List of Métis people explained

This is a partial list of Canadians who are Métis people.

The Métis are a specific group of people, primarily from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, who have Indigenous (primarily Cree, Ojibwa) and European (primarily French) ancestry.^{[1] [2]} They have a shared history and Michif language.

Prominent Métis

Historical

• Howard Adams, Métis activist, author, and leader
• Andre Beauchemin, Métis; First Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for St. Vital (French Party) 1870–1874. In November 1872, Beauchemin offered to resign his seat in the Manitoba assembly so that Riel could be elected in a by-election
• Pierre Bottineau, Minnesota frontiersman, surveyor, diplomat and translator
• Michel "Mitch" Bouyer, Métis of French Canadian and Sioux ancestry; interpreter and guide in the Old West; lead scout with the US Seventh Cavalry; died along with Lt.Col. George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876
• James P. Brady, Métis politician and activist
• Pierre Delorme, Métis politician and activist. Elected as a Member of Parliament in 1871, defeated in 1874 and re-elected in 1878^[3]
• Gabriel Dumont, Métis military leader during the North-West Rebellion
• Cuthbert Grant, Métis political and military leader
• James Isbister, was a Canadian Métis leader and he is considered to be the founder of the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
• Josette Vieau Juneau, Métis "founding mother" of Milwaukee.
• Thomas McKay, was a Metis farmer and political figure who was the first mayor of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
• John Norquay, Métis politician, Premier of Manitoba from 1878 to 1887
• Malcolm Norris, Métis politician, activist, and leader. Norris was a founder and the first vice-president of the first Alberta Métis organization (1932) called the Association des Métis d’Alberta et des Territories du Nord-Ouest (Alberta Métis Association). In 1964, he headed the Métis Association of Northern Saskatchewan
• Louis Riel, Métis leader who led the Red River Rebellion in 1869 - 1870, the provisional government of Rupert's Land, Manitoba's entry into Confederation in 1870; later led the North-West Rebellion in 1885^[4] Riel was elected three times to the House of Commons for Provencher riding; first, in the general election of 1873, the government subsequently resigned over the Pacific Scandal in November 1873. Riel was reelected in February 1874, then expelled, then ran in the subsequent by-election, was reelected and expelled again^[5]
• Guillaume Sayer, a Métis fur trader whose trial was a turning point in the ending of the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) of the fur trade in North America^[6]
• Louis Schmidt, Métis politician, Riel's Secretary and, in their youth, Riel's classmate. Born in 1844 he was known as Louis Laferté until Bishop Taché changed it in 1858. Louis Schmidt made the first of numerous petitions on behalf of the Métis' to the federal government over rights to their lands and their call for proper political representation. See Louis Schmidt: A Forgotten Métis in Riel and the Métis Ed. A.S Lussier (1979) Manitoba Métis Federation Press

Architects

• Douglas Cardinal, architect; of Métis and Blackfoot ancestry. He designed the Museum of Canadian History and did the building designs for the Oujé-Bougoumou community of the James Bay Cree. This work won the “We the People” United Nations Community Award^[7]

Artists and writers

• Keith Barker, playwright
• Be'sha Blondin, Deme Elder, health activist and founder and director of Northern Integrated Culture with the Environment (Northern ICE), which strengthens Aboriginal communities in the North
• Katherine Boyer, Métis/Settler artist^[8]
• Terril Calder, animator and artist
• Joe Fafard (artist), Métis artist from Saskatchewan whose work has been featured across Canada and around the world
• Sandra Birdsell, daughter of a Métis man and a Russian Mennonite woman; based her award-winning novel Children of the Day in part on her parents' experiences in Manitoba in the 1920s to 1950s
• Robert Boyer (1948–2004); Métis Cree artist, best known for his politically charged "Blanket Statements" series of paintings^[9]
• Maria Campbell, Métis writer and filmmaker; born in northern Saskatchewan in 1940; brought the struggles of modern-day Métis and Aboriginal people to the public through her breakthrough book, Halfbreed (1973), and the collaborative play, Jessica (1982); captured the sound and song of traditional stories through her work in dialect, Stories of the Road Allowance People (1996)^[10]
• Laura de Jonge, Métis family advocate, corporate social responsibility practitioner, filmmaker and magazine founder
• Cherie Dimaline, writer, was awarded the Anskohk Fiction Book of the Year Award in 2013
• Danis Goulet, filmmaker
• George R. D. Goulet, best-selling Métis author; books include The Trial of Louis Riel: Justice and Mercy Denied, The Metis: Memorable Events and Memorable Personalities, and The Métis in British Columbia: From Fur Trade Outposts to Colony
• Matthew MacKenzie, playwright
• Dylan Miner, Métis printmaker, writer and conceptual artist^[11]
• Rick Rivet (born 1949), painter
• Gregory Scofield, acclaimed poet, beadwork artist, dramatist, non-fiction writer, activist and educator^[12]
• Jesse Thistle, academic and writer
• Kamala Todd, community planner, filmmaker, curator
• Loretta Todd, filmmaker, producer, cultural theorist
• Venus, drag performer
• Katherena Vermette, writer
• Rhayne Vermette, filmmaker
• Christine Welsh, documentary filmmaker and academic

