Connecting with the land

Andrew Carrier (derived from his real name André Carrière), the son of Paul and Evelyn Carrier from St. Boniface, is proud to be Métis and the Francophone representative and spokesperson for the MMF. It was in this capacity that, on March 8, 2013, in Ottawa, he learned of the historic Supreme Court ruling recognizing the Manitoba Métis rights to 1.4 million acres of land promised to the 7,000 children of the Red River Métis when the Manitoba Act was adopted. This decision resonates strongly with Andrew Carrier. “My family, the Carrières, had been in Canada for 13 generations, and in Manitoba for seven. At the request of Louis Riel, several of my family members joined a group of 78 people at the Goulet farm in St. François Xavier to ight in the Battle of Batoche. My great uncle Damase Carrière was brutally assassinated to serve as an example by English soldiers from the East. Our Manitoba connection is in our blood. But not in the land…” Those lands, promised by the 1870 Confederation to the Métis children from the Red River Settlement, was never given to their rightful owners. “Less than 5% of the Métis actually had access to those 200 acres for each child, as promised in the Manitoba Act.

And yet, the government kept insisting that the land had already been allocated. But a closer look shows that the lands were distributed to non‐Métis individuals. I ind it very interesting that the Catholic Church of St. Boniface and the Protestant Church of Winnipeg particularly bene ited from those lands, along with new arrivals from Europe, who received 260 acres per family from the government as settlement assistance under the Homestead Act. The Métis were therefore condemned to live by the roadsides, subjected to racism and forgotten.” This explains Andrew Carrier’s emotional response when the Supreme Court decision came down in 2013. “As the of icial spokesperson for Francophone Métis, I was in Ottawa for the occasion. I was so proud! I inally felt at peace. 32 years of struggle to show the failings of the federal government; 32 years during which we worked hard, volunteering our time, to challenge the City of Winnipeg, the Province and the Federal government. Finally, there was recognition of the wrong done to us and, more importantly, the fact that we have a rightful place in Manitoba…after generations of society’s abuse and neglect of the Métis people.” Andrew Carrier is keenly aware that this victory does not mean the battle is over. “As soon as the Supreme Court handed down its decision, federal assistance started to drop. The previous government couldn’t have cared less. The new government has opened the door to negotiations, to iguring out how to turn that land into inancial support for our children, for their education, to give them a good start. For the MMF, as the government of the Métis Nation, it’s an opportunity to offer more chances for a better life to our people. Finally, after 143 years, the Métis are recognized as belonging to this country.”