Hudson waves the Métis flag ahead of National Aboriginal Day
On Saturday, Hudson became the first town east of Ontario to raise the Métis flag in recognition of the presence and contributions made by the children of European settlers and Indigenous peoples in Canada.
The flag was raised in a small ceremony timed to coincide with National Aboriginal Day, with the ceremony happening a few days prior to the June 21 event. Archie Martin, deputy chief on the Council of the First Métis People of Canada, was invited to attend the ceremony as a guest of honour. Martin was raised in Escuminac, N.B., but now lives in nearby Rigaud, where he also serves as a district councillor.
Hudson Mayor Jamie Nicholls said the Métis have deep roots in the region, and formally acknowledging the presence of Indigenous peoples was a symbolic but important first step toward reconciliation.
In Hudson and the surrounding area, he said, a number of early European settlers married women from Indigenous communities, and many of their descendants stayed to raise families of their own in the area.
“Métis families were here from the beginning,” said Nicholls.
In the 2016 Census, 720 people in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area identified as Métis, part of 1,745 who declared Aboriginal identity.
Although there is no evidence of a permanent settlement of Indigenous communities in Hudson, Nicholls said the Ottawa River was like the highway of the day, and the area around Hudson was part of the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe and Kanesatake First Nations as well as the Métis nation.
But for Martin, raising the flag in Hudson is an act that he hopes will have more than just symbolic value. He said raising the Métis flag in the east is both a symbolic step toward reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples and a move that could bolster the cause of people living in Eastern Canada who identify as Métis and believe they should receive the same rights and recognition as Métis in the west.
“What we’re looking for is recognition by the federal government of the eastern Métis. And we want the provincial government to recognize us as Métis people. From there we will have a seat to negotiate to have the same benefits as the western Métis. that’s what we’re looking for,” Martin said.
In 2003, the Supreme Court of Canada defined Métis as someone who self-identifies as Métis, has an ancestral connection to the historic Métis community, and is accepted by the modern community with continuity to the historic Métis community.
Martin said while many people are aware of the Métis presence in Western Canada, in the east, there is little or no recognition of the descendants of European fur traders and First Nations.