Understanding the word “Metis”

In his book Lightningbolt, noted author Hyemeyohsts Storm described his youth growing up on the Crow Reservation in “…a world of Indians and Breeds”.  “Breeds are also called Metis.  Who and what are the Metis?  The word Metis or Mestizo, means “mixed bloods”.  Metis, or Breeds, are people of many kinds of mixed blood.” [Lightningbolt, Storm, 1994, p xvi]. 

The Twisted Hairs Metis Medicine Society Council of Elders uses the word in a similar way. 

The Council consists of many and varied tribes and nations, and is therefore of “mixed blood”.  Because the Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society welcomes people from all backgrounds, races and traditions, it also views itself as a “mixed blood” or metis group. 

The term as used by Storm, the Council of Elders and by our Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society, is distinct from the Metis Nation of present-day Canada.  As the Canadian Encyclopedia acknowledges, “The use of the term Métis is complex and contentious, and has different historical and contemporary meanings” [Metis, thecanadianencyclopedia.ca].  The Metis Nation traces its origins to the 1700s when European men involved in the fur trade began to establish families with First Nations Women.  Over time, intermarriage of their mixed blood children resulted in a unique history, language and culture, leading them to identify themselves as a group separate from other Nations. [metisnation.org, Culture and Heritage; Who are the Metis?]

In 1982 the Metis were recognized as one of Canada’s 3 aboriginal people (First Nations, Inuit and Metis). In 1983 they formed the Metis National Council, a governance structure specifically intended to represent the unique interests of the Metis Nation- those metis communities west of Sault Ste Marie Ontario which legally comprise the “Metis Homeland”.  [Metis Historic Timeline, metisnation.org]. 

Again, the Canadian usage of the word “metis” is entirely distinct from our usage as a metis path, just as the Metis Nation and Metis National Council have no connection with the Twisted Hairs Metis Medicine Society or the Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society.