Despite the Métis Nation of Ontario’s longstanding public assertions related to seven historic rights-bearing Métis Nation communities in northern Ontario, the recently coined, “notion of ‘new historic communities’ has been used as a weapon against the MNO by those who disagree that these communities might be a part of the larger Métis Nation or, moreover, oppose Métis rights assertions in the province of Ontario.” In its Final Report, the Métis National Council Expert Panel

The Mattawa/Ottawa River Historic Métis Community was one of seven historic Métis communities in northern Ontario studied by the landmark MNC Expert Panel through the lens of the 2002 National Definition and contemporary Métis governance. During its year-long study, the MNC Expert Panel reviewed over 50,000 pages of evidence, engaged with over 160 Métis Nation citizens, elders, youth, scholars, and leaders during more than 120 hours of meetings, and visited the Mattawa/Ottawa

In 2021, as an act of Métis Nation self-determination, the Métis Governments that then made up the Métis National Council (MNC)—the Métis Nation of Ontario; the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan; the Otipemisiwak Métis Government of the Métis Nation of Alberta, and the Métis Nation British Columbia—established an independent Expert Panel to conduct a comprehensive study of historic Métis Nation communities in Ontario through the lens of the 2002 National Definition and contemporary M

As part of their independent year-long study of the seven historic Métis communities in northern Ontario, the Métis National Council (MNC) Expert Panel was tasked with assessing whether each community and its citizens were merely of “halfbreed/mixedblood/mixed-ancestry” descent or verifiable members of the Métis Nation and part of its Homeland. To do so, the MNC Expert Panel utilized an analytical framework first proposed by the Métis National Council within its official subm

In addition to Métis family ties and a vibrant culture of music and dance rooted in the fiddle and jigs, as early as the 1840s, Métis families in the Mattawa area maintained a strong traditional Métis economy and way of life, similar to those of other Métis communities in the historic North-West. Spring was a particularly important time of year for many Métis families. In early January 1849, for instance, the Langevin family was noted as “making a camp above the fort” at Mat

Métis communities across the Homeland have grand celebrations during the winter holiday season. Christmas and New Year’s became particularly important holidays in Métis communities after the merging of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the Northwest Company in 1821, when HBC Governor George Simpson, imposed new rules to reduce partying among lively Métis workers: “The new governor was much less enthusiastic about the fur traders' love of entertainment, believing that it interrup