Abitibi Inland: “of the Métis Nation”

The Abitibi Inland Historic Métis Community was one of seven historic Métis Nation 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 Abitibi Inland Historic Métis Community to engage with and gather additional evidence from community members themselves.

The MNC Expert Panel’s 260-page Final Report represented the most comprehensive, transparent, ethical, and objective study ever conducted on historic Métis Nation communities in what is now Ontario and outlined fact-based historic and contemporary relationships between the Abitibi Inland Historic Métis Community and the larger Métis Nation.

The Expert Panel’s conclusions were clear, stating that the Abitibi Inland Historic Métis Community “meets the threshold and is a member of the Métis Nation” (pg. 164) as per the National Definition and contemporary Métis governance.

Of the Abitibi Inland Historic Métis Community, the Expert Panel also recognized that “The historical record establishes a significant regional-based Métis community in this part of northern Ontario with sufficient evidence of outside ascription and considerable indirect evidence of self-ascription” (pg. 172), including that “all available Métis Nation Homeland maps produced by the MNC prior to 2018 have encompassed the AIMC’s coastal settlements at Moose Factory and Fort Albany” (pg. 172).

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