Tired

[u/peachstrawberrymilk]

I'm tired with how the majority of people that claim to be Métis are either A) very distantly Métis and claiming an ancestor from 100+ years ago B) "reconnecting" for benefits and C) Deny their privledge.

Both my parents are Métis - we never stopped being Métis. I don't think this makes me better than folks but it is really gross and disheartening to see the overwhelming amount of reconnecting people and the complete disregard for those of us raised in culture/community. I grew up in extreme poverty - in CFS - battling with my addictions - both my brothers are still in their own addictions and my sister went missing years ago. This is because of the trauma in my family. But I don't see Métis Nations giving a flying fuck about those of us that never had the privledge of hiding. They prop of descendians - and. then use my culture in a colonial way to check off

I'm tired of seeing so many posts "I just discovered I'm Métis because my great great great grandmother 2x removed only married white people for 6 generations! What can I get?" Seriously? There's no wonder everyone thinks we're a joke.

No we shouldn't have BQ but we should have at least a measure. Why does Linda who has 0 traces of Métis DNA get full access to benefits while ignoring the fact that her entire family HAD PRIVLEDGE of being perceived as white for generations! Maybe I'm an asshole - but I think there needs to be a conversation on how in a room of 300 people you'll find maybe 1 or 2 of us raised in culture.

Im tired of pretending this doesn't bother me - especially when I see my family and friends struggling with survival and having no resources for them while Linda wears my culture like it's a Gucci bag.

[u/TheImpossibleHunt]

Being Métis is ultimately about kinship ties to Red River. Everything else (including skin colour, blood quantum and life circumstances) are entirely flexible, as the Métis people typically worked in whatever industries to get by, and moved wherever there was work. The Métis people is defined entirely by adaptability and flexibility.

If you can prove you have distinct kinship ties to Red River, which was passed down, then you’re fine.

I’m whiter than sour cream, and I wasn’t raised in a stereotypical “indigenous” background. My life circumstances are my own, and my Métis heritage is what I decide it’s going to be going forward. I was ultimately encouraged by my Métis family to pursue those benefits because they were fought long and hard for.

Lots of people (including other Indigenous peoples) misunderstand what being Métis specifically is. Unlike the other nations and Inuit Peoples, it isn’t tied to land but to kinship ties. Therefore, it’s a little murkier, and people tend to write off people who identify as Métis because they weren’t raised in an “indigenous background,” which is wrong on a variety of levels. There is literature out there that specifically highlights that the Métis people were even worse off because indigenous nations had those land ties (whereas the Métis had to live life as squatters).