Musicians

• Arlette Alcock, musician, songwriter, and social activist
• Celeigh Cardinal, singer-songwriter
• iskwē, singer-songwriter^[13]
• Berk Jodoin, singer-songwriter
• Jani Lauzon, musician
• Andrea Menard, actress, playwright, and singer
• Amanda Rheaume, singer-songwriter
• Sister Ray, singer-songwriter
• Laura Vinson, musician
• Ruby Waters, musician

Politicians, activists, lawyers, physicians and judges

• André Beauchemin, politician in Manitoba
• Rod Bruinooge, member of Parliament, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs & Northern Development, and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
• Brian Bowman, mayor of Winnipeg
• Thelma J Chalifoux, first Indigenous woman appointed to the Senate of Canada, established Michif Cultural and Resource Institute^[14]
• Clément Chartier, president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples
• David Chartrand, leader of the Manitoba Metis Federation^[15]
• Bertha Clark-Jones, Cree-Métis activist and Royal Canadian Air Force member
• Todd Ducharme, first Métis judge appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice
• Shelly Glover, member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages
• Carole James, leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party
• Rick Laliberte, member of Parliament
• Glen McCallum, president of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan^{[16] [17]}
• Bob McLeod, member of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
• D'Arcy McNickle, writer, Native American activist, college professor and administrator, and anthropologist
• Gerald Morin, president of the Métis National Council and the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan
• Derrick O'Keefe, Rabble.ca editor; Canadian anti-war movement leader
• Dan Vandal, member of Parliament and Parliamentary Secretary for Indigenous Services

Military

• Francis Godon, member of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles during the Second World War
• Henry Norwest, First World War sniper

Sports

• Calen Addison, professional ice hockey player for the Minnesota Wild
• Arron Asham, professional ice hockey player

• René Bourque, professional ice hockey player
• Sharon Bruneau, bodybuilder and fitness model
• Kyle Chipchura, professional ice hockey player
• Connor Dewar, professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Kerri Einarson, national curling champion
• Theoren Fleury, professional ice hockey player
• Terry Fox, creator of Marathon of Hope
• Travis Hamonic, professional ice hockey player for the Ottawa Senators
• Dwight King, professional ice hockey player
• Heather Mandoli, Canadian Olympic rower
• Anthony Carelli, professional wrestler (known as Santino Marella)
• Vic Mercredi, Atlanta Flames first round draft pick
• Kevin O'Toole, 1996 North American light heavyweight bodybuilding champion
• Wade Redden, NHL defenceman
• Sheldon Souray, NHL defenceman
• Bryan Trottier, NHL Hall of Fame centre

Others

• Siera Bearchell, winner of Miss Universe Canada 2016
• Tantoo Cardinal, actress
• Roseanne Supernault, actress
• Zoe Todd, academic

See also

• List of Canadian Inuit
• List of First Nations people
• Indigenous Canadian personalities

Notes and References

1. Web site: Métis Nation . Library Archives Canada. 15 October 2013 .
2. Web site: Métis Homeland - Rupertsland Institute. 2021-07-24. www.rupertsland.org.
3. Barkwell, Lawrence. https://www.scribd.com/document/324121091/Metis-Members-of-the-Legislative-Assembly-of-Manitoba
4. Reasonable doubts may be raised about whether either of these events was a rebellion. For example, the actions considered rebellious in 1869 were undertaken by Riel as the leader of a government recognized by Canada as in legitimate control of territory that did not belong to Canada; Canada negotiated the Manitoba Act with this government. After these "rebellions", land speculators and other non-Métis effectively deprived the Métis of land by exploiting a government program for its purchase, with the government perhaps turning a blind eye. The province of Alberta distributed land to Métis in 1938 to correct what it believed to be an inequity, but Saskatchewan and Manitoba have not followed Alberta's lead.
5. Web site: Biography – RIEL, LOUIS (1844-85) – Volume XI (1881-1890) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
6. Web site: Encyclopedia of the Great Plains PIERRE-GUILLAUME SAYER TRIAL. 2021-07-10. plainshumanities.unl.edu.
7. http://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/11995.Douglas%20Cardinal.pdf Douglas Cardinal, Metis Architect
8. Web site: About. 2021-07-25. Katherine Boyer. en-US.
9. Jacoby-Smith, Jennifer. "The Painterly Life of Bob Boyer." University of Saskatchewan: Green and White. Winter 2005 (retrieved 23 November 2009)
10. Maclean's, September 8, 2005.
11. http://www.aboriginalcuratorialcollective.org/about_us/membership.html "Membership."
12. Barkwell, Lawrence. http://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/13481.Gregory%20Scofield.pdf
13. News: Loo . Olivea . The blue sky woman "Iskwē" performs new music live in Toronto . 25 February 2024 . 106.5 ELMNT FM Toronto (CFPT-FM) . 15 December 2023.
14. News: Thelma Chalifoux was the first Métis woman to serve in Canada's Senate. The Globe and Mail. 6 October 2017. Derworiz. Colette.
15. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-government-has-clearly-abandoned-m%C3%A9tis-people-says-federation-1.3323610 "Manitoba government has 'clearly abandoned' Métis people, says federation"
16. News: 28 May 2017. Newly elected Métis Nation of Sask. president optimistic for future. CTV Saskatoon. Bell Media. 2 June 2021.
17. News: D'Andrea. Jeff. 30 May 2021. McCallum re-elected as MN-S president; full election results. paNOW. Pattison Media. 2 June 2021.