Métis in the Nipigon area have maintained a deep sense of their distinct Métis identity and community, organizing and acting collectively across many generations. In 1880, for example, Métis in the Nipigon area signed several petitions in which they identified themselves as “half-breeds”, distinct from their First Nations relatives and neighbours. The first petition, submitted by the “Indians and half breeds of the Pic River,” requested reserve lands. Another petition fro

The Métis Nation of Ontario’s 1994 Founding Delegates Assembly adopted several resolutions to defend the exercise of inherent Métis harvesting rights and pursue negotiated harvesting agreements within the province. To guide these eventual negotiations, Founding Delegates also adopted resolutions articulating foundational Métis values, including strong direction that conservation and preservation become primary aims and objectives in any future Métis harvesting agreement: “The

In November 1993, the Métis Nation Executive of the Métis National Council formally recognized the Métis Nation of Ontario as the “representative organization of the Métis people in Ontario.” This recognition came just weeks after the MNO’s founding was announced on October 20, 1993—coincidentally, the same week that Métis harvesters Steve and Roddy Powley were charged with illegally hunting a moose in Sault Ste. Marie. A decade later, these events ultimately led to the Métis

The Métis Nation of Ontario’s Founding Delegates Assembly took place from May 5 to 7, 1994 in Toronto. Throughout the Assembly, attending Métis leaders from the seven historic Métis communities in northern Ontario and Métis communities from the prairies debated and adopted numerous resolutions intended to inform the MNO’s future direction. This included unanimously adopting a mandate to negotiate Métis self-government with provincial and federal governments, as well as a fou

In 2004, the Métis Nation of Ontario signed a landmark interim Harvesting Agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources—the first negotiated agreement of its kind signed by any Métis Government within the Métis Homeland. The Agreement recognized MNO’s Harvesting Policy on an interim basis and provided for the recognition of a maximum of 1,250 Harvesters Cards—as well as a pathway to remove the cap on the number of recognized MNO Harvester Cards in the future based

The Métis Nation of Ontario’s Founding Delegates Assembly was held from May 5 to 7, 1994 and included delegates from the seven historic Métis communities in northern Ontario as well as Métis with ancestral connections to more western parts of the Homeland who lived in Ontario at that time. During the Assembly, Founding Delegates debated and adopted numerous resolutions advancing Métis self-government in the province of Ontario, including a list of guiding Métis values and c