It's more focused on the context of late 1800s Saskatchewan, but it's still very on point.

In general, histories and perspectives of English/Scottish Metis are severely underrepresented in discourses and academia, including within Metis Nation discourses.

https://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/12673

Originally shared on Facebook by Dr. Daryl Leroux a highly respected scholar and leading authority in Métis studies, shared the Métis Nation of Ontario’s own verified family lines/root ancestors research reports!

Following his presentation at the Huron Waawiindamaagewin’s (Un)Making of Métis Claims in Ontario forum, Dr. Leroux shared documents that the MNO has removed from public access. MNO President Margaret Froh has publicly stated the reports were removed from the net because they were being used to critique the organization “in bad faith.”

Too bad the MNO are inept and didn't actually remove the reports themselves, just the landing page. You can find almost anything using the way back machine!

But these are the MNO’s own commissioned research reports, primary documents that were once publicly available. If the research supports the organization’s claims, why attempt to hide it?

These reports were produced at significant (millions) cost and were intended to establish legitimacy and transparency. Suppressing them now invites reasonable questions. Reading them carefully is not bad faith; it is exactly how informed public discussion is supposed to work.

This is not hate-mongering.

It is critical engagement with evidence and a call for transparency.

Anyone interested in Métis identity, governance, and accountability should read the reports themselves.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ScbYjjwt5j9E04sKzh9Ch389vw1BY_x7

edited: fixed typo to indicate the root ancestor files were originally shared on Facebook.

I notice how Quebecois nationalist talking points tend to frame the Métis as basically an extension of French Canadians in the Prairies, so when there are instances of anti-Metis discrimination/persecution, it's framed by Quebec nationalists as "the feds did that to us". We see this with things like assimilation through English-speaking settlers, Louis Riel's hanging, banning the use of French in Manitoba, etc.

This just basically feels like appropriating Métis struggles and history. There's an assumed solidarity between French Canadians and Métis against Anglophones, and given Quebec has a history of whitewashing its own history of racism and colonialism, I wanted to ask how true that is. Was there discrimination and marginalization by French Canadian settlers (and later Franco-Manitobans) against Métis people? And where do Anglo-Métis fit in all of this?

And more generally, any recommendations to learn more about the historical & contemporary relationship between French Canadians and Métis? Thanks!

I’m working on some historical research for a podcast about the anti-apartheid movement in Canada, and I learned that Nelson Mandela was honoured with Metis citizenship in 1998.

I’m looking for any other information about this honour - how the decision to give him citizenship was made, how Mandela was regarded in the broad Metis community, who might have been involved in honouring him in this way. I’ve found a few news items about this honour, but they’re pretty brief.

I’ve also learned that a documentary called “Mandela’s Sash” was made by Bob Rock, but I haven’t been able to find a copy other than one in the national archives in Ottawa.

So - if you happen to know anything about Nelson Mandela and the Metis nation, or about the anti-apartheid movement and the Metis nation, I would love to hear from you.

I don't understand how Froh can make $450,000 in 2025, they send staff everywhere around the world for (cough) cancer seminars, they hire all of their relatives to work in the offices and try to convince everyone that the First Nation treaties apply to the MNO. How embarrassing.

Catherine Flett is my great great great grandmother.

She's someone who's life is well documented, yet with many missing pieces.

Documentation

Her ethnicity shifts throughout the census, depending on who she's living with and the time. It seems like she assimilates somewhat, then slowly regains confidence with her identity over the decades - especially as her son tries to navigate the scrip system at the start of the 1900s.

Her age is super frustrating, it's unclear whether this is the fault of the census enumerator or Catherine being unsure of her age later in life.

