The Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) is a registered

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, that acts as a representative voice on behalf of

Métis people The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They hav ...

within the province. Formed in 1928 as the Métis Association of Alberta, its primary founding members were Felice Callihoo, Joseph Dion, James P. Brady, Malcolm Norris, and Peter Tompkins. The MNA is led by a democratically elected President, a position currently () held by Andrea Sandmaier since 2023, as well as an elected Women's Representative and Youth Representative. The organization also has 22 regionally-elected Citizens' Representatives and District Captains, who, together with the President, Women's Representative and Youth Representative, make up the Otipemisiwak Métis Government. The organization and its 22 Districts have branches that deal with

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

child services Child and family services (CFS) is a government or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, ''environmental'' or ''biological''. People who seek or are sought after to participa ...

, land agreements, and the

rights Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

of Métis people as

Aboriginal peoples in Canada Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals) are the Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, representing roughly 5.0% of the total Canadian population. There are over ...

(as recognized and affirmed in Section 35 of the ''Constitution Act'', 1982). The MNA currently has over 70,000 registered citizens. Alberta itself is home to eight

Métis Settlements The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They have ...

established by provincial legislation; many Métis Settlement members are also registered MNA citizens, but many are not. The Metis Settlements are the only secure Métis land base in Canada, resulting in Alberta having the largest population of declared Métis of any

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

History

The Métis Nation within Alberta is an integral part of the larger Métis Nation—a distinct

Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

whose homeland stretches across west-central

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. By the early 1800s, the Métis Nation emerged as a new and distinct Indigenous people in what is now

western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

. The Métis Nation developed its own group identity, language (

Michif Michif (also Mitchif, Mechif, Michif-Cree, Métif, Métchif, French Cree) is one of the languages of the Métis people of Canada and the United States, who are the descendants of First Nations (mainly Cree, Nakota, and Ojibwe) and fur trade wo ...

), culture, way of life, and forms of

self-government Self-governance, self-government, self-sovereignty or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any ...

throughout the inter-related communities and territory of their homeland. The Métis Nation Homeland spans present day

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, and

, and extends into

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, and the

northern United States The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical and historical region of the United States. History Early history Before the 19th century westward expansion, the ...

. Since the early 20th century, the Métis in Alberta have organized at the provincial level to advocate for the rights and interests that we hold together as an

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. In 1928, Felice Callihoo, Joseph Dion, James P. Brady, Malcolm Norris, and Peter Tompkins founded the Association des Métis Alberta et les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, which would later be known as the ''Métis Association of Alberta'' (MAA; later renamed the ''Métis Nation of Alberta''). The organization would be the manifestation of the Métis Nation within Alberta's long struggle to have their self-government, rights, and interests recognized within the province. In 1934, in response to MAA lobbying, Alberta appointed the "Half-breed Commission" to examine and report on Métis health, education, homelessness, and land issues. The MAA's leadership consistently attended the commission's hearings. After a two-year investigation, the Commission recommended that the province provide Métis with a secure land base and adequate services. In 1938, Alberta responded by adopting the '' Métis Population Betterment Act'', which created the province's 12 original Métis colonies (between 1941 and 1960, Alberta rescinded four of these colonies). In 1961, the MAA was first incorporated and registered under provincial legislation. This registration was mainly done because governments began making funding available to Indigenous representative organizations such as the MNA but insisted that such organizations be incorporated in order to be legally-recognized entities and obtain the funding available. MAA's leaders chose to incorporate the organization to act as a legal and administrative complement to Métis self-government. In 1975, the Alberta Federation of Metis Settlements Association (FMS) was incorporated and registered under provincial legislation. It aimed to provide the remaining Métis colonies with a united voice. One of the FMS' earliest leaders, Adrian Hope, was a proud member of the MAA who had attended the hearings of the Half -breed Commission on the MAA's behalf and had served as MAA president from 1961 to 1967. The FMS negotiated with the Government of Alberta for increased political, cultural, social, and economic development on the eight remaining Métis colonies. Ultimately, these negotiations culminated in the signing of the Alberta-Metis Settlements Accord in 1989. The following year, pursuant to the Accord, Alberta passed the '' Metis Settlements Act'' and related legislation, and granted the Metis Settlements General Council (MSGC)

fee-simple In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., per ...

title to the lands of what are now known as the Metis Settlements. This was done for the benefit of all Métis in Alberta:

is legislation is for all Métis of Alberta. Yes, it's directed to the settlements because that is in fact where the land base of 1.25 million acres is located, on the eight settlements. But any Métis can access membership and the rights to live and follow the Métis culture on these settlements... The Métis Association of Alberta, which is more or less the umbrella group for off-settlement Métis, concurs in this process. That in itself is historic because the Métis community have come together on this process realizing that they all win, they all have access to it. So I don't think we're establishing two classes of people. That's not the intent. We're doing this for the Métis of Alberta ....

