About the First Nation, Metis in the Past.
The Metis are one of the Anoriginal peoples in Canada who mixed with European and First Nations. There was an important distinction betwwen French Metis born of francophone voyageor fathers, and the Anglo Metis or Countryborn descended from Scottish fathers. Today these two cultures have essentially coaledseced into on Metis tradition. The Metis homeland includes regions in British Columbia, Alberta, Sasakatchewan, Manitoba, Labrador, Quebec, New Brunswik, Nova Scotia, andOntario, as well as the Northwest Territories, The Metis honeland also includes parts of the nothern United States.
Over 300000 people self-identify as Metis in Canada. The majority of Metis have intermarried with other Metis. Over the past century, countless Metis are thought to have been absorbed and assimilated into European-Canadian populations making Metis heritage more common than is generally realized.
During the height of the North American fur trade in the 18Th and 19th centuries, many British, Scottish, and French-Canadian fur traders married First Nations. The majoritsy of these fur traders were Fren and Catholic. Therefore, their children, the Metis, were exposed to both the Catholic and indigenous belif systems, thus creating a new distinct aboriginal people in North America. First Nations women were the link between cultures, they not only provided companionship ofr the fur traders, but also aided in their survival.
