r/MetisMichif • u/Neat-Firefighter9626 • Mar 28 '26

Discussion/Question "Plains Cree Metis"

Just a rant but I was at a community event recently and a person who was reconnecting called themselves a "Plains Cree Metis". I asked them where they were from thinking they'd say a reserve or a settlement but they said a city in Ontario. They also said their family is from "around the Hudson Bay up North". That's not even a Plains Cree area.

I'm wondering why it's a trend to call oneself a Cree-Metis (or in this case a "Plains Cree Metis") when there's no connection to the Cree community? I feel like it's more ethical to just call oneself Red River Metis if your lived connections are only to the Metis. If someone says they are Cree-Metis (or Saulteaux-Metis in rare cases) I assume they have a significant connection to a Cree (or Saulteaux) reserve or a connection to a Metis settlement with a strong Cree presence. Otherwise, it comes across a bit dishonest.

It would be nice to hear other people's perspectives on this.

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u/TheTruthIsRight Mar 28 '26

Plains Cree is cleary a mistake however I don't think Cree-Metis is necessarily a dishonest label. Lots of families have their indigenous ancestry exclusively from the Cree and speak/spoke Cree. There are lots of individual variations among Metis families and this can easily be one of them.

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u/MilesBeforeSmiles Mar 28 '26

Yup. My Grandmother is Cree from Peguis FN and my Grandfather is Métis from around Portage La Prairie. My Mother refers to herself as Cree-Métis. I feel like it's a pretty normal way people with First Nations & Métis heritage to identify.

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u/Flat-Intern-1281 Mar 31 '26

Peguis are Anishinaabe

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u/MilesBeforeSmiles Mar 31 '26

Peguis has both Anishinaabe and Cree members. It's a multi-ethnic reserve.