More than half of the mail I have receivedfrom site visitors over the last six months or so have centred on variousaspects of Métis organizations.  Some are looking for an organizationto join.  Some of this mail indicates people are paying some organizations$100.00 plus to have their genealogy done. Others are wondering why theirapplication to this or that organization had been rejected and, in a parallelvein, what criteria Métis organizations use for membership. Still others are asking where the organization went after they paid theirfees.

Unfortunately, from my point of view,way too many of these emails begin with phrases like:

"I just got my Métis Status Card. What benefits am I entitled to?"

Most of these queries contained prefatoryremarks that indicate the writers have one or more serious misconceptionsabout the legal status of Métis organizations. They seem to havebeen mislead (by the organization itself or by others) about the benefitsto be gained by such memberships, and by getting (and paying for) a so-calledMétis status card.  Actually such cards are simply membershipcards that DO NOT CONFER OR REPRESENT STATUS in the sense that a card issuedby Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to Indians registered underthe Indian Act are used to access federal benefits which apply to registeredIndians.  THERE IS NO SIMILAR ‘OFFICIAL" PROCESS FOR MÉTISanywhere in North America.  The exception that proves the rule isthe development of the Métis Settlements in Alberta that are recognizedand legislated by the government of Alberta.  Such memberships, however,are not available to non-residents of the settlements.

I am also personally concerned at theunfortunate increase of so-called
Métis organizations on the webthat can be more accurately described as digital fantasies.  Someof these sites -- although they project an image of regional or even nationalrepresentation of Métis peoples, interests, and issues -- are often the creation of very few people, sometimes even a single individual! 

I believe these sites have, at the outset,the intention of creating viable, off-line, organizations. But when yearsgo by and these sites fail to show any indication of on-the-ground, community-basedreal-people membership, I can’t help but think that misrepresentation isa factor-- especially if they are charging cash for "membership" or solicitingother donations or payments.  The real danger these digital fantasiescreate is that other Metis, thinking a "real" organization already exists,cancel their own plans to start a functional off-line community-based organization.

I am also not criticising Métiswebsites created by and presented as individual efforts at providing orsharing information on Métis peoples and issues.  After all,the Other Métis is exactly such a site!  Obviously I considerthis to be a perfectly legitimate, and valuable exercise.

I hope that what I can do is to helpclarify some of the issues surrounding Métis organizations, basedon my 20+ years of experience with those organizations.  I warn youin advance that those experiences have not all been positive.  I alsohope this information will help people in their thinking about the formationand role of Métis organizations in the future.