The MNA has the only objectively verifiable registry of citizens of the Métis Nation within Alberta, a registry funded by the federal government, which is the level of government with

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

responsibility for Métis. Citizens of the Metis Nation exist both on and off of the Metis Settlements and Métis Settlement membership, in of itself, does not necessarily identify rights-bearing citizens of the Métis Nation. On 16 November 2017, the MNA and Canada signed a Framework Agreement that set the stage for self-government negotiations with the Métis Nation within Alberta. In particular, the Framework Agreement commits the parties to making best-efforts to reach a self-government agreement within two years (by 16 November 2019) that would provide for recognition of a constitution, which would establish the core functions of a self-government for the Métis Nation within Alberta. On June 27, 2019, the Government of Canada and the Métis Nation of Alberta signed a Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement (MGRSA) which recognizes the MNA as the government of the Metis Nation within Alberta and identifies the path for formalizing that recognition of the MNA as the government of the Métis Nation within Alberta within the Canadian legal system.

2020s: defections and a new constitution

In 2020, six local of the MNA voted to leave the MNA and start a new body called the Alberta Metis Federation. This was at the same time that the MNA was in a dispute with the Manitoba Metis Federation. In 2021 the MNA sued the province for breaking off negotiations over a Metis Consultation Policy (MCP). In January 2022, Justice Bernadette Ho of the Alberta Court of King's Bench ruled that the Government had the right to stop negotiations and that the "MNA has not provided a conclusive answer to the question of who speaks for the non-settlement Métis". In December 2022, MNA members voted to approve the ''Otipemisiwak Métis Government Constitution.'' The legality of this document has been challenged in court by the Metis Settlements General Council and the MNA local Grande Cache. On February 24, 2023, the MNA signed the ''Métis Nation Within Alberta Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Agreement'' with the Government of Canada. Métis Settlements General Council has filed a notice in the federal court for a judicial review of this agreement. The Fort Macy Metis has also challenged this agreement on the basis that the agreement "adopts and deploys the term 'Métis Nation within Alberta' in order to assert a province-wide geographical scope of the MNA’s self-government that will, or has the potential to, subsume and/or supplant rights-bearing Métis Communities.”

Organization and governance

The Métis Nation of Alberta is led by a democratically elected President a position currently () held by Andrea Sandmaier since 2023, as well as an elected Women's Representative (Tai Amy Grauman) and Youth Representative (Rebecca Lavallee). The organization also has 22 regionally-elected Citizens' Representatives and District Captains, who, together with the Provincial President, Women's Representative and Youth Representative, make up the Otipemisiwak Métis Government. The organization has branches that deal with

, land agreements, and the

of Métis people as

(as recognized and affirmed in Section 35 of the ''Constitution Act'', 1982). The MNA currently has over 70,000 registered citizens. These branches have appointed Secretaries that deal with their respective portfolios. Secretaries are members of the Citizens' Council, that are appointed to

Cabinet (government) A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they ar ...

by the President. These Secretaries meet with government officials and stakeholders. Provincially Elected Roles: The MNA is divided into 22 Districts across Alberta, each with its own Citizens' Representative and District Captain: The Otipemisiwak Métis Government Cabinet:

Métis Settlements General Council

The Métis of Alberta are the only Métis in Canada to have a negotiated and legislated land base. There are eight Metis Settlements covering an area of . The land was granted by

Letters Patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

in 1990 and is held collectively in

fee simple In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., pe ...

through the Métis Settlements General Council, the only governing political assembly of the Metis Territories. The eight Settlements are:

Notes

References

External links

Métis Nation of Alberta

Métis Regional Council zone IV

Métis Settlements General Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metis Nation Alberta Métis organizations Indigenous rights organizations in Canada Indigenous organizations in Alberta 1932 establishments in Alberta Organizations established in 1932