Becoming Métis in Northern Alberta

A study of the northern Métis nation in Canada through the lens of ethnogenesis. In recent years, much has been written about the Métis of southern Canada, an Indigenous community that began with those who lived at the Red River and the historic buffalo hunters of the Plains. Whether implicitly or explicitly, these groups have come to define the identity and culture of all Métis in the Northwest. This book challenges the prevailing discourse about "Métis-ness" by considering the circumstances of the northern Métis, many of whom white Canadians thought seemed little different from "Indians," or First Nations, until government policies made a distinction between Métis and First Nations peoples to deal with them separately and on different terms. In so doing, it draws upon literature related to ethnogenesis, a topic often overlooked by those writing about the development of Métis identities. In addition, Becoming Métis in Northeastern Alberta examines the evolution of legal distinctions between First Nations and Métis--the "dual paradigms" model operative today. It shows how the dominant discourse about "the Métis" has informed legislation and policy vis-à-vis Métis communities, with a special focus on Alberta. It also reviews a series of key pieces of legislation (federal and provincial) and judicial decisions that have had an impact on the situation of northern Métis, notably those in northeastern Alberta.