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Alberta'sMétis people are descendants of mixedFirst Nations/Indigenous peoples andWhite/European families. The Métis are considered anaboriginal group under Canada'sConstitution Act, 1982. They are separate and distinct from First Nations, though they live in the same regions and have cultural similarities, and have different legal rights.

Different Métis family groups attempted to combine the joint influences of the Manitoba Métis Federation, theMétis Nation of Alberta, and the Métis Nation Saskatchewan. This was done^[when?] in hopes thatAlberta's Métis would receive land and resource rights.^[1]

In Alberta, unlike in the rest of Canada, Métis people have certain lands reserved for them under theMétis Population Betterment Act of 1938, known today as the eight Métis settlements. These Métis settlements federated in 1975 to protect existing Métis settlement lands following the Alberta Government's dissolution, byorder-in-council of four Métis settlements from 1950 to 1960. Following legal challenges by theFederation of Métis Settlements in 1975 for the loss of natural resource against Alberta, theCrown in Right of Alberta settled out of court and passed a suite of legislation that would see self-government, land, and money transferred to the newly formed government of theMétis Settlements General Council (MSGC),^[2] Canada’s only Métis self-government. The MSGC is the legislator of the Federation of Métis Settlements. The MSGC is the second largest land owner in the Province of Alberta.^{[citation needed]}

Most people who self-identify as Métis in Alberta do not live in a Métis settlement. According to the 2016 census, 57.7% of self-reported Métis in Alberta lived in eitherCensus Division No. 11 (which includes theEdmonton Metropolitan Region) orCensus Division No. 6 (which includes theCalgary Metropolitan Region), with the majority of those residing inEdmonton.^[3] These Métis people are represented politically by one of three organizations – the Métis Nation of Alberta (founded in 1928), theAlberta Métis Federation (founded in 2020), or theAboriginal Congress of Alberta Association.

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Métis history in Alberta begins with theNorth American fur trade. The Métisdeveloped as a people by the interactions of European fur trading agents and First Nations communities. From 1670 to 1821, Métis populations grew regionally, typically around fur-trading posts of theNorth-West Company and theHudson's Bay Company.^[4] For example,Fort Edmonton spawned a large Métis population that was involved in anannual buffalo hunt for many years.^[5] These Métis helped to establish the nearby settlements ofLac Ste. Anne (1844),^[6]St. Albert (1861),^[7]Lac La Biche (1853), andSt. Paul de Métis (1890).^[8] The Hudson's Bay Company's land claim in the west (calledRupert's Land) was sold to the newly formed Dominion of Canada with the passing ofThe British North America Act, 1867 (Canadas founding Constitution, 1867). The sale of the Hudson's Bay Company's territory in 1869/70 officially ended its legal monopoly on the fur trade (not enforced since the trial of Métis trapperGuillaume Sayer in 1849). The fur trade was an economic boom for the Métis as it opened the fur and buffalo meat trades to private Métis and non-Metis traders. However, it also exposed them to a flood of European and Canadian colonists seeking to profit and disenfranchise the Métis from their lands. Métis living closer to Canadian occupied territory such as the Red River Métis, today in parts ofManitoba andSaskatchewan, took up arms against the Canadian government in the two failedRiel Rebellions (or "Riel Resistances" in1869 and1885) in an attempt to assert their rights in the face of the newcomers. Following the rebellions, some Red River Métis fled northwest, married into the northwest Métis populations ofnorthern Alberta (formerly known as theDistrict of Athabaska in theNorth-West Territories) or assimilated into surrounding Euro-Canadian society. The end of these rebellions, combined with the collapse of the fur and buffalo meat industries, forced many Albertan Métis off their lands and reduced them to critical levels of poverty. On the whole, the Métis cultures and communities survived with farming, ranching, fishing, and industry replacing their traditional economy of fur trading as the main economic activity in theParkland Belt, though trapping and hunting have remained very important in theRocky Mountain andboreal forest regions. More urban Métis who live in close proximity to other cultural groups may have intermarried and assimilated into mainstream Euro-Albertan society to the point that their descendants no longer recognize themselves as Métis. However, in much ofnorthern Alberta, the Métis in more remote rural and isolated communities have remained culturally distinct.^{[citation needed]} Many of the contemporary Métis settlement population have retained their unique cultural heritage and history due to land grants provided byKing George V by way of theMetis Population Betterment Act of 1938. This act gave back a certain amount of land to the Métis for their use. In 1990, the constitution would be theAlberta Amendment Act 3.^[9]