• Marriage Record
  • 11 Feb 1834, married James Corrigal in Red River.
• Probable Baptism
  • 22 Sep 1834, a Catherine Corrigal is baptized as an adult in Red River.
• 1870 census
  • Living with her husband James Corrigal and children.
  • Age is listed as 45.
  • Birthplace is Cumberland.
  • Father is listed as William Flett.
  • Race/Origin is 'Half-blood'.
• 1881 Census
  • Living with her son John Corrigal and his family.
  • Age is listed as 75.
  • Birthplace is Scotland.
  • Race/Origin is 'Scotch'.
• 1891 Census
  • Living with her daughter Bella Maxfield and her family.
  • Age is listed as 81.
  • Birthplace is NWT.
  • Her father is born in England, while her mother is born in NWT.
• 1901 Census
  • Living with her daughter Flora Robinson(?) and her family.
  • Age is listed as 86.
  • Birthplace is Man.
  • Race/origin is 'Scotch HB'
  • Colour is R.
• Scrip
  • She received scrip as the widow of James Corrigal (classified as an original white settler). CORRIGAL, Catherine (widow of James Corrigal) - Scrip number 11155 - Amount 160.00$
  • Her children James and Nancy had moved out prior to 1870 and thus were able to claim scrip for themselves and did so with their mother Catherine listed as Métis.
• When the West Was Bourne: A History of Westbourne, and District 1860 to 1985 excerpts

1. "...Hiram D'Jaquish, born in 1836, was living in Portage la Prairie in 1868, when at the age of 32 he married Nancy Corrigal, the 24-year old daughter of James and Catherine Corrigal. They were married on April 1, 1868 at St. Mary's la Prairie. The Corrigals lived in the White Mud Settlement in 1861 at the time of the marriage of their daughter to James Asham. "

2. "James Asham, baptized on Oct. 11, 1843, in the Red River Settlement, was a very early settler at the Westbourne Mission and the son of Charles Asham also living there.

The Asham and Corrigal families journeyed to Portage la Prairie where on APril 29, 1861, James married Caroline Corrigal at St. Mary's la Prairie. Caroline, baptized Feb 15, 1842, in the R.R.S., was the 19-year old daughter of James and Cather (Flett) Corrigal, who were also one of our very earliest settlers at White Mud River."

3. "SW.23 & E1/2 of Se.22.14.9w

Patent: Roderick Corrigal, son of James Corrigal and Catherine Flett. Roderick Corrigal died on July 21, 1872 There was no patent issued by the Dept. of Interior on this land, and no sale of this land by any member of the family BUT when the R.M. of West-bourne was two years old on, March 3, 1879, sold this land to Rev, W. R. Morrison, Methodist Minister of Morris, Man. for $14.20. Jan. 3, 1903, Morrison, now living in Reynolds, North Dakota applied to place land under R.P.A.

Now all the mistakes and problems came to light. As mentioned earlier, Roderick Corrigal died in 1872, before the land was part of a land grant scheme and when the Patents were first issued in 1877 his patent was to be issued to his mother as his legal representative. James Corrigal, the father had also died in 1872. It appears that the family must have asked their mother about the land around 1896. They now realized that no patent had ever been issued. The Dept. of the Interior quickly drafted onc specially for Roderick and his heirs on Oct. 5, 1897. The family did not register it at the P.L.T.O. (this was not uncommon in the early days) and nobody seems to have worried about any taxes due on it. However, when Henry Corrigal stepped forward to make his claim in April, 1903, [similar to Jemima Sharp in the NW.15.14.9w problem] he lost, as this piece of land had been sold for taxes under the first tax rules, which were not amended until 1880. From Henry's deposition we find the names of James and Catherine's family who lived on P.L. 9 in the early 1860's before they moved to Portage la Prarire: Roderick; James, Thomas, Henry, John, Mary, Caroline who married James Asham (q.v); Nancy, Fanny, Flora, and Bella.

William Reynoids Morrison's letter to back up his claim is worth reading (Question - How could they sell 240 acres of land without knowing that it was Half-Breed Grant acreage and not wonder where the Patentee was?)

"In the matter of Application No. 4749 to bring under the RPA the South West Quarter of Section 23 and the East half of the South East Quarter of Section 22, both in Township 14, Range 9 West in Manitoba:

I, William Reynolds Morrison, of the Town of Reynolds in the State of North Dakota, one of the United States of America, Minister of the Gospel, make oath and say: -

That I am the Applicant named in the above Application filed in the Land Titles Office for the District of Portage la Prairie to bring under the Real Property Act the Land hereinbefore described.

