Métis in Alberta
Encyclopedia
Métis in Alberta are Métis people who live in the Canadian province of Alberta
. The Métis are the decedents of mixed First Nations
/native Indian
and White
/European
families. The Métis are considered an aboriginal group
under Canada's constitution but are separate from the First Nations and have different legal rights. In Alberta, unlike in the rest of Canada, Métis people have had certain lands reserved for them, known as Métis Settlements.
by the interactions of White fur trading agents with First Nations communities. Métis populations grew up around fur trading posts of the North-West and Hudson's Bay
companies. For example, Fort Edmonton
spawned a large Métis population that was involved in an annual buffalo hunt for many years. These Métis helped to establish the nearby settlements of Lac Ste Anne (1844), St. Albert
(1864?), Lac la Biche (1853), and St. Paul de Metis. After the Rupert's Land
was sold to Canada in 1869, and after the two Riel Rebellions when Métis further east in Manitoba and Saskatchewan took up arms against the Canadian government, Alberta Métis were forced off their lands and reduced to poverty.
As a response to Métis dispossession and impoverishment, the government of Alberta created twelve Métis settlements in 1938 by way of the Métis Population Betterment Act
. In the late 1950s four of these settlements (Touchwood, Marlboro, Cold Lake, and Wolf Lake) were closed, requiring residents to relocate to one of the remaining eight settlements. All eight current settlements are located at a latitude north of Edmonton and operate under the authority of the Métis Settlements Act.
Recently, many Métis people have moved to larger urban centres, becoming urban aboriginals.
The Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) has a long history. Since its inception in 1928, it has existed to advocate on behalf of and meet the needs and aspirations of Métis people in Alberta.
The mandate of the MNA is to:
Overall, the MNA has evolved from an organization:
Over the past 15 years, a new set of expectations has been established for the MNA through the:
This period has also seen a steady rise in the number of Métis people in the Province who have registered as members of the MNA. Membership in the MNA grew by almost 300% in the last decade. Clearly, more and more Métis people in Alberta recognize the benefits of MNA memberships and the importance of the MNA as an organization.
As well, the MNA has made a transition from solely a representative body to an organization responsible and accountable for the ongoing delivery of a variety of programs and services. The MNA has continued to make significant strides as an organization and has been successful in developing and implementing a number of projects and initiatives (including Apeetogosan Development Inc., Métis Urban Housing Corporation of Alberta and the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement – Labour Market Unit.)
The MNA has accepted new responsibilities and expectations and is moving towards becoming a more “results-based” organization. It has addressed issues relating to internal governance and has, in turn, developed the administrative capacity to meet the expectations that are placed upon it.
The MNA has proven itself very capable of playing a role in the policy development process. Its elected officials and staff sit on a wide range of committees responsible for an even wider array of issues.
The MNA, like any organization, has gone through a distinct evolution in its history. While it has had to deal with any number of contentious issues over the years, the MNA’s development has been built upon a strong record of successes, often achieved with minimal financial resources.
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. The Métis are the decedents of mixed First Nations
First Nations in Alberta
First Nations in Alberta constitute several dozen nations. Reserves of these First Nations were established in Alberta by a series of treaties, Treaty 6, Treaty 7, and Treaty 8....
/native Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
/European
European people
European people may refer to:*Ethnic groups in Europe*Demographics of Europe*people from Europe*people from the European Union*People outside of Europe of European descent** European African or White African**White American ***European American...
families. The Métis are considered an aboriginal group
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
under Canada's constitution but are separate from the First Nations and have different legal rights. In Alberta, unlike in the rest of Canada, Métis people have had certain lands reserved for them, known as Métis Settlements.
History
Métis history in Alberta begins with the Fur Trade in North America. The Métis were created as a peopleEthnogenesis
Ethnogenesis is the process by which a group of human beings comes to be understood or to understand themselves as ethnically distinct from the wider social landscape from which their grouping emerges...
by the interactions of White fur trading agents with First Nations communities. Métis populations grew up around fur trading posts of the North-West and Hudson's Bay
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
companies. For example, Fort Edmonton
Fort Edmonton
Fort Edmonton was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1795 to 1891, all of which were located in central Alberta, Canada...
spawned a large Métis population that was involved in an annual buffalo hunt for many years. These Métis helped to establish the nearby settlements of Lac Ste Anne (1844), St. Albert
St. Albert, Alberta
St. Albert is a suburban city in Alberta, located northwest of Edmonton, on the Sturgeon River. It was originally settled as a Métis community, and is now the second largest city in the Edmonton area. St...
(1864?), Lac la Biche (1853), and St. Paul de Metis. After the Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land
Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, was a territory in British North America, consisting of the Hudson Bay drainage basin that was nominally owned by the Hudson's Bay Company for 200 years from 1670 to 1870, although numerous aboriginal groups lived in the same territory and disputed the...
was sold to Canada in 1869, and after the two Riel Rebellions when Métis further east in Manitoba and Saskatchewan took up arms against the Canadian government, Alberta Métis were forced off their lands and reduced to poverty.
