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Instructional Plans

Teacher Information:

See the teacher background material “History of Métis Leadership.”

NOTE: The following can be broken into more consecutive lessons if so desired or this lesson can be modified to fit one or two class blocks.

Write the word Métis on the board or overhead. Ask students in partners to develop a definition of Métis and write it on the board. Discuss as a group the various definitions. Copy and distribute the following handout:

Métis Leadership

While there is no single definition of Métis people that is universally accepted the following are two popular examples of political definitions:

The Métis National Council defines the Métis as:

  • Aboriginal People distinct from First Nations and Inuit
  • Descendants of the historic Métis who evolved in what is now Western Canada as a people with a common political will
  • Descendants of those Aboriginal People who have been absorbed by the historic Métis

Alberta Métis Nation Association defines Métis as:

  • Someone who declares him or herself as Métis, has traditionally held him or herself as Métis, and is accepted by the Métis community as Métis

Some of the historic Métis settlements in Alberta are:

  • Edmonton
  • Fort Chipewyan
  • Fort Vermillion
  • Fort Edmonton
  • Fort Augustus
  • Fort George
  • Buckingham House
  • Victoria Settlement
  • Dunvegan
  • St. Albert
  • Jasper House
  • Lesser Slave Lake
  • Buffalo Lake
  • Red Deer Forks
  • South Branch Communities
  • Kikinow (Lac La Biche area)
  • St. Paul de Metis
  • Whitefish Lake
  • Tail Creek

Distribute a blank map of Alberta to the students. They must select eight of the above Métis settlements and plot them on the map. They will then list their chosen eight settlements on a separate piece of paper and include three interesting facts about each one. Students may use their atlases and The Métis In Alberta website, which can be found at: http://www.albertasource.ca/metis/eng/index2.htm to complete this exercise.

Using the Student Zone section and The Métis in Alberta website, which can be found at http://www.albertasource.ca/metis/eng/index2.htm, students will research individuals that were positive and important leaders to the development of the Métis people as a nation prior to 1900. Students will plot these individuals on a time line. Students will then research individuals who have become contemporary leaders and innovators from 1900 to present day. They will also plot these on a timeline.

This is an excellent way for students to realize that Métis people are not just Louis Riel and the Rebellions and that their history and culture transcend those historical events.

Concluding Activity:

Many of the topics discussed in the two lesson plans make great topics for research papers. Some of the topics could be as follows:

    1. How were the two Métis rebellions acts of sovereignty?
    2. Should the Métis or First Nations people of Canada be economically independent?
    3. The Métis people are often referred to as “the forgotten people” why could this reference be considered accurate or inaccurate?
    4. Has the attitude of the federal government been paternalistic in nature when dealing with Aboriginal or Métis people?
    5. How have Aboriginal people or Métis people in Canada developed their own sense of nationalism?
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