Louis Riel Day- November 16

Louis Riel Day is held every year on November 16 across the Métis homelands. November 16 is
the anniversary of Riel’s execution in 1885. During that year, Riel led Métis people in the
Northwest Resistance, which was a stand against the Government of Canada because it was
encroaching on Métis rights and our way-of-life. The Métis were defeated at the siege of
Batoche and the Canadian government captured Riel. He was eventually put on trial where he
was convicted of treason and executed. As a result, Métis people across Canada were labeled
as traitors and for generations many felt the need to hide their Métis culture and heritage.
Despite this oppression, many Métis people found a way to preserve their way-of-life and
passed it on to current generations. Today, the strength of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) is
a testament to the courage of the ancestors.

Riel’s unjust execution is well-known but it is important to also recognize the political gains he
made through the establishment of a Provisional Government in Manitoba. Riel’s success in
negotiating Manitoba into Confederation and the protection of minority language rights, laid the
groundwork for his vision of a Canada that included the Métis Nation and protected Métis rights.

Although Louis Riel Day commemorates one of the great tragedies of Canadian history, it is
also a day to celebrate Métis culture and the continuing progress that Métis people are making
in fulfilling Riel’s dream of Métis taking their rightful place within Confederation.

Every year on November 16th, MNO citizens, MNO Chartered Community Councils and
communities hold events across the province to celebrate Métis culture, recognize the many
contributions of the Métis to Canada, and to highlight the struggles that Métis continue to face.
In addition, a special ceremony is always held at the Provincial Legislature at Queen’s Park in
Toronto. Queen’s Park is home to the Northwest Rebellion Monument and the Legislative
Building. Ironically, the Legislature is where a price was put on Louis Riel’s head and the
monument recognizes the Canadian soldiers who fought in the Northwest Resistance against
the Métis.
(from: http://www.metisnation.org/news-media/louis-riel-day/)

Note: The Métis Nation of Ontario recognizes Louis Riel Day on November 16th each year,
while Louis Riel Day is an annual general holiday in the province of Manitoba on the third
Monday of February.

Who are the Métis?

The Métis are a distinct Indigenous People with a unique history, culture, language and territory
that includes the waterways of Ontario, surrounds the Great Lakes, and spans into what is
known as the historic Northwest. The Métis Nation is comprised of descendants of people born
of relations between First Nation women and European men. The initial offspring of these
unions were of mixed ancestry. The ethnogenesis of a new Indigenous people, called the Métis,
resulted from the subsequent intermarriages of these mixed ancestry individuals. Distinct Métis
settlements emerged as a result of the fur trade along freighting waterways and watersheds. In
Ontario, these settlements were part of larger regional communities, interconnected by the
highly mobile lifestyle of the Métis, the fur trade network, seasonal rounds, extensive kinship
connections and a shared collective history and identity. (from: http://www.metisnation.org/registry/)

The use of the term Métis is complex and contentious, and has different historical and
contemporary meanings. The term is used to describe communities of mixed European and
Indigenous descent across Canada, and a specific community of people — defined as the Métis
Nation — which originated largely in Western Canada and emerged as a political force in the
19th century, radiating outwards from the Red River Settlement. While the Canadian
government politically marginalized the Métis after 1885, they have since been recognized as
an Aboriginal people with rights enshrined in the Constitution of Canada and more clearly
defined in a series of Supreme Court of Canada decisions.

The use of the terms “Métis” and “métis” is also complex and contentious. When capitalized, the
term often describes people of the Métis Nation, who trace their origins to the Red River Valley
and the prairies beyond. The Métis National Council (MNC), the political organization that
represents the Métis Nation, defined “Métis” in 2002 as: “a person who self-identifies as Métis,
is distinct from other Aboriginal Peoples, is of historic Métis Nation ancestry and who is
accepted by the Métis Nation.” The MNC defines the Métis homeland as the three Prairie
provinces and parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northern
United States. Members of the Métis Nation have a common culture, ancestral language
(Michif), history and political tradition, and are connected through an extensive network of kin
relations.(from: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/metis) According to Chelsea Vowel, Métis
author, lawyer and blogger, “Little ‘m’ métis is essentially a racial category. This is the category
I’ve encountered most in Quebec. As a racial category, one is little ‘m’ métis when they are not
fully Indian or non-aboriginal.” (https://apihtawikosisan.com/2011/12/youre-metis-so-which-of-your-parents-is-an-indian/)

The Métis National Flag

The Métis national flag predates the Canadian flag by 150 years.
It symbolizes both the dawn and destiny of a new Indigenous
group and symbolizes the arising from the coming together of
two distinct cultures, European
and First Nations. The unbroken
circles displayed on the flag
represent that the Métis people will endure forever.

The Métis Sash

The sash is a symbol of Métis heritage for more than 300

years. It originated during the fur trade period and is based on
First Nations finger weaving techniques and of European
design and raw materials. The sash is shared by many
cultures: Eastern Woodlands, French Canadian, Acadian and Métis.