Forty years ago, the Métis, who were preparing for a high-stakes constitutional conference on Indigenous rights in Regina, decided to form a breakaway group called the Métis National Council (MNC).
Three Métis associations from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, the largest in the country, ditched the Native Council of Canada, which later became the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, to build a national political movement that would represent Métis nationalism.
The MNC sued then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau in a last-minute bid to block the conference, but Trudeau offered them a seat at the table rather than face them off in court.
Jean Teillet is an Indigenous rights lawyer and author of the popular Métis history the The North-West Is Our Mother. (Brian Morris/CBC)
The MNC will mark 40 years since its formation this month. Despite the withdrawal of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), accusations of political backstabbing, betrayal, and backroom deals, and the ongoing legal battles and sprawling new self-determination initiatives, the council led by a new president with an injection of young leaders will press on without Manitoba. MNC President Cassidy Caron is planning to celebrate the anniversary later this month.
Jean Teillet, a Métis author, lawyer, and great-grandniece of Louis Riel, believes that although the MNC has made some advances, it still has major structural problems traceable to its hurried creation.
Back row, from left, Métis Nation of Alberta president Audrey Poitras, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan president Glen McCallum, and president of the Métis Nation of Ontario Margaret Froh, pose with (front row) Métis elders Norma Spice, Joseph Poitras, and Noram Fleury in Ottawa in 2019. (Métis Nation of Alberta)
Manitoba’s withdrawal and the exclusion of the eight Alberta Métis settlements, which together occupy more than 500,000 hectares of territory, pose serious questions about the MNC’s future.
Teillet said that a shakeup might help and that it might be time for a new vehicle that has four wheels rather than the current truck with three wheels.
David Chartrand is president of the Manitoba Métis Federation. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Despite the ongoing controversy and criticism, the MNC remains optimistic about the future of the Métis Nation, with MNO President Margaret Froh rejecting the MMF’s claim that the MNC no longer represents the historic Métis Nation and promoting a bright future for the council.
»Métis National Council marks 40th-anniversary without one of its founding members, amid lawsuits«
↯↯↯Read More On The Topic On TDPel Media ↯↯↯