In the early 20th century, as a response to Métis dispossession and impoverishment following the collapse of the fur trade and marginalization of Métis by the newly dominate Canadian society, Métis political organization, dormant since the Riel Rebellions, was revived in the 1920s by a number of competing organizations such as the Half-Breed Association, the Métis Association, and the Half-breed Association of Northern Alberta. In 1932, a lasting and successful organization was founded following large half-breed gatherings inFrog Lake andFishing Lake. These gatherings were organized by grassroots leaders such as Charles Delores and Dieudonne Collins. They called upon the expertise of a local enfranchised Indian named Joesepf Dion of theKehewin Cree Nation, approximately 20 km (12 mi) from St. Paul Des Metis. The lasting organization would be known as "L'Association des Métis d'Alberta et les Territories du Nord-Ouest" by the Métis "famous five" –Malcolm Norris, Jim Brady,Peter Tomkins,Joseph Dion, andFelix Calliou. This organization would fight for the recognition and formal establishment of the Métis settlements. The famous five would go on to pressure theGovernment of Alberta on behalf of the Metis populations for a protected homeland. In response to the pressured lobbying, the Alberta legislature would call for a Royal Commission, entitled "The Ewing Commission", to investigate the conditions of the "Half-Breeds" (Métis) within the province. The Ewing Commission's (Ewingroyal commission) final report called for a Métis land base and that it be provided by the provincial government under theNatural Resource Transfer Act, 1930.

In 1895, permanent settlements were erected. Ottawa had allowed the Oblate missionaries to enter into a 21-year lease under theDominion Lands Act.^[10]

The result of the report was the creation of twelve Métis settlements in 1938 by way of theMétis Population Betterment Act. In the late 1950s, four of these settlements (Touchwood, Marlboro, Cold Lake, and Wolf Lake) were closed, requiring residents to relocate to the remaining eight settlements, all north of Edmonton. In 1938, thePeavine Metis Settlement encompassed 86,245 ha (213,120 acres) of boreal forest. Due to being resettled so many times, the Métis on the Peavine Metis Settlement were not very connected to that land compared to their ancestors.^[11]

The Alberta Federation of Metis Settlements, nowMetis Settlements of Alberta, was formed in 1975 as the umbrella organization to unite all eight settlement councils.

Different Métis groups attempted to combine the joint influences of the Manitoba Métis Federation, the Métis Nation of Alberta, and Métis Nation Saskatchewan. This was done in hope that the Métis of Alberta would receive land and resource rights.^[1]

In 1989, through decades of negotiations and meetings, the Alberta Federation of Metis Settlements and the Government of Alberta reached an agreement, the Alberta-Metis Settlements Accord,^[12] that involved the payment of $310 million to the Métis and the passage of four bills. The legislation consisted of theMetis Settlements Accord Implementation Act (Bill 33), theMetis Settlements Land Protection Act (Bill 34), theMetis Settlements Act (Bill 35), and theConstitution of Alberta Amendment Act 1990 (Bill 36). Through this legislation, title to a total of 1,250,000 acres (510,000 ha) of land was transferred to the Metis Settlements General Council (MSGC).^[13][14]

As of the 2006 Canadian census,Big Lakes County had the most Métis people per capita of any Canadiancensus subdivision with a population of 5,000 or more. This was due to the inclusion of the population of three Métis settlements within Big Lakes County's totals.^{[citation needed]}

Recently, many other Métis people have moved to larger urban centres, becomingurban aboriginals. In 2006, a total of 27,740 persons living in theEdmonton census metropolitan area (CMA) identified as Métis, accounting for just over half (53%) of the region's Aboriginal population.^[15] Between 2001 and 2006, the Métis population in the Edmonton CMA grew by 32%.^[15] Despite their recent legal victories, Métis people in Alberta still faced higher rates of unemployment and disease and lower average incomes than their non-aboriginal neighbours as of 2006.^[15]

The exact population number of Métis people in Alberta is undetermined due to the details surrounding what qualifies a person to be considered "Métis". Usually, a Métis person is someone that descended from an Indigenous person and a Caucasian settler. However, there are a few different groups that consider themselves to be Métis including Indigenous peoples who are from Manitoba Red River Métis of the 1800s or all Indigenous peoples from Canada that are not recognized under theIndian Act.^[16]

