THUNDER BAY — Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which represents 49 First Nations across northern Ontario, added to debate on Métis claims in the province with a statement on recent historical research.
A report published last month by Wabun Tribal Council, an organization for six First Nations in northeastern Ontario, says there is no documented evidence of a Métis presence in their territory.
That report came a month after Saugeen Ojibway Nation near Lake Huron reported finding no historical evidence of a distinct Métis people in their territory.
Further, NAN and the Chiefs of Ontario said in a July 30 news release that other research indicates claims to historical Métis communities in Ontario’s north “are in direct opposition” to the accepted national definition of Métis.
In an email to Newswatch, a spokesperson for the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) included a link to the Ottawa-headquartered organization’s response to the Wabun report.
In that response, the MNO said the Crown recognized Métis people during negotiations for Treaty 9, the treaty that includes Wabun Tribal Council’s communities.
Regarding Saugeen’s report, MNO chief strategy officer Jennifer St. Germain said that particular area’s “Métis community has been a visible and vibrant presence” for nearly 200 years.
The MNO also issued a statement earlier this year saying an expert panel’s report to the Métis National Council proves “the seven historic Métis communities in northern Ontario are and have always been part of the larger Métis Nation.”
The 260-page report “unambiguously confirms generations of shared culture, kinship, and political alliances between Métis communities in Ontario and those further west,” according to the MNO statement.
The seven historical communities claimed by the MNO include one in the Rainy River/Lake of the Woods area and a community of “inter-connected Métis populations” on or near Lake Superior’s north shore from Michipicoten to Fort William.
The Wabun report is part of “a growing and robust body of evidence that refutes false claims that there was a distinct and historic Métis presence throughout what is now known as Ontario,” the July 30 news release said.
“While Canada and Ontario are making deals and promises they can’t possibly fulfill with fraudulent organizations, First Nations are doing the work to ensure their rights, jurisdiction and sovereignty remain intact,” Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict is quoted as saying in the news release.
Treaty negotiators mentioned Métis “half-breeds” in correspondence, but only in reference to individuals and not communities, the news release said.
The release said First Nations in Ontario “will continue to stand up to any groups looking to usurp their rights.”
NAN and other Indigenous organizations have in the past accused the MNO of making “illegitimate and shifting claims of indigeneity.”
The First Nations groups opposed a federal bill that would authorize Ottawa to negotiate and ratify treaties with Métis organizations including the MNO. The bill passed first and second reading but not third reading in the House of Commons in 2023 and never made it to the Senate.
