Reporting Metis in Urban Centres on the 1996 Census

ABSTRACT/RESUME This paper applies 1996 Census data to look at the reporting patterns of the Metis population in selected Canadian urban centres. On the 20 Percent Sample of the 1996 Census, people could self-identify as Metis and/or report Metis ethnic origins. Quite often, due to time and space constraints, research on the Metis population has applied only one of these census questions. This paper will consider whether combining origin and identity information would result in a broader definition that more accurately reflects the situation of urban Metis in Canada. (1) Ce document de recherche utilisera les donnees du recensement de 1996 pour examiner les habitudes des personnes qui ont repondu Metis dans certains venues urbains canadiens. Sur le 20% d'echantillon des questionnaires du recensement de 1996, les gens pouvaient s'identifier comme Metis et/ou declarer une origine ethnique metisse. Bien souvent, a cause de contraintes d'espace et de temps, les recherches sur la population metisse n'ont utilise qu'une des donnees des questions de recensement. Ce document cherchera a savoir si la combinaison de l'information sur l'origine et l'identite resulterait en une definition plus large qui refleterait plus adequatement la situation de la population metisse du Canada vivant en milieu urbain. INTRODUCTION The number of people reporting Metis origins on the Census has increased dramatically over the last twenty years, as has the number of people who self-identified as Metis over the last decade. A majority of people reporting Metis origins or identity live in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) (2) or Census Agglomerations (CAs), but the circumstances of their well-being remain relatively unexplored. How are Metis faring relative to non-Aboriginals? Do people reporting Metis reside in particular geographic communities? Are people who have only recently reported either Metis origins or identity socio-economically different from the non-Aboriginal population? Do urban Metis perceive barriers to their participation both in non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal communities? These are examples of some of the questions that need to be answered in order to have a more complete understanding of how this urban population is faring. As a starting point, the census provides benchmarks through the Aboriginal Identity and Ethnic Origin questions. As shown on Diagram 1, the identity and origin numbers appear comparable. However, when cross-tabulated, only 43% reported both Metis identity and Metis origin on the 1996 Census. The term Metis implies mixing, and this is reflected in the many different ways that Metis is reported on the census. This paper applies 1996 Census data to consider whether or not combining origin and identity results would help researchers achieve higher counts at the census tract (CT) (3) level and thereby provide a more complete understanding of Canada's urban Metis population. (4) The first section presents a brief historical overview of Metis in Canada. The second presents an overview of the census concepts where Metis is reported and considers reporting patterns and geographic distribution. The third looks at what happens when these two concepts are combined and whether (or not) this can enrich our understanding of urban Metis. This paper illustrates that there are many different ways in which people report Metis on the census and highlights that the concept of Metis remains fluid. For this reason it will be suggested that definitions of Metis should remain broad so that more detailed research of these communities reflects the urban Metis reality. DEFINING METIS The concept of Metis comes from the word mestizo, meaning a person of mixed ancestry, usually referring to people of European and Aboriginal origins (Canadian Oxford Dictionary). Patrick Douaud, from Canadian Ethnology Services at the National Museum of Man (1985), takes us back to the 1600s and 1700s when there was a lot of interaction between Indians and Whites in the St. …

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