In the 1990’s, my family was given membership by the Manitoba Métis Federation. I don’t know how or why we were invited to apply, and I didn’t question it. I assumed that because of my mother’s French Canadian lineage – her father was Henri Simard & her mother Martine Coté – that we must have had Métis ancestors. I also assumed the MMF would have verified our ancestry using their archives (this was pre-internet days) since they were giving out memberships.
Along with others in my family, I applied for and received membership in 1993. They welcomed me, and I was proud to be part of the Métis community. For more than 25 years I remained on the MMF registry, and identified as Métis. Until just a few years ago, when the MMF cancelled all memberships and requested anyone wanting to renew to provide proof of Indigenous ancestry.
During all my years of membership, I was never asked for proof of ancestry. And to be honest, I never thought much about it. But this began to raise questions in my immediate family, and among our Simard/Cote cousins. Were we Métis? Had anyone done a search? Did anyone even know??
Since nobody seemed to know for certain… last fall, one of my sisters decided to initiate a genealogical search that took nearly a year to complete. The search went all the way back to Quebec, and further still – tracing my mother’s family back to the 1700s in France. And while it turns out we are very, very French… there are no Indigenous ancestors in my mother’s family tree.
Knowing this now, I cannot in good faith or good conscience continue to say that I am Métis. It also poses questions for the Manitoba Métis Federation, as to why we were given membership cards in the first place. It makes me wonder how many other families were wrongfully granted membership during that same era.
I find myself compelled to speak the truth about this, and to publicly rescind previous claims I have made to being Métis. I also want to say – from the bottom of my heart – that I am deeply sorry. I never intended to hurt anyone, or to take anything from anyone. I believed I had Indigenous ancestors, and felt connected to the community. I was proud to call myself Métis, and wanted to make a difference.
During my studies at Red River College, and time spent as the Vice President Student Affairs in 1994, I helped start the school’s first Aboriginal Education Advisory Committee. As a young entrepreneur starting my own company, I joined the Aboriginal Chamber of Commerce and served on the marketing committee. I assisted with efforts to get Indigenous events off the ground, like the inaugural Aboriginal Peoples’ Choice Music Awards and Manito Ahbee Festival in Winnipeg.
I am proud to have been part of many Indigenous initiatives, and to help drive change. Learning now that I am not Métis is devastating. It has caused me to question what I believed about myself, and created divide in my family. Most of all, though, I feel terrible knowing that for nearly three decades I claimed a community that was not mine. I don’t feel good about that at all.
While I cannot change the past (as much as I wish I could!) all I can do now is continue to make a difference in ways that I can. Today, I am choosing to speak up about this, and committing to sharing the truth. I am also making the commitment to provide restitution, to give back, and to create opportunities for others. I am committing to spending my future making amends for the past.
I will continue to be an ally, a helper, a supporter, a colleague, and a friend, to Indigenous Peoples. But I will no longer call myself Métis. Because what was once a question in my life – Métis or not Métis – has now been answered.
