When and why were the M茅tis defined as Indians by Canadian Legislation?

When and why were the M茅tis defined as Indians by Canadian Legislation? Didn't Canada view the M茅tis as "half-breeds" and didn't want to give them any special rights because they were still "white"... so how did this change?|||There is a problem with your question in that the answer depends partly on what you mean by "Canadian Legislation." There is not now, nor has there every been a legal national "definition" of M茅tis for all purposes by any Federal government at any time. Even though the patriated 1982 Constiution Act, "specifies" or "identifies" M茅tis as one of the three Aboriginal Peoples of Canada, it does not define who that identification does or does not cover.





If you mean any legislation anywhere in Canada since Confederation by any government of any kind, then you get into a morass of futile attempts by various governments at various times to define M茅tis so as to restrict who may or may not enter treaty, who may or may not be identified as "Indian" for purposes of the Indian Act. or who may or may not access programs and services for Aboriginal peoples in general, or for M茅tis people in particular.





M茅tis, in different times and circumstances over the last four or five hundred years, were some times identified and some times excluded from identification as "Indians" depending on the purposes of those doing the legislation. They were included as Indians when non-aboriginal legislators feared M茅tis wanted something legislators thought only white men should have, and they were excluded from "Indian" identification when legislators feared M茅tis wanted something only "REAL" Indians should have -- especially if governments had to pay for it. Who ever "Indians" might be is a whole other question and a whole other answer..





In my research as a M茅tis consultant over the lat 30 years or so I have collected well over a hundred terms used by people in various places, circumstances, and for various purposes. Many of them would likely cause this response to be reported for racial slurs.





If you really want a more specific answer, I suggest you ask a more specific question. No offense intended.





Regards, Martin D.|||They have not been defined as natives, but are in a special category of their own. They are not covered under INAC legislation, but there are some separate things for them. This is pretty recent - in the last 10 or 20 years, but I cannot remember exactly when.





However, the definition of Metis has definitely changed. They were once simply a mix of the French fur traders and natives, usually Cree. They have their own language: Mishif. However, the definition has expanded to anyone with mixed white and native parentage, to a certain amount (although I cannot remember the exact amount - less than native though).