Louis Riel
Metis Nation BC Citizenship
Metis identity is verified through Metis ancestry. By providing your genealogy with supporting documentation, the MNBC are able to determine if you qualify for citizenship. Citizenship applications packages are available on the MNBC website at www.mnbc.ca.
Metis Sash
The Manitoba Metis Federation have in recent times adopted a new colour variation for the Metis sash at their Annual General Meeting.
The new chosen colour variation is of the original L’Assomption coloured pattern with one exception: the yellow has been replaced with black.
The new sash described below has a rich chapter of Metis history woven into each coloured strand.
Blue and White: is the colourof the National Metis Flag. It has a white infinity symbol with a blue background. This flag was flown on June 19, 1816 at the “Battle of Seven Oaks” under the leadership of Cuthbert Grant. He led a Metis brigade on the Assiniboine River and seized the Company post at Brandon House. They then set off to the Red River Fough, the skirmish of Seven Oaks, in which Governor Semple and twenty-one of his men were killed for the cost of one Metis life.
Red and White: is the colour of the Metis Hunting Flag. It has a white infinity symbol with a red background. During a hunting expedition the camp flag belonged to the guide of the day. He was therefore standard-bearer by virtue of his office. In some of these hunting expeditions great battles occurred like “The Battle of Grand Coteau”.
Black: symbolizes the dark period after 1870 in which the Metis people had to endure dispossession, and suppression, at the hands of the Canadians. In the years that followed the Metis were shot and beaten on the streets of Winnipeg. Bounties were issued on those who had collaborated with Louis Riel. Many left their land and headed west, those that stayed behind moved north. Those that remained were forced off their land and became squatters living mostly on road allowances and:
Green and Gold: signifies fertility, growth and prosperity for the Metis Nation. Green and gold also mean we must move forward and reclaim our rightful place in Canadian history.
