All about identity
Sang-mêlé, half-breed, Metif, Acadien Mikmaks, Metis-Acadiens, Half Breed Acadian Indians, Metis, Metive, Mitifs, Mulastres, Créoles, are the many names that have been used to define our ancestors in the eastern part of Canada. There are traces of us in many archives and historical documents. We should not be surprise that colonial power has tried to erase the history of many indigenous families all over the country at the time of constitution. Many of us have oral histories that have been passed down in many of our families and that we exist outside of the Indian act definition of identity. We have been collecting the pieces for a few years and we will start to share them here. Wether we should be call non-status or any other terms to suit the need of the day is not the main purpose of this site. Our goal is to draw an image, see where we are from and how we are connected to not loose our identity.
“We are a unique random variation of the many indigenous identity of this world, our ancestors were humble and simple people, that were never loud in the history books.”
Gionet Family, Bas-Caraquet, NB.
What drives us
The purpose of this site is to ensure that correct information is made available. We want to stop the perpetuation of incorrect/made up ancestors by the internet/online trees by busting a few myths and sharing facts. We want to stay away from all the sterile debates surrounding how poeple should identity and focus on research.
We have no political attachment to any association. We do not « vouch » or support any specific cause or claim. We believe that being “biologically indigenous” is completely different than being « culturally indigenous ». Some families and clutter of families, have kept their indigenous identity outside of the Indian act. We make a stand to remain as objective as possible, focus on research and we hope to stimulate a respectful discussion. We fully recognize that many of us stands on unceded first nation’s territory and the last thing we want is to become a nuisance to the different first nation’s will, to regain sovereignty and freedom. We believe that to be divided is extremely counter-productive.
Beyond the historical documents, we also exist in the memories of our parents and grandparents. We believe that our identity took root and developed and evolved in specific communities or “cluster” and has remain alive. What defines us has to come from us, not from a pre-define criteria that evolves through time to please the dogma and agenda of the moment and the most recent court case or Canadian justice system or money envelope made available by Ottawa. The markers of our identity are unique and beautiful. Our ancestors were humble and simple people that were never loud in the history books. This site is about giving them a voice through all the modern tools we have access to. The question is then, will you at least try to listen?
important to note that many of the summaries on this site are just drafts that were not initially intended to be shared. This site is a work in progress made by amateur researchers with lots of passion. Sorry about our lack of grammar skills, what matters is the contents we share.