Historic Metis roots run deep

Page 5

Dear Editor:

Re: "Who are the Metis people?"? September 2001 edition.

The article starts with discussion regarding who has the right to call themselves Metis. Well for a start, how many Canadians are even aware of the Metis? It could be interesting to learn the results of a national opinion poll asking this question.

I met a Metis one day who said he was little concerned if Canadians were aware of the Metis or not. All that mattered was the continued recognition they received from the federal government. Which means money of course. Quite an insular attitude.

The Manitoba Metis Federation relies [for its definition], in part, on the defunct Charlottetown Accord, believing that "the Metis are in fact descendents of the Red River, and Dominion Lands Act. That's what the Constitution states today."

The Metis were created from an act of law? A people were created by lawyers and businessmen in a legislature?

When the government became aware of Metis and granted them rights due to race does not necessarily mean they came into existence at this point. Superior legal rights are created perhaps, but the genesis of their race is not explained here.

The best explantion for the Metis may be humor. When asked of their origin, the Metis respond: Nine months after the first white man set foot in Canada. This is considered an historically correct answer by the text From The Metis, Canada's Forgotten People by D Bruce Sealey and Antoine S. Lussier, page 1.

Ben Griffin

Burnaby, B.C.