May tea? : the construction of Metis identity in 20th century Penetanguishene and Ontario

• Main Author: Charlebois, Kyle
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Métis Ontario Penetanguishene History; Métis Ontario Penetanguishene Ethnic identity; Penetanguishene (Ont.) History; Canada; Metis
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/102701

This research paper was completed and submitted at Nipissing University, and is made freely accessible through the University of Toronto’s TSpace repository Until recently, Métis scholarship has focused its attention on the development and political expansion of the Métis of western Canada. Much literature examining the formation of Métis identity continues to follow this established trend by exploring Canada's Métis population within a western Canadian framework. This paper strives to break tradition by investigating the development and identity construction process of the Ontario Métis. Focusing on personal and family experiences within the Métis community of Penetanguishene, the author argues that Métis identity in Ontario is formed through a personal process of interpreting historical and current Métis cultural practices, such as the recounting of oral tradition, the understanding of family ancestry and bush culture, and twentieth century legal and political descriptions, all of which define what it means to be Métis in Ontario. This personal identity can then be transformed by Métis political organizations, such as the Métis Nation of Ontario, into a collective representation of Métis identity. Such collective representations are strategically used to not only legitimize economic, social and political claims, but also provide a supportive structure of ideas and beliefs around which Métis within Ontario further develop a personal identity.