Where are Métis people native to?

Métis is indigenous nation of Canada that has combined Native American and European cultural practices since at least the 17th century. Their language, Michif, which is a French and Cree trade language, is also called French Cree or Métis. The first Métis were the children of indigenous women and European fur traders in the Red River area of what is now the province of Manitoba.

They cultivated a distinctive way of life; their culture, particularly their clothing, artwork, music, and dance, can be characterized as colourful and unique.

During the height of the North American fur trade in New France from 1650 onward, many French and British fur traders married First Nations and Inuit women, mainly Cree, Ojibwa, or Saulteaux located in the Great Lakes area and later into the north west. The majority of these fur traders were French and Scottish; the French majority were Catholic.

Traditional markers of Métis culture include use Aboriginal-European languages, such as Michif (French-Cree-Dene) and Bungi (Cree-Ojibwa-English); distinctive clothing, such as the arrowed sash; and a rich repertoire of fiddle music, jigs and square dances, and practising a traditional economy based on hunting, trapping, and gathering.