Key Historical Periods and Regions

What Happened:

• French and Scottish fur traders (including coureurs de bois, voyageurs, and Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company employees) partnered with Indigenous women across what is now Eastern Canada and the Prairies.
• Children from these unions sometimes remained with their maternal communities, but over time, some began forming distinct kinship networks and identities.

Genealogy Notes:

• Many of these early unions were informal, so documentation may be limited to company records or Catholic baptisms/marriages.
• Early centers: St. Lawrence Valley, Great Lakes region, Fort William, and along the Red and Assiniboine Rivers.

Research Notes:

• Don't overlook the North West Company (NWC) records. The NWC, alongside the Hudson’s Bay Company, employed many fur traders who formed families with Indigenous women. NWC employee lists, contracts, and trading post journals are valuable sources for this era, especially in the Great Lakes and Red River regions.

What Happened:

• The Red River Colony (present-day Winnipeg) became a central hub for Métis life. Métis families lived in parishes like St. Boniface, St. Norbert, and St. François Xavier.
• The community developed a shared identity, economy (buffalo hunt, freighting), and political structure, including the rise of leaders like Louis Riel.
• This era ended with the Red River Resistance and Manitoba joining Confederation in 1870.

Genealogy Notes:

• Parish registers are rich sources: births, marriages, deaths.
• Hudson's Bay Company records often mention Métis employees and families.
• Key records: Red River census (1835, 1849, 1856), scrip applications, Métis land claims.

Context:

• During this period, Métis leaders—especially Louis Riel—formed a Provisional Government and drafted the Métis List of Rights to negotiate Manitoba's entry into Confederation.
• These documents, along with lists of participants and supporters, can sometimes include ancestors and offer insight into your family's political involvement.

What Happened:

• After the Red River Resistance, many Métis families faced land dispossession and discrimination.
• Some stayed in Manitoba and took scrip, while others migrated west and north — forming communities in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and northeastern BC.
• The 1885 North-West Resistance was led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont, ending in military defeat and further suppression of Métis rights.

Genealogy Notes:

• This is when scrip records become essential — they document entire family groups and their movements.
• Métis may appear in Dominion Land Grants, 1881-1901 censuses, and mission records.

Context:

• After 1870, the Canadian government introduced the scrip system as a means to extinguish Métis land rights.
• While scrip records are genealogical gold mines, it's important to understand the broader context: the system was rife with exploitation and fraud.
• Many Métis families, unfamiliar with the legal and financial complexities, were pressured or deceived into selling their scrip to speculators for far less than its value. As a result, most Métis lost their promised lands and were forced to migrate further west or north in search of new opportunities.
• When using scrip records, researchers should be aware that these documents often reflect not only family connections but also the profound dispossession experienced by Métis communities during this era.

What Happened:

• Métis families not accepted under Indian Act provisions or mainstream society often settled on "road allowance lands" — unused Crown strips along roads and railways.
• These communities were often impoverished and excluded from public services.

Genealogy Notes:

• Records from this era can be sparse. Church and school records (Catholic missions or provincial schools) may be the only sources.
• Oral history becomes particularly important here.
• Check local histories, homestead records, Métis political organizations' documents.

Research Notes:

• While most Métis families during the early 20th century faced marginalization and lived on road allowances, Alberta stands out as a unique case.
• In response to Métis activism and dire living conditions, the Alberta government passed the Métis Population Betterment Act in 1938, creating a series of Métis settlements.
• These settlements provided land and, eventually, a measure of self-governance for Métis people—an unprecedented development in Canada. Records from these settlements, including land allotments, community minutes, and membership lists, are invaluable for tracing Métis families in Alberta.
• Researchers with roots in this province should explore settlement records alongside traditional sources like church and school registers.

What Happened:

• Métis communities began organizing politically in the 1960s and 70s, forming the Métis National Council and provincial Métis Nations.
• Legal victories (e.g., Powley, 2003) recognized Métis Aboriginal rights.
• There has been a growing cultural and genealogical revival, especially in the digital era.

Genealogy Notes:

• Modern Métis citizenship registries (Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, etc.) often require documentation tracing ancestry to historical Métis communities.
• DNA testing can sometimes support but never replace genealogical research.
• Oral histories and family documentation (photos, letters, traditional knowledge) play a key role.

Context:

Legal and Constitutional Milestones for Métis Rights in Canada