We are a modern community alliance of families with native ancestry. We are the very families envisioned by Champlain in 1600. We are”Indians”under section 91(24) of the Canada Constitution Act confirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada April 14, 2016.

The Supreme court “set aside” or rejected the idea that Metis identity could only be determined by ones family connection to an historical Metis community. There are no “neat bounderies” around who can be a Metis or a non-status Indian person.(Section 17 Daniels vs Canada) Anyone with native ancestry can be a Metis or a non status Indian person. The question is who can be eligible under Section 35 of the Canada Constitutional Act?

Under section 35, which deals with treaties and issues of traditional land and harvesting rights, the Montagnais Metis First Nation assert that their grandmothers who came from historical “Indian” communities, did not cede these rights when they married European men.

Essentially, we are non-status Indian people identified by the Daniels vs Canada Supreme court decision.

The Montagnais name was chosen because they were the first local people that the French encountered on the mountainous or hilly banks of the  St. Lawrence. Hence the French term Les ‘Montagnais’ (moe-tang-yay) or the ‘mountain people’.

Much conroversy has surfaced concerning our use of “First Nation”. We respectfully qualify our position as non status “Metis” First Nation to differentiate ourselves from our cousins the status Indians subjugated by the Canada Indian Act. We use the term “Metis” as a non status qualifier of our right to be a First Nation community. We are descendants of the first peoples in New France who’s mixed ancestry was encouraged by Champlain.   

Our membership, however, not only includes the Innu (Montagnais) people, but a mixture of every tribe or nation who were allies and friends of the French.

In the beginning, most of the attention by the French  to assimilate Native people was directed toward the Wendat, Innu, and Algonquin people. Most  of our ancestry, as a result, can be traced to such endeavours, But our family encompasses all Native groups, regardless of territory, who encountered Europeans throughout North America!

If you identify as non status First Nation, aboriginal or Metis you are welcome to join our extended Family!

Our acceptance process is first and foremost on the honour system. We do not have the resources at this time to fully verify all applications.

We do not subscribe to statistical genealogy entirely. We use a point system that includes all the following:

Personal identification. Family oral history. Historical  documents, dates, names, indigenous influence, circumstances in history and origins with documentation and without documentation….plus more.

Our final assessment must, at the very least, pass a “more than likely” test for Native ancestry. We acknowledge, especially in Early New France and Acadia, that surviving documentation was meager.

You are encouraged to apply if you identify as aboriginal and have ancestors in New France and/or Acadia including more recent native ancestry.