Why are Métis & First Nations in conflict?

Chief McLeod is wrong on so many levels. Metis people are not just half breeds or people who found an indigenous person way back in their family tree. To be Metis you must be related to a Metis ancester (a verified family line). He is also wrong saying we don't have our own language. We do. We speak Michif. And he is wrong to say we don't have our own culture. We do have our own culture and our own music and our own dancing. This just proves why we need to educate our First Nation brothers & sisters and the general public. You should not post this interview without posting the truth in the same interview. To do otherwise, creates discrimination, anger and bad feelings.

as a half Dene man this is really relatable. my Dad was raised outside the reserves and therefore I was never raised traditionally but I don't look white to white people and don't look indigenous to indigenous people. sucks when people like me want to get more traditional teachings and being told that I'm too colonized are that I'm not native enough whilst simultaneously growing up and being treated mostly as an indigenous person by most white people.

As a Metis person I find this incredibly offensive and this "chief" is a disgrace

I do have Native American blood in me, but I don't claim myself as Native. I have just since a child enjoyed the Native way over white peoples. I respect and live my way as close to the heart and soul being true to Native beliefs!!🪶🪶🪶💞✨️

Thank you Mallory and Chief McLead for discussing this issue. I was unaware of this issue. Plus, great work on the animation and production!

When your identity was chosen/forced on you, that denied your roots. Now your roots are being discarded as "only for monetary gain". Where are those lost people to go to belong?

This interview contains many inaccuracies about the Métis people, as other commenters have accurately addressed.

I gotta say, I hate this discourse. There's lots of people I know, who are Indigenous, but because of a decision one of their ancestors made, they're expected to live in settler society, and forcibly assimilate. Theres people like me, who know our quantum, and where our family comes from. But because colonialism screwed a lot of us up, some of us don't have that direct connection. Why do we always expect people to just assimilate into settler society??? It doesn't make sense when we are actively fighting against settler society. Taking someone who's mixed, and forcing them into settler society is total bullshit, and is just trying to put people into a box. If only we had some kinf of nation setup for people who are mixed and can prove it, but don't have a direct cultural connection, or community one. Give that nation no fishing or hunting rights, or really any kind of financial advantage, but let them learn traditional ways. Shit, even make traditions for them to follow, unique to that nation if need be. A lot of people want to decolonize in tandem with the Land Back movement, and forcing people who don't fit into settler society, into it, is just more colonialism as I see it. So long as people are committed to just cutting people out, instead of giving them a place to exist, we will constantly see this issue happen. I started my journey when a Métis elder told me I was Métis too. He was right, that's where we come from. But between society tryint to treat people like me like we all just want money, or acting like Ancestry.ca is to blame, is pretty fucked up, not gonna lie. I wish we could do better than this for people who are trying to reconnect, and correct a decision one of their ancestors made a few generations back, when they thought assimilation was the right call. But we are going to keep seeing this as an issue happening, because its more convenient to believe everyon is in it for the money, instead of trying to reconnect with a society other than the settler one.

Very interesting. I just recently found out that I’m not Métis I thought I was through my mothers side, but I’m not. Her father was French and her mother was Ojibwe from Northern Ontario. She never talked much about her culture. She always said that she went to a convent, and she was raised there, in reality, it was residential boarding school I recently found out what reserve/band she is from, she married a white man and she lost all her status, but my auntie which is the matriarch. She got it back in the 1980s and all of us family. We are embracing that part of our culture. And my father’s family were from Ukraine, and I recently found out my genealogy through my matriarchal line, and it goes back to 1832, and all the names that are related to so fascinating and some of these names are so long so many letters I can’t hardly read them! 🤍🖤❤️💛

He's wrong. And pretty ignorant if you ask me.

Very interesting. Thanks for highlighting this.

It's so insanely frustrating! I have tried to apply for my "native status" for years, and the papers always end up lost in the mail somewhere 🤷🏽‍♀️ for nearly a decade now, the process just stops dead before my application ever even gets to where it needs to

I really appreciate the commentary on the rigours of traditional science. I think that will be a helpful tool for educating non-Indigenous people

It is not just Metis that First Nations have these hardships with but also Inuits And North Western Europeans too and even there own fellow First Nationers yeah.

Thank you for sharing this. This raises awareness and I learned something today

In the heart of the prairies, where the rivers flow, There's a spirit that rises, like the wind's gentle blow. With a history rich, and a culture so bold, The Métis stand tall, their story told. Oh, the strength of the Métis, it runs deep, From the plains to the forests, it's theirs to keep. With courage and pride, they forge their own way, The Métis spirit, it shines bright every day. Through struggles and hardships, they've always stood strong, Facing adversity, they've proven they belong. With fiddles and jigs, and the Red River carts, The Métis celebrate, with music in their hearts.

As a Métis person, I too feel this frustration. I'm originally from Saskatchewan but I live now in Halifax. So many people here think that it just means mixed race and there are the so-called Woodland Métis Nation based out of Yarmouth that also have no connection to us either culturally or historically. What's more, a lot of them are appropriating real Métis cultural symbols to displace the Mi'kmaq from their traditional territory. When I do go to cultural events, I feel like I have to carry a copy of my family tree so I can show people that I am one of the real Métis; not one of these pretenders. I don't blame First Nations people for their skepticism or their annoyance; I blame the culture vultures who are fabricating an ancestry to steal benefits that don't belong to them.

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Interesting topic Mallory 😊

Interesting. As I have shared with you, I grew up not knowing that my Grandmother Ruth was born on the Sisseton Wahpeton Reservation. My search has been primarily spiritual. I am not seeking material gain. If anything, I want a war where poverty, famine, war and more exists for no one regardless of their ethnicities.