Métis Politics and Governance in Canada by Kelly Saunders, Paperback | Indigo Chapters

At a time when the Métis are becoming increasingly visible on Canada’s political scene, Métis Politics and Governance in Canada offers a novel and practical guide to understand who the Métis are, how they govern themselves, and the challenges they face on the path to self-government. The Métis have always been a political people. With the culmination of the North-West Resistance in 1885 and the hanging of their spiritual and political leader, Louis Riel, the Métis continued to take political action to give life to Riel’s vision of a self-governing Métis Nation in Canada. Drawing on interviews with elders, leaders, and community members, Kelly Saunders and Janique Dubois reveal how the Métis have adapted their governance structures in accordance with their way of life as a distinct, rights-bearing Indigenous people. They look to the Métis language – Michif – to identify Métis principles of governance that emerged during the fur trade and that continue to shape Métis governance structures. Both then and now, the Métis continue to negotiate their place alongside federal and provincial partners in Confederation. As Canada engages in nation-to-nation relationships to advance reconciliation, this book provides timely insight into the Métis Nation’s ongoing struggle to remain a free and self-governing Indigenous people. | Métis Politics and Governance in Canada by Kelly Saunders, Paperback | Indigo Chapters