The Mountain Métis are a distinct Métis group who are descendants of Métis who lived in theAthabasca River valley nearJasper House in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. In 1909 and 1910, a small group of families were evicted fromJasper National Park by the federal government to enable the creation of the park. They were compensated only for their improvements made to the land and not the land itself. Their descendants have fought since that time for compensation and recognition of their rights as an Aboriginal group. Their lobbying (along with non-Métis trappers and guides) was partly responsible the creation of theWillmore Wilderness Park in the 1950s, which they hoped would protect this hunting and trapping ground fromoil and gas exploration.^[10] They have since come into conflict with some environmentalists and government officials who would prefer to exclude hunting and trapping from all parks in Alberta.^[17]

The Mountain Métis are represented byGrande Cache Metis Local 1994, a local affiliate of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

The Government of Canada has been in negotiations since with two Métis organizations, the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) since 2016^[18] and the Métis Settlements General Council (MSGC) since 2017.^[19] The MSGC "is the political and administrative body for the collective interests of the eight Metis Settlements... the General Council has 44 members consisting of 40 elected members from the Settlements, and 4 elected Executive members."^[20] In June 2019, the Government of Canada signed aMétis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement with the Métis Nation of Alberta, by which Canada recognized that the Métis Nation within Alberta has an inherent right to self-government and mandated the MNA to implement this right on its behalf.^[21]

During the constitutional talks in the early 1980s, the MNAA was revived.

The mandate of the MNA is to:

• be a representative voice on behalf of Métis people in Alberta;
• provide Métis people an opportunity to participate in the government’s policy and decision making process; and
• promote and facilitate the advancement of Métis people through the pursuit of self-reliance, self-determination, and self-management.

Overall, the MNA has evolved from an organization:

• with a small membership to an organization whose membership exceeds 35,000 people spread across Alberta;
• focused on community consultation and representation to an organization that is both a representative body and a program and service provider;
• responsible for implementing specific projects to an organization responsible for providing ongoing programs and services; and
• that simply reacted to government policy changes to an organization that is called upon to actively participate in the policy formulation process.

Expectations have been established for the MNA through the:

• Alberta/MNA Framework Agreement process;
• Federal/Provincial/MNA Tripartite Process Agreement process; and
• Government of Alberta’s Aboriginal Policy Framework.

A steady rise has been observed in the number of Métis people in Alberta who have registered as members of the MNA. Métis people in Alberta are recognizing the benefits of MNA memberships and the importance of the MNA as an organization.

As well, the MNA has transitioned from solely a representative body to an organization responsible and accountable for the ongoing delivery of a variety of programs and services. The MNA continues to make strides as an organization and develops and implements a number of projects and initiatives (including Apeetogosan Development Inc., Métis Urban Housing Corporation of Alberta, and the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Agreement – Labour Market Unit.)

The MNA has responsibilities and expectations and becoming a more results-based organization. It has addressed issues relating to internal governance and has developed the administrative capacity to meet the expectations that are placed upon the MNA.

The MNA plays a role in the policy development process. Its elected officials and staff sit on committees responsible for an array of issues.

The Rupertsland Institute of Alberta is an affiliate to the Metis Nation of Alberta. Its mission is to enhance the individual self-sufficiency and the collective well-being of Metis people through education, training, and research.^[22]

The Powley Case, which wound through the various levels of Ontario courts starting in 1993, was a law-defining case that is recognized as the first time the issue of Métis rights were recognized undersection 35 of theConstitution Act, 1982. Steve Powley was scrutinized and almost punished for knowingly hunting without a license inSault Ste. Marie, Ontario. When the case eventually made it to theSupreme Court of Canada, Powley's actions were confirmed as being protected by the Métis Aboriginal right to hunt, and the case was dismissed in 2003.^[23]

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of designated places in Alberta
• List of Indian reserves in Alberta
• List of municipalities in Alberta

• Métis Nation of Alberta
• Métis Settlements Act
• Student, aboriginal studies oriented dedicated to the Alberta Métis Settlements – history, documents, legislation, photographs and other research text
• Rupertsland Institute

• Métis in Alberta

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