The Métis are a distinct Indigenous people of Canada descended from unions between European (predominantly French and Scottish) fur traders and First Nations women, primarily Cree and Ojibwe, from the eighteenth century onward, recognized as one of Canada's three constitutionally defined Aboriginal peoples alongside First Nations and Inuit since 1982. Métis communities developed a distinct culture combining Indigenous and European elements, including the Michif language, distinctive fiddle music and jigging dance traditions, and a documented economy centered on the Plains bison hunt and the fur trade. The Métis-led Red River Resistance (1869-70) and North-West Rebellion (1885), and the execution of Métis leader Louis Riel, remain central and extensively documented events in Métis political history and in Canada's broader national memory.
Facts
Group TypeSourced to the subject's own accountEthnic group (mixed-descent Indigenous nation) 1 Typical RegionSourced to the subject's own accountNorth America (Canada, particularly the Prairie provinces, with communities in the northern United States) 1 Population EstimateSourced to the subject's own accountapproximately 600,000 in Canada (self-identified) 1 Primary LanguageSourced to the subject's own accountMichif (a distinct mixed Cree-French language) and French or English 1 Subsistence ModeSourced to the subject's own accountHistorically centered on the fur trade economy, including a documented and distinctive bison-hunting and pemmican-production economy on the northern Great Plains. 1 Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.