Aboriginal & Treaty Rights of the Deh Cho Metis/Dene Descendants:

The Deh Cho Metis are descendants of Traditional Dene and Metis who were party to Treaty 11 and the Mackenzie District Half-Breed Commission in 1921. Since the time of the Treaty many of our relatives ("people of mixed blood") have acquired treaty Status under the Indian Act Bands both before and after the recent changes to the Indian Act via Bill C-31.

These people of mixed heritage (blood) are considered to be "Legal Indians" for the purpose of the Indian Act and related benefits afforded to persons registered under this Act. Although this is the case, we still have non-status Indigenous Metis in the Deh Cho who continue to remain in a different legal category. This is due to the duel paradigm (legal barriers and discrimination) which followed the signing of Treaty 11 and the related issuance of Metis Scrip to Mackenzie River Half-Breeds.

We know that both the signing of the treaty and the subsequent imposition of the Metis Scrip Process was based on the Colonial Government's Policies (established practice of the period) to try and extinguish the Aboriginal/ Indian Title of the Dene and Metis. As 1921 descendants, the Metis of the region also maintain and assert that we too, like our Dene relatives, have never extinguished, ceded or surrendered any of our aboriginal title, rights or interests in the Deh Cho.