president.

Leadership

The first non-elected Board of Directors was Reverend Adam Cuthand, Joe Keeper and Alfred Disbrowe.

The successive presidents of the MMF have been:

President	fron	To
Dr. Adam Cuthand	1960	1970
Angus Spence	1970	1973
Connie Eyolfson	1973	1974
Ferdinand Guiboche	1974	1975
Edward Head	1975	1976
John Morrisseau	1976	1981
Don McIvor	1981	1984
W. Yvon Dumont	1984	1993
Ernie Blais	1993	1994
Billyjo DeLaRonde	1994	1997
David Chartrand	1997	present