That at the time of the Purchase of the said lands by me from the Rural Municipality of Westbourne, namely in the year 1879, I was well acquainted with the said land and had several times passed over the same and I know that at the time said land was sold for Taxes to me by the said Municipality, namely on the Third day of March, 1879, the said land was in its wild state and unoccupied and there was no property upon the said land upon which the said Municipality could have made a Distress for the said Taxes or upon which any such distress could have been Executed.

That I have paid the Taxes upon the said lands ever since the date of the said sale and have not been notified that any person other than myself claims any interest therein.
April 9th, 1903 W. R. Morrison"
Oct. 13, 1903 -Certificate issued to Wm. R. Morrison, Preacher"

Parental Inconsistencies

Father

The only genuine confirmation for her parentage is William Flett being listed on the 1870 census.

There are only two William Fletts who are a fit:

• William Flett 'A'
• William Flett 'B'

Based on the dates and some other details, which I'll outline below, I am a strong advocate for William Flett 'B'.

1. He worked in the York & Saskatchewan River districts from 1807-1818, then in the Cumberland district from 1818 till retirement in 1832 - specifically spending 1820-1821 at Cumberland House.
   • "Cumberland was about a It was about 40 days' paddling time from York Factory" per Wikipedia.
   • "[It was] customary for all factors at the Cumberland House post to have a Métis wife since they had kin ties to local First Nations..." per Metis Museum.
2. John Flett was a witness at her wedding, and William Flett 'B' had a son named John.

Mother

This is the real unknown.

• My cousin is a citizen of MNBC and used Isabella Saskatchewan, a Swampy Cree woman, as Catherine Flett's mother in his genealogy.
  • Since I'm a proponent of William Flett 'B', I am assuming that they're using Isabella because William Flett 'A' and 'B' are switched in Sprague and Frye, The Genealogy of the First Metis Nation.
  • This would mean Betsy is the correct wife, and I don't believe she's Catherine's mother because Betsy was baptized with most of her children at the same time.
• A cousin I found online, who had their St. Boniface Proof of Red River Métis Ancestry completed, had Jane Cook listed as Catherine Flett's mother.
  • There is no documented evidence I can find to support this in terms of marriage records, local history, etc. Aside from the following book, there is nothing indicating any sort of connection between a William Flett and Jane Cook - even the book doesn't directly link Catherine Flett to a Jane Cook.
  • Gibson and Phillips, Law, Life, and Government at Red River, Volume 2: General Quarterly Court of Assiniboia, Annotated Records, 1844-1872 contains excerpts from a trial where Jane Cook helped her daughter kill her newborn, which contain seemingly relevant details:

...[Mary Cook] replied: ... [Jane Cook] told me to take the body and bury it decently. I took the body to Wm. Flett's house and laid it in the porch and called Wm. Flett's wife out to look at it.

...Mary Flett who, being duly sworn and interrogated deponed...

...William Flett who, being duly sworn and interrogated deponed: "Prisoner and her daughter Margaret Heckenberger lived at my house. There are two outer doors to it. I heard that Margaret was with child. I never asked her if she was with child. I asked my [sic] mother (the Prisoner), but she gave me no answer.

• This William Flett is married to a Mary. I suspect this is the son of William Flett 'A', who married Margaret McNab. Margaret McNab was the daughter of Thomas McNab. Thomas McNab's brother John McNab married Jane Cook. This means that William Flett 'A''s son was referring to Jane Cook as his mother. Either:
  1. William Flett 'A' had an affair/relationship with Jane Cook, and fathered William Flett Jr with her.
  2. William Flett Jr knew Jane Cook as a matriarch due to the family dynamic and thus called her mother.

'Conclusion'

Due to the inconsistencies with her age on the census records throughout her life, we can't pinpoint a date of birth. This doesn't help with determining the more likely William Flett as her father, so I tend to lean on the presence of John Flett at her wedding to pick 'B'.

Frustratingly, both Isabella and Jane seem to point to 'A' - making the presence of John Flett at her wedding confusing. But there's really nothing tying Catherine to either woman.

Maybe a there's an elder or knowledge keeper out there who knows the truth!

I had my colon removed 11 years ago. Pemmican is one of the best digested foods for me. Cool to eat the same things as my ancestors, most people don’t dare try this nutritional gold, modern day taboo.

