Metis flag

Metis Timeline

  • 1869

    The provincial government established by the Metis at the Red River Settlement, with Louis Riel as it's president
  • 1869-1870

    The act established Manitoba as a bilingual province, with education rights for Catholics and Protestants, and Metis land rights.
  • 1875-1879

    Canada's government issued SCRIP to the Metis, instead of establishing Metis land rights in Manitoba
  • 1885

    The Northwest Resistance sought to protect Metis lands in what is today Saskatchewan, as the railway and settlers moved into western Canada. Canadians had -and still have- different interpretations of this event.
  • 1885

    Louis Riel was tried and hung for treason in Regina on November 16th, 1885
  • June 23rd, 1894

    Land scrip was issued to Baptiste Forcier
  • June 23rd, 1894

    Many Metis sold their scrip and left Manitoba
  • 1896-1910

    Metis settlers established farms at St. Paul des Metis - near what is today St. Paul, Alberta - on land provided by the Catholic Church
  • 1932

    James Brady, Malcolm Norris, Felix Calihoo, Peter Tomkins, and Joseph Dion founded L'Association des Metis de l'Alberta during the Great Depression (is now the Metis Nation of Alberta)
  • 1938

    Alberta's government passed the Metis Population Betterment Act in 1938, which established twelve (12) temporary Metis settlements
  • 1940-1960

    The temporary settlements did not give the Metis control of the land
  • 1940-1960

    When four of the settlements proved unsuitable for farming, hunting, or fishing the settlements were closed and the land went back to the government of Alberta
  • 1982

    The Metis lobbied for recognition of Metis rights in Canada's constitution
  • 1982

    When the constitution was patriated, it included section 35, which recognizes the Metis as one of Canada's Aboriginal peoples with rights
  • 1990

    Alberta's government enacted legislation under which the Metis received the Metis settlements as a permanent land base with the right to manage their own affairs,
    The legislation included:
    -Constitution of Alberta Amendment Act
    -Metis Settlements Accord Implementation Act
    -Metis Settlements Act
    -Metis Settlement Land Protection Act
  • 2006

    In April, the Metis in Manitoba launched a court case seeking compensation for land promised, but not delivered, in the Manitoba Act