Métis Rising

Living Our Present Through the Power of Our Past

By Yvonne Boyer and Larry Chartrand

UBC Press, Purich Books

Métis Rising draws on a remarkable cross-section of perspectives to tell the histories, stories, and dreams of people from varied backgrounds, demonstrating that there is no single Métis experience – only a common sense of belonging and a commitment to justice.

The contributors to this unique collection, most of whom are Métis themselves, examine often-neglected aspects of Métis existence in Canada. They trace a turbulent course, illustrating how Métis leaders were born out of the need to address abhorrent social and economic disparities following the Métis–Canadian war of 1885. They talk about the long and arduous journey to rebuild the Métis nation from a once marginalized and defeated people; their accounts ranging from personal reflections on identity to tales of advocacy against poverty and poor housing. And they address the indictment of the jurisdictional gap whereby neither federal nor provincial governments would accept governance responsibility towards Métis people.

Métis Rising is an extraordinary work that exemplifies how contemporary Métis identity has been forged by social, economic, and political concerns into a force to be reckoned with.

A must-read not only for scholars and students of Métis and Indigenous studies but for lawyers, policymakers, and all Canadians who wish a broader understanding of this country’s colonial past.

RELATED TOPICS: Indigenous Studies, Métis Studies

Authors
Contents

Yvonne Boyer is a Michif with her Métis ancestral roots in the Red River. She was the associate director of the Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa, and is the author of Moving Aboriginal Health Forward: Discarding Canada’s Legal Barriers. She was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2018. Larry Chartrand is a citizen of the Métis Nation (Michif), professor emeritus in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, and a former director of the Indigenous Law Centre at the University of Saskatchewan. He was the principal investigator for a SSHRC research project on Métis treaties that led to Métis Treaties in Canada: Past Realities and Present Promise.

Contributors: Jonathan Anuik, Judith G. Bartlett, Laura-Lee Bellehumeur-Kearns, Curtis Breaton, Paul Chartrand, Leah Dorion, Nathalie Kermoal, Margaret Kress, Catherine Littlejohn, Tricia Logan, Yvonne Poitras Pratt, Allyson Stevenson, and Yvonne Vizina

Introduction

Part 1: History, Identity, and Belonging

1 River Water Flows through Our Veins / Leah Dorion and Curtis Breaton

2 What’s a Métis, Anyway? / Catherine Littlejohn

3 The Right to Self-Identify as Métis at School / Jonathan Anuik

4 Ancestral Knowledge in a Contemporary World / Yvonne Vizina

Part 2: Leadership and Relationship Building

5 Fire Starters and Keepers / Laura-Lee Bellehumeur-Kearns

6 Finding a Way around the Jurisdictional Gaps / Tricia Logan

7 Navigating Troubled Political Waters for Better Housing / Nathalie Kermoal

8 Demanding the Right to Care for Their Own Children / Allyson Stevenson

Part 3: Exercising Our Rights and Self-Determination