Chief Shelly Moore-Frappier of the Temagami First Nation, pictured on May 24, 2023, said her nation has had to prove to the Supreme Court of Canada its right to determine who they are as Teme-Augama Anishnabai, a process that involved evidence of kinship structures and distinct dialect.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
When Chief Shelly Moore-Frappier of Temagami First Nation saw a historical photo in the Métis Nation of Ontario’s monthly newsletter, she immediately recognized the people as her ancestors.
Ms. Moore-Frappier accuses the Métis Nation of Ontario of stealing the history and ancestors of Teme-Augama Anishnabai, which includes Temagami First Nation, to call themselves Métis.
“It’s my great great grandmother, my great great grandfather, my great grandmother, my great grandfather, my great uncle on my mom’s side, and then on my father’s side his uncle and his aunt, so my great aunt and uncle, and none of these people are Métis,” Chief Moore-Frappier, whose Anishinaabeg nation is located northeast of Sudbury, told The Globe and Mail.
Ms. Moore-Frappier’s claim is part of a long-standing fight over who can call themselves Métis, which is boiling over in the face of federal legislation that would recognize Métis self-governance.
At issue is the federal government’s decision to include the Métis Nation of Ontario in the legislation, which has prompted objections from First Nations in Ontario and Métis leaders elsewhere.
They accuse MNO of identity theft, which they say happens when large groups of self-seeking individuals falsely claim Indigenous identities, benefits and rights, taking opportunities and resources away from Indigenous people, along with cultural preservation and pride.
The dispute will be on the agenda of a summit on Indigenous identity beginning in Winnipeg this week. The event, held by the Manitoba Métis Federation and the Chiefs of Ontario in Winnipeg, is focusing on Indigenous identity fraud and the contentious federal legislation known as Bill C-53.
Inuit leadership will also be there for the two-day event with shared concerns over theft of Inuit identities, according to a statement from the Chiefs of Ontario on Monday.
The Métis Nation of Ontario said it has a right to be at the summit but that it hasn’t been invited and its requests to attend were ignored by the Manitoba Métis Federation and Chiefs of Ontario.
“Identity fraud is a really important topic, we care deeply about that, and we have something to say about it,” said Margaret Froh, president of the Métis Nation of Ontario.
Bill C-53, which was tabled last summer and is now before its third reading, would recognize the Métis Nation of Ontario as a self-governing Métis nation. The Manitoba Métis and Ontario chiefs groups both argue the legislation would legitimize fraudulent Métis identities that are in fact Anishinaabe ancestry, opening the doors to anyone who can identify an Anishinaabe ancestor.
The Métis Nation of Ontario maintains the legislation would not encroach on Anishinaabeg territory or other Indigenous rights, and that it would strictly adhere to internal self-governance, such as its citizenship – which includes 30,000 members and seven Métis communities – and its elections.
“When and if there are things that are happening, that we’re doing, that are impacting First Nations lands, then First Nations have to be engaged on those things,” Ms. Froh said.
Métis groups will trudge on toward self-government as bill faces another setback
Bill C-53 originally included the Métis Nation of Ontario, the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan and the Métis Nation of Alberta, but the Saskatchewan group withdrew its support last month over what it called a flawed, one-size fits all approach. Instead, the Saskatchewan group says it will pursue its own treaty with Ottawa.
Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree said last week that the amended legislation is still in the House and that discussions on next steps will continue with the Métis Nation of Ontario and Alberta.
The Métis Nation of Ontario has pushed to have its rights as a legitimate Métis Nation government recognized by Canada since the early 1990s after the historic Powley case recognized hunting rights for the Sault Ste. Marie Métis. In Canada, First Nations, Métis and Inuit are legally recognized as Indigenous with inherent rights under Section 35 of the Constitution.
Since Powley, the Métis Nation of Ontario has lost the backing of the Manitoba Métis Federation, which withdrew from the Métis National Council over the national organization’s support for the Ontario group. The Métis Nation of Ontario worked with the provincial government to recognize six Métis communities as part of its nation, and in 2019 signed a self-government agreement with Canada, laying the groundwork for Bill C-53.
Ms. Moore-Frappier said her nation has had to prove to the Supreme Court of Canada its right to determine who they are as Teme-Augama Anishnabai, a process that involved evidence of kinship structures and distinct dialect. She says she understands this is what the Métis Nation of Ontario is trying to do but that it “can’t use our ancestors to do so.”
MNO told The Globe the photo is “a clear example of a Métis family from what is now Ontario living and travelling across the vast stretches of the historic fur trade network.” It includes John Turner, a blacksmith whom MNO claims as Métis with family that worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company. According to Ms. Moore-Frappier, Mr. Turner is her Anishinaabeg great-uncle born in Moose Factory in 1842 but part of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai. MNO agrees Mr. Turner was born in Moose Factory and settled in Temagami while other family members moved west, settling in the Red River area.
Ms. Moore-Frappier said Métis identity is often conflated with “mixed” (Anishinaabe and European) ancestry. She said the Teme-Augama Anishnabai’s historical relations with Europeans through the Hudson Bay Company, for example, don’t make them Métis. To have Indigenous rights, you have to have a connection to both the land and people, a relationship her people have had for 8,000 years, she said.
Ms. Froh said the Métis Nation of Ontario’s historical Métis communities are not new but have a long history that includes being left out of the Robinson Huron and Robinson Superior treaties from the 1800s.
David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Métis Federation, the national government for the Red River Métis, doesn’t dispute that there are Métis who relocated from the Red River to Ontario. However, he said their rights are protected only at home on the Prairies and that doesn’t include the Métis Nation of Ontario.
He doesn’t think the federal legislation will survive, especially since the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan pulled from it, but he also warns of its dangers as a backdoor for fraudulent Métis to access billions of federal dollars meant for Indigenous people under Section 35.