“I Can Stand Tall and be a Métis Person and Just be Proud of it”: Pathways to a Flourishing Métis Identity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/jisd.v13i2.80287Keywords:
Indigenous Identity, Indigenous Mental Health, Canada, Culture, HeritageAbstract
The Métis are one of three recognized Indigenous groups in Canada and are defined by their mixed First Nations and European ancestry. In this grounded theory study, sixteen (n=16) Métis participants in Bawating[1], Ontario, Canada were interviewed to share their experiences as Métis people. Participants described common themes of being disconnected from their Métis identity in childhood, which contributed to a sense of loss and confusion. Following their experiences of having languishing identities, participants shared their complex and life-long journeys towards a flourishing identity. This journey involved learning and sharing cultural knowledge with others, connecting to the land, and engaging in traditional practices. The ultimate integration of these findings was an overwhelming and hard-earned sense of pride in being Métis.
[1] Bawating, meaning rapids in Ojibway, is the original Indigenous name of Sault Ste. Marie, a city of 72,000 people located in Northern Ontario, Canada
Downloads
References
Auger, M. (2021a). “The Strengths of Our Community and Our Culture”: Cultural Continuity as a Determinant of Mental Health for Métis People in British Columbia. Turtle Island Journal of Indigenous Health, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.33137/tijih.v1i2.36046
Auger, M. D. (2021b). Understanding our past, reclaiming our culture: Métis resiliency and connection to land in the face of colonialism. Journal of Indigenous Social Development, 10(1), 1-28.
Bakker, P. (1997). A language of our own: The genesis of Michif, the mixed Cree-French language of the Canadian Métis (Vol. 10). Oxford University Press.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing Grounded Theory (2nd Edition). Sage Publications.
Cooper, E. J., Sanguins, J., Menec, V., Chartrand, A. F., Carter, S., & Driedger, S. M. (2020). Culturally responsive supports for metis elders and metis family caregivers. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 39(2), 206-219. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980819000321
Dueck, B. (2007). Public and intimate sociability in First Nations and Metis fiddling.Ethnomusicology, 51(1), 30-63. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20174501
Dyck, M. (2009). Healthy messages & Métis: Healthy messages and Métis.
https://ruor.uottawa.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/fee2f153-995a-4a8e-8be1-f8b417d59539/content
Edge, L., & McCallum, T. (2006). Métis identity: Sharing traditional knowledge and healing practices at Métis Elders’gatherings. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health, 4(2), 83–115.
Flaminio, A. C., Gaudet, J. C., & Dorion, L. M. (2020). Métis women gathering: Visiting together and voicing wellness for ourselves. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 16(1), 55-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1177180120903499
Gaudry, A. (2009, January 7). Métis. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/metis
Greenwood, M. L. & de Leeuw, S. N. (2012). Social determinants of health and the future well-being of Aboriginal children in Canada. Paediatric Child Health, 17(7), 381-384. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/17.7.381
Henry, A. (1966 [1809]). Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories, Between the Years 1760 and 1776. I. Riley.
Iseke, J. (2013). Indigenous storytelling as research. International Review of Qualitative Research, 6(4), 559-577. https://doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2013.6.4.559
Iwasaki, Y., Bartlett, J., & O’Neil, J. (2005). Coping with stress among Aboriginal women and men with diabetes in Winnipeg, Canada. Social Science & Medicine, 60(5), 977-988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.06.032
Kermoal, N. (2016). Métis women’s environmental knowledge and the recognition of Métis rights. In N. Kermoal & I. Altamirano-Jiménez (Eds.), Living on the land (pp. 107-138). Athabasca University Press.
Koptie, S. (2009). Irihapeti Ramsden: The public narrative on cultural safety. First Peoples Child & Family Review, 4(2), 30-43. https://doi.org/10.7202/1069328ar
Logan, T. (2018). Settler colonialism in Canada and the Métis. In A. Woolford & J. Benvenuto (Eds.), Canada and Colonial Genocide (pp. 69-88). Routledge.
Loppie Reading, C. & Wien, F. (2009). Health inequalities and social determinants of Aboriginal Peoples’ health. National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health. https://www.ccnsa-nccah.ca/docs/determinants/RPT-HealthInequalities-Reading-Wien-EN.pdf
Lucero, N. M. (2010). Making meaning of urban Aboriginal Indian identity: A multistage integrative process. Social Work, 55(4), 327-336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sw/55.4.327
Métis National Council. (n.d.). Citizenship. Métis National Council. https://www.metisnation.ca/about/citizenship
National Aboriginal History Organization. (2023, November 27). National Aboriginal History Organization (NAHO). https://www.naho.ca/
Oster, R. T., Grier, A., Lightning, R., Mayan, M. J., & Toth, E. L. (2014). Cultural continuity, traditional Indigenous language, and diabetes in Alberta First Nations: a mixed methods study. International journal for equity in health, 13, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-014-0092-4
Ramsden, I. (2002). Cultural safety and nursing education in Aotearoa and Te Waipounamu [Doctoral dissertation, Victoria University of Wellington].
R. v. Powley, Supreme Court of Canada. (2003). https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2076/index.do
Reimer, G., & Chartrand, J. P. (2004). Documenting Historic Métis in Ontario. Ethnohistory, 51(3), 567-607. https://doi.org/10.1215/00141801-51-3-567.
Richardson, C. (2006). Métis identity creation and tactical responses to oppression and racism. Variegations, 2, 56-71.
Rosen, N. (2008). French-Algonquian Interaction in Canada: A Michif case study. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 22(8), 610-624. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699200802221570
Tasker, J. P. (2019, June 27). Ottawa signs self-government agreements with Métis Nation in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ottawa-self-government-agreements-metis-nation-1.5191234
Standing Senate on Aboriginal Peoples (2013). Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples (44th parliament, 1st Session). SenCanada. https://sencanada.ca/en/committees/appa/44-1
Statistics Canada. (2022). Membership in a Métis organization of Settlement: Findings from the 2021 Census of Population. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/98-200-X/2021006/98-200-X2021006-eng.cfm
Teillet, J. (2013). Métis law in Canada. Toronto: Pape Salter Teillet.
Wepa, D. (Ed.). (2015). Cultural safety in aotearoa New Zealand. Cambridge University Press.