As a response to Métis dispossession and impoverishment, the government of Alberta created twelve Métis settlements in 1938 by way of the Métis Population Betterment Act
Métis Population Betterment Act
The Métis Population Betterment Act was an Act of the Government of Alberta in Canada, which created a committee of members of the Métis and the government to plot out lands for allocation to the Métis...
. In the late 1950s four of these settlements (Touchwood, Marlboro, Cold Lake, and Wolf Lake) were closed, requiring residents to relocate to one of the remaining eight settlements. All eight current settlements are located at a latitude north of Edmonton and operate under the authority of the Métis Settlements Act.
Recently, many Métis people have moved to larger urban centres, becoming urban aboriginals.
Métis Nation of Alberta
Métis people in Alberta are also represented by the Métis Nation of Alberta.The Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) has a long history. Since its inception in 1928, it has existed to advocate on behalf of and meet the needs and aspirations of Métis people in Alberta.
The mandate of the MNA is to:
- be a representative voice on behalf of Métis people in Alberta;
- provide Métis people an opportunity to participate in government’s policy and decision making process; and, most importantly;
- promote and facilitate the advancement of Métis people through the pursuit of self-reliance, self-determination and self-management.
Overall, the MNA has evolved from an organization:
- with a small membership to an organization whose membership exceeds 35,000 people spread across the Province;
- focused on community consultation and representation to an organization that is both a representative body and a program and service provider;
- responsible for implementing specific projects to an organization responsible for providing ongoing programs and services;
- that simply reacted to government policy changes to an organization that is called upon to actively participate in the policy-making process.
Over the past 15 years, a new set of expectations has been established for the MNA through the:
- Alberta/MNA Framework Agreement process;
- Federal/Provincial/MNA Tripartite Process Agreement process; and
- Government of Alberta’s Aboriginal Policy Framework.
This period has also seen a steady rise in the number of Métis people in the Province who have registered as members of the MNA. Membership in the MNA grew by almost 300% in the last decade. Clearly, more and more Métis people in Alberta recognize the benefits of MNA memberships and the importance of the MNA as an organization.
As well, the MNA has made a transition from solely a representative body to an organization responsible and accountable for the ongoing delivery of a variety of programs and services. The MNA has continued to make significant strides as an organization and has been successful in developing and implementing a number of projects and initiatives (including Apeetogosan Development Inc., Métis Urban Housing Corporation of Alberta and the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement – Labour Market Unit.)
The MNA has accepted new responsibilities and expectations and is moving towards becoming a more “results-based” organization. It has addressed issues relating to internal governance and has, in turn, developed the administrative capacity to meet the expectations that are placed upon it.
The MNA has proven itself very capable of playing a role in the policy development process. Its elected officials and staff sit on a wide range of committees responsible for an even wider array of issues.
The MNA, like any organization, has gone through a distinct evolution in its history. While it has had to deal with any number of contentious issues over the years, the MNA’s development has been built upon a strong record of successes, often achieved with minimal financial resources.
List of Métis settlements
| Métis Settlements in Alberta | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Settlement Name |
Area* | Population (2009) |
|
| (km²) | (acres) | ||
| Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement, Alberta Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement is a Métis settlement in northern Alberta, Canada within Smoky Lake County. It is located along Highway 855, approximately northeast of Edmonton.- Demographics :... |
353.8 | 87,420 | 1,206 |
| East Prairie Métis Settlement East Prairie Métis Settlement, Alberta East Prairie Métis Settlement is a Métis settlement in northern Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Big Lakes. It is located approximately south of Highway 2 and east of Grande Prairie.- Demographics :... |
333.8 | 82,480 | 906 |
| Elizabeth Métis Settlement Elizabeth Métis Settlement, Alberta Elizabeth Métis Settlement is a Métis settlement in central Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87. It is located approximately east of Highway 897 and south of Cold Lake.- Demographics :... |
261.8 | 64,690 | 820 |
| Fishing Lake Métis Settlement Fishing Lake Métis Settlement, Alberta Fishing Lake Métis Settlement is a Métis settlement in central Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87. It is located approximately east of Highway 897 and south of Cold Lake.- Demographics :... |
386.3 | 95,464 | 952 |
| Gift Lake Métis Settlement Gift Lake Metis Settlement, Alberta Gift Lake Métis Settlement is a Métis settlement in northern Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Big Lakes. It is located along Highway 750, approximately northeast of Grande Prairie.- Demographics :... |
861.6 | 212,916 | 999 |
| Kikino Métis Settlement Kikino Metis Settlement, Alberta Kikino Métis Settlement is a Métis settlement in central Alberta, Canada within Smoky Lake County. It is located along Highway 36, approximately west of Cold Lake.- Demographics :... |
456.0 | 112,675 | 1,113 |
| Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement, Alberta Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement is a Métis settlement in northern Alberta, Canada within the County of Northern Lights and adjacent to Mackenzie County... |
1,728.9 | 427,214 | 1,089 |
| Peavine Métis Settlement Peavine Metis Settlement, Alberta Peavine Métis Settlement is a Métis settlement in northern Alberta, Canada within the Municipal District of Big Lakes. It is located on Highway 750 to the northeast of High Prairie.- Demographics :... |
840.0 | 207,577 | 905 |
- *Areas generated from provincial Métis settlement boundary data.