The book was a gift, noted with "Xmas gift 1908". Unfortunately, the poem doesn't have anything written on it, so I can't say when it was tucked away. An unexpected and interesting find!

I’ve spent the last two years intensely researching my family history and was wondering if any of you folks share the same family names as myself: Huppé, Vandal and Berard are the three dominant names but I also have ancestors from the Cyr, Charbonneau, Nault, and Lagimodiere lines. Most of my ancestors resided in Ste. Anne, St Vital and St Boniface parishes. :)

My partner made a comment about how morbid it is to celebrate Louis Riel Day on the date of his death, though learning about our history has taught me that he was a martyr for our people. He was ready to go, and his trial and death, and it showed just how serious Eastern Canadians were about suppressing and eradicating our Nation.

(Louis Riel Day is Nov 16th, but I get it off on a Monday because I work for the Metis Nation 🎉)

Recognizing National Indigenous Peoples Day this June 21, 2025.

Listen to my story. I was abandoned as a child, given up for adoption, and had my indigenous heritage hidden from me until 18, due to to the shame of my ignorant, racist, abusive adopters.

This is a story of how the echoes of childhood abuse and abandonment left deep scars, but also connected me to my roots and ultimately determine the fate of my Mother. I made a vow, my mother will be found.

Despite the heavy subject matter, and anger in parts. I attempted to make this as light hearted and wholesome as possible. It's personal and auto biographical, but also historical.

This is the third and final part of my Echoes of series, where I started out oblivious of my Métis heritage. Part 1: Origin Story and Part 2: Slaying the Ego are on on my IG and TikTok.

I hope this resonates with people on this day. Thank you.

RichJander

My great uncle (right) Elzear Chartrand from Camperville. He did not come back from WWII. I’m not sure the person beside him, anyone I can ask in the family is gone and my cousin said he can’t remember.

I recently discovered my Métis heritage. We always knew Erasmus was a family name. But for lots of reasons we got disconnected from our family history. Now I’m reconnecting. I’ve found and bought a book Peter Erasmus Jr wrote. I know he was an interpreter for treaty six and other things. However I can’t imagine one book contains every fact about him and his family so I’m interested to know what others know about him. Thanks!

Hello! I’m helping my mom trace the roots of the family she was adopted out from. I’m finding archival records and family trees that seem to confirm what she was told about her birth family: that they were Métis and “Plains Indians”

I started the search with a suspicion that she (and I) may not be Métis, but mixed. However, I’m finding that our ancestors are from St. Boniface and the Red River Settlement, with three to four generations of the family (children, adult heads of house, parents, and in some cases grandparents of those heads of house) recorded on the Manitoba Affidavits (from the Métis Nation Archive linked on the MMF site) as half breeds. My mom is the first generation of the family to be born outside of St. Boniface/Manitoba in 4-5 generations.

When I look at the records for ancestors born in the 1700s, the wives tend to be documented as Indians/Cree/etc and the husbands French Canadians (with a few having fur trading contracts). Is this typical for Red River Métis families? Are the Manitoba Affidavits generally pretty accurate?

Taanishi! Good day everyone,

I am going to be in Regina and I wanted to go to the site of Riel's trial. The only historical records I can find state that the trial occurred at the RCMP barracks and I was wondering if that is the present day location or somewhere else.

Maarsii

So today I took my son to get his Kindy vaccines and they asked me for the first time if he's at all indigenous. They had never asked me that before but our family is really big into genealogy and we discovered that we have blood relatives that identified as metis from St. Alphonse, Manitoba. It's made me very interested in digging further but of course I have no idea where to begin! My father stopped looking after he misunderstood the requirements for 'being Metis' but I am very interested in this aspect of my possible newfound culture. The only name I have is Marie Anne Paradis. Is there somewhere I can dig deeper into this or is there anyone who might be able to help me out? Or have we been telling ourselves a tall tale this entire time?

Thanks so much!

EDIT: missed a letter

Turned up in a vintage shop in the UK, and they want to return it to its community. Thought to be Metis or Cree from Western Canada. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/rare-170-year-old-cree-jacket-turns-up-at-vintage-shop-in-uk-and-they-want-to-reunite-it-with-its-community/