Calling yourself Metis (or Indian, for that matter) does not, in itself, bring you any specific rights or benefits. Most rights that apply to Aboriginal peoples are based on association with a specific family, group, tribe, community, band or First Nation in a specific geographic area. They qualify for those rights by virtue of treaty, land claims agreement, residence in an Aboriginal community, or registration under the Indian Act. The benefits most people think of, i.e. education, health care, and non-taxation, apply only to persons registered under the Indian Act, and, in many cases only to those who live on Indian reserves.
There are other general federal and provincial programs which apply to all Aboriginal peoples in Canada, on and off-reserve. In some cases those programs are specifically designed to serve Metis and unregistered or non-status Indian people. In some, but not all, cases some kind of proof of Aborignal ancestry is required. Where official documentation is lacking, this often amounts to membership in an Aboriginal representative or service organization.
If you are identifying yourself as an Aboriginal person simply to make yourself or your children eligible for some real or imagined economic benefit, you will be scorned in the Aboriginal community. In some cases you may even be acting fraudulently and exposing yourself to the possibility of criminal charges. If, on the other hand, you are seeking to know yourself and your heritage by exploring your Aboriginal ancestry, you have every right (and some would say responsibility) to claim that heritage. It is part of who and what you are as an individual, and part of where you belong in the social scheme of things. When all is said and done, it is a choice only you can make.
The vexing issue of how much blood it takes to make a real Indian, Metis, or Inuit raises its head whenever this topic is discussed. Historically there have been attempts to set a blood quantum for who can qualify for identification as Indian or Metis. In the United States there is a 1/4 blood quantum which is very loosely enforced in the context of qualifying for federal monies earmarked for Indians..
When Indian bands in Canada were asked in 1982 to develop membership criteria for their communities, some tried to adopt a blood-quantum formula. Even Metis organizations have been known to consider blood-quantum rules. There are others who look to cultural criteria to draw their particular line in the sand. If you, or members of your family do not live in an Indian or Metis community, or live an Indian or Metis life style, there are those who would deny you the right to call yourself an Indian or a Metis. In Ontario in the late 1880Õs this kind of criteria was applied by Ontario and federal government officials to distinguish between Indians and Halfbreeds. If you lived in a house you were struck from some treaty lists.
Fortunately, non-aboriginal Canadians who are descended from people who lived in log cabins can still call themselves Canadians even though most of them now live in apartments. There is no denying the fact that it has become more fashionable or coo-ul to identify with and even proclaim the fact of some kind of Aboriginal ancestry. There are those who, with all good intentions, seek out what they hope will be a more holistic lifestyle in Indian country. This phenomenon is not well received in the various Aboriginal communities. Such people --with varying degrees of justification-- are being labelled as wannabees or newagers. Nothing will start a flame quicker on Native SIGs than somebody claiming descendency from an Indian Princess or Iroquois chief. The road to self-identification as an Aboriginal person is a minefield of potentially explosive emotional, legal, and political issues. Those who wish to claim their Aboriginal heritage, birthright, and identity will need courage to finish the journey.
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