well gents..... I didn't know I was Metis until I was an adult because my dad and his brothers were raised to be as non native as possible..... they were also sent to residential school but because of my grandfather's position ad because he was a half breed, the boys lived at home and not at the residential school dorms with the first nations children.
Now I make no claims to be a "victim of residential schools" even though I see a great many young people and adults that are descendants of people who were in residential schools..... people far younger than me.... demanding and getting special treatment and financial repairations under the guise of Truth and Reconcilliation for survivors of the the residential schools.
Well I get ZERO dollars as a survivor of my dad's rage and physical abuse that we kids all understand was a byproduct of how he was brought up.
I will never involve myself with that whole mess and think paying descendants of residential schools .... who weren't old enough to be residential school attendees repairation money is just sick and more Liberal and NDP vote buying.
Matter of fact I don't want anything financially from my status as an indigenous person. I want respect and that history honored.
I don't believe it's right that I have to buy licenses and tags but that is the way it is and I only like to gripe about it here on CGN because the reactions are pretty hilarious.
It also helps expose people's true colors and that way makes it easier to navigate who I do and do not want to associate with on this site.
One thing I will say from personal experience..... other Metis may experience it differently, I dunno.
Here in BC I have been welcomed , respected and offered privileges by First Nations communities throughout the Province of BC. I have letters of permission to harvest across two BC interior First Nations territories and keys to the Band Member's Only gates to access fishing grounds on the territory of a third. Two BC First Nations owned gas stations give me the full discount on goods and fuel and despite the fact they know the federal government isn't going to reimburse them, I am not the only Metis they accomodate in this way.
In the end, Canada's true history includes the Metis peoples and thier accomplishments.
Scrip robbed my family of actual First Nations status and a further marriage to the Metis bloodline is why my dad is even recognized as a Metis. His relative who descended along the same family line but who's family line did not accept scrip , they are bonafide First Nations. So the only thing separating my family from First Nations status was an evil little trick the crown played called Scrip and that evil little trick cost my family our lands among treaty 6 First Nations and Metis. My father is nearing the end of his decent life and while him and his brothers fought and won to have out great grandmother's purposefully desecrated grave site on private held land , restored and declared a Canadian Heritage site. They don't have the years left to mount a legal fight against Scrip and to declare it a crime against Canada's Indigenous peoples.
All I want out of truth and reconcilliation is my father and his brother's status as a full Cree Nation people , restored. They descend from one of this country's historical figures . A man who would have told Trudeau where to shove his truth and reconcilliation deception and would have despised Liberals as much as most of here do.
that's it at the very core.
