Since the 1600s, Our People Have Harvested the Lake Nipissing and French River Areas.
Our Métis Background
“The paternal ancestors of the Métis were the former employees of the Hudson Bay, Northwest Fur Company, American Fur Company and their maternal ancestors were Indian women of the various tribes. The French word Métis is derived from the Latin participle mixtus, which means “mixed”; in French mêlé; it expresses well the idea that is sought to be conveyed. The French word Métis (Métifs) expressed the idea of this mixture in the most satisfactory manner possible, and thus becomes a proper race name … “why should we care to what degree exactly of mixture we possess European blood and Indian blood? If we feel ever so little gratitude and filial love toward one or the other, do they not constrain us to say:
We are Métis?”
- Louis Riel, 1885
Louis Riel Day proclamation by the City of Greater Sudbury, November 16th, 2020. Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger and MNF/FMN President Rick Meilleur.
Louis Riel Day proclamation by the French River community, November 16th, 2020. Mayor Gisèle Pageau and MNF/MNF President Rick Meilleur.
Our Vision
To strengthen the Métis Nipissing Families by living, honouring and celebrating the Aboriginal Rights of our ancestral traditional territories of the Nipissing/French River within the Robinson-Huron treaty lands.
Our Mission
To pursue the advancement of self-governance, socio-economic development and the cultural well-being of the Métis Nipissing Families.
Who We Are
We, the Métis Nipissing Families/Familles Métis du Nipissing (MNF/FMN) have our communal roots as a people of the Nipissing and French River lands within the Robinson-Huron territory, which gave rise to our Indigenous history, tradition and culture.
We call those lands the “Métis Lands”. The Lands stretch from Lake Nipissing, French River, Sault Ste-Marie, Kirkland Lake and Gogama.
These are our lands. They are Métis lands. They are the lands of our past which nurture us today and which we value as the precious foundation of our future.
As MNF/FMN who live in the Nipissing and French River lands, we hold it to be a fundamental truth that we are one of the Aboriginal peoples of Turtle Island (the Americas).
The MNF/FMN continues today to be the embodiment of our past, the source of sustenance for our present while giving rise to our hopes and aspirations for the future.
We are Métis families, born of independence, and self-sufficiency whose teachings are founded on the values of honesty and truth. We are proud of our rich heritage. (Metis Nipissing Families / Familles Métis du Nipissing, By-laws. See Section 1: Statement of Prime Purpose)
Our Logo
The 4 Colors of the Medicine Wheel (4 directions, 4 peoples, 4 stages of life)
Yellow: East, Asian people and childhood.
Red: South, indigenous people and adolescence.
Black: West, black people and adulthood.
White: North, white people and the elders.
The Colors of the 4 Elements of Life
Blue: Represents water in the East direction.
Red: Represents fire in the South direction.
Green: Represents earth in the West direction.
White: Represents air in the North direction.
The Symbols
Feather: Represents our Anishinaabe ancestors.
Canoe: Represents peace and our fur trader/voyageur ancestors.
Maple Leaf: Represents our ancestral tradition of making maple syrup.
Two Mountains: Represents the ancestral lands: Rocky Mountains and Deux Montagnes.
The 2 Main Community Clans
Bear: Represents: medicines, justice, courage and protector of community.
Beaver: Represents: patience, wisdom, education and community building.
The Infinity Symbol
The blue infinity symbol represents two races, our First Nation and European race joining together forever.