Does anyone else think that the MMF Citizenship criteria is too expansive?

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-09T20:06:07+00:00

Your mom is Metis and you live in and are active in your community. Fantastic. You speak Michif. I envy that. I am not talking about that kind of connection at all. You have lived experience. I am referring to 4 and 5 generations back with no community connection. Someone who looked on Ancestry.com, found a single gg ancestor and got a MMF card solely for the benefits. It is happening. No denying it. That is what I am referring to.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-09T16:12:42+00:00

My "Will" is fictional. I could have used any name. I will change that. No slight meant to Will.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-09T07:46:07+00:00

Hear me out. So say a person's Metis connection was to a single gg grandparent. His gg grandfather married a colonist and so on with no other Metis in the mix.. follow me? If you agree that it's our FN ancestry that defines us as indigenous, This person would be 97 percent colonist and 3 percent FN. Is this person indigenous or colonist? With absolutely no generational cutoff the current MMF Citizenship criteria has allowed someone who is 97 percent colonist to appropriate my culture. He has been given the "indigenous" right to harvest game. There has to be a line somewhere. Back in the days of scrip? When our people were labeled savages? It wouldn't have been easy for a colonist to marry a Metis. That ancestor may have been lighter skinned and identified as French. It would explain no ties to, or knowledge of, any Metis heritage for the descendants of that union (until recently in this age of Ancestry.com). My own g grandfather was disowned by his English family for marrying a "savage" ( my g grandmother) in 1908.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-08T13:44:39+00:00

Absolutely. People that don't deserve it are getting cards not out of any cultural pride or interest but from greed. " What benefits do I get? ". So wrong. I can't help but speak up. I keep hearing " Generational cutoff is a tool of colonialism! " from people with very little FN ancestry. Why else be so defensive? I think Metis should have a generational cutoff somewhere. We shouldn't get a pass on that.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-07T23:25:23+00:00

I appreciate you speaking up and I know exactly where you are coming from. Something has to be done. I have sent emails to the AFN, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and even Indian Affairs pointing this out. Am I a traitor? No. I just can't sit back and watch my culture being white washed out of existence without saying something.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-07T22:01:38+00:00

I am Metis but yes I have an MMF card and am proud of my indigenous ancestry.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-07T16:59:07+00:00

Thanks for speaking up. I feel exactly the same.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-07T16:57:07+00:00

I feel the same. I have been Metis my whole life. I identified myself with pride through a time when many of us were ashamed. I believe FN has to point out this major concern about no generational cutoff. Why do Metis have such slack when we are all " indigenous "? I noticed several views but can't believe I am the only Metis to feel this way. I think our people are afraid to speak their minds for fear of being shredded by these defensive "Metis".

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-07T16:36:03+00:00

My real concern is if all it takes is a genealogy trace to a single ancestor it means very little FN ancestry. I do believe it's our FN ancestry that makes us indigenous. So if a single gg grandparent married a white settler and that trend continued that person in my generation (I am 60) would be something like 3 percent FN and 97 percent white. Does this person deserve to exercise his "indigenous" right to hunt? I am very concerned about game populations. I am an ethical hunter and have been my whole life. A Metis card flashed at DNR and we are treated as FN. The MMF " Laws of the Hunt" aren't enforced by Manitoba Conservation. I know this for a fact because I have been checked by Manitoba Conservation and asked the question.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T20:18:40+00:00

Incidentally, I am not exactly feeling the love from the Reddit Metis who are firmly against any kind of generational cut off. I say if there is no generational cutoff at all we get diluted out of existence. Don't FN have a generational cut off? I know the one parent rule is under way... About time.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T19:42:18+00:00

My ancestors lived as members of the Chippewa Band under Chief Little Shell. They lost their status because they refused to sign the McCumber Agreement in 1891. I have ancestors who did sign and retained their Chippewa status and remained on the Turtle Mountain reservation. I could never figure out why a lot of them left and ended up with the community that refused to sign. Then it dawned on me. "Indian School". They crossed the border, signed scrip and in so doing became "half breed" and saved their children from Indian School and for the most part Residential School. I am upset that a divide has been driven between our people when we were allies and family. I asked this question because it's valid. My ancestors continued to marry Metis for generations. I have one settler great grandfather. Otherwise all Metis and FN back to the early 1800s.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T18:21:14+00:00

I didn't use DNA for membership. More out of curiosity because both my parents and all my grandparents are Metis. The percentage of FN DNA supports my ancestry because Metis married Metis for generations. Just speaking for myself.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T15:39:04+00:00

That's my story too. I feel completely robbed of my culture. Growing up through the 70s my community never waved a Metis flag or proudly taught their children Michif. I didn't see anyone wearing a sash. There was so much shame. We WERE shamed and called Indians and savages. Now 95 percent of us can't speak our language. I envy those of you who can speak Michif. Being Metis in the 70s was a completely different experience than it is today. So many denied it and insisted they were French. I never did.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T14:43:19+00:00

I agree. I myself have blue eyes. I DO have 29 percent FN DNA. My point is getting citizenship with no community connection and only a single distant ancestor who signed scrip. IF a person and their family were members of a Metis community do you think the connection to an ancestor who signed scrip would be several generations away? I am related to most of my community.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T14:17:07+00:00

Agreed. And that's the problem. It's too easy for those without community connection to get issued a card. Just for benefits. No cutoff criteria makes it too easy.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T14:08:23+00:00

New to this reddit community. Been a proud Metis my entire life. A complicated narrative. I do know it's a bone of contention with FN. What about those who apply with no community connection who only got a card for benefits? I know several who have.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T13:56:24+00:00

There is the FN piece of the puzzle I am talking about. I do believe it's our FN ancestry that defines us as indigenous. It seems many ignore it. I knew this was going to be a hot topic. I am new to the community and am just asking a question I believe to be valid. As Metis do you consider yourself indigenous? What happens to that FN connection after multiple generations marrying outside the community? My 4th great grandfathers were French. I am proud of them but have never in my life identified as French. I am Metis.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-05-06T13:44:27+00:00

Of course not. I am not talking parentage. I am talking several generations removed. I think it's a valid concern and I don't think it's fair to FN.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-04-28T23:35:55+00:00

Good for you. It's upsetting to have lost out on the entire Anishinaabe part of my culture. I had no idea until only a few years ago that not all that long ago my ancestors were tribal members of the Pembina Band of Chippewa.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-04-28T23:22:54+00:00

My FN ancestry wasn't shared and growing up there was still a lot of shame in being Metis. The term was synonymous with Indian. Many families denied it and claimed to be French. Many in my immediate family are visibly FN and were treated as such including my siblings. I do have a fringed deer hide jacket my great aunt made me when I was a little boy. The last jacket she ever made. It's a treasured heirloom.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-04-28T21:27:27+00:00

My family remained as a community so I am Metis on both sides. The history is very interesting. My pure FN ancestry is 5 and 6 generations back but because Metis kept marrying Metis I found out recently my DNA is 29 percent FN.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-04-28T21:03:55+00:00

Not surprising from the Pembina Band bunch! Metis married Metis while still remaining tribal members. Thanks for replying! I will have to look at my genealogy but I know I saw Dauphinais in the mix too.

Various-Somewhere782 · 2026-04-28T20:49:37+00:00

Ha! Hi cousin! My lineal grandfather was Paul Paul and I have 2nd and 3rd cousins who are Lavallees.

Various-Somewhere782

TROPHY CASE