Aboriginal Canada Revisited

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Tricia Logan METIS SCHOLARSHIP IN THE 21ST CENTURY: LIFE ON THE PERIPHERY INTRODUCTION M etis voices are gaining momentum in the area of Aboriginal research. Trends in research are increasingly inclusive of Metisspecific , community-based work, providing Metis communities with research benefits they were not accustomed to. For over a century research on Metis often delivered more harm than good to Metis communities . The colonizer s voice dominated Metis research, especially in the areas of history anthropology and socio-political analysis. The research reflected little of the community-level Metis voice, and a Eurocentric bias quite often affected research outcomes (Dorion/Prefontaine 2001,13). As Aboriginal and post-modern research emerged in the late ioth century, Aboriginal people began to be active participants in research rather than objects of research (Brown/Strega 2005, 7). As the body of Aboriginal research increases, individual groups of Aboriginal people, First Nations, Inuit, and Metis will begin to make their individual views heard. In being heard, their communities will be served by both mainstream and Aboriginal 88 METIS SCHOLARSHIP methodologies in dynamic ways. Mainstream Canadian researchers are increasingly more willing to incorporate Aboriginal methods and views into theirresearchin order tobetter servethe needs ofthose communities (Brown/ Strega 2005, 98).At the same time. Aboriginal researchers are steadilyadapting and creating their own methods that extend to placesbeyond the reach of long relied upon mainstream methods. One keyaspect ofAboriginal research that extends beyond mainstream is the promotion of distinctions between First Nations, Metis and Inuit research. Metis research has benefitted from the Aboriginal break from mainstream methods. The Metis voice has greater chances to affect changes for Metis by using progressive research methods, flexibility, and creativity in methodological formation. A research method separate from both mainstream and Aboriginal methods, takinginto account Metis history and culture, isneeded. There are considerations that need to be made by Metis researchers that are unique from other Aboriginal groups and take the dynamic nature of Metis communities into their frame ofunderstanding. Canada's West is the heartland to one ofthe most unique ethnic groups in the world. Metis of Canada created a nation and an identity from the earliest roots of colonial meetings between Canada's Aboriginal peoples and two distinct fur trade companies, the British Hudson's Bay Company and the French North West Company. The biology of'mixed-blood' and of being an interracial person is a mere detail when compared with the numerous social, cultural and political influences that create ethnic identities for Metis. Metis cannot be separated from the British and French empires; relationships with the British and French colonizers comprised Metis identity. Metis look at colonization in many different ways; they are conscious of this relationship with the colonizer(s) and, in turn, reject it, accept it or are forcibly confined to it (Dorion/Prefontaine 2001, 26-27). Regional distinctions are also key influences on Metis identity. A Metis community's location in proximity to Roman Catholic or Protestant churches, non-Aboriginal communities and rural or urban centres has influenced values and social structures for Metis. Although there may be infinite variables that impact Metis identity, there are consistent values that create union in Metis nationhood. Loyalty to an 89 TRICIA LOGAN agenda of Aboriginal-based rights, dedication to celebrations of culture through music, art and dance, regional-based identification and histories of economic, social and political hardships are common valuesthat exist despite regionalvariables. Distinctions between Metis communities, such asspiritual or religious connections, location, and language, can be quite vast, but they can also provide important indicators to researchers who seek context for approaching Metis communities for study.Metis are First Peoples of Canada, recognized as Aboriginal people in the Canadian Constitution, and are a unique Indigenous group. Metis are not eager to be judged, in any measure, by their connections to First Nations communities or non-Aboriginal communities , and they consider studies of their lives best suited to a context kept true to Metis distinctiveness (Dorion/Prefontaine 2001,36). This is the challenge. What is a research paradigm that stays true to Metis? Metis-specific research should be tailored to view Metis lives through a Metis lens. An author or researcher may or may not have originated from a Metis community,but they can still, with care and respect, gain an understanding of Metis community dynamics. These dynamics are often complexwhen viewed by a "visitor," but realities of Metis life on a community level...