Métis Nation—Saskatchewan (MN-S or MNS) is a federally-recognized government that represents Métis people in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formerly affiliated with the Métis National Council. Glen McCallum was elected as president in 2017, reelected in 2021, and re-elected in 2025.
The government is led by an elected executive council called the Provincial Métis Council. The government has divided the province into 12 regions, and members within each region vote for their regional representative to the Provincial Métis Council. Within the 12 regions exist Métis locals, which are smaller governmental structures, each with an elected president. All of the above meet biannually at the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly with representatives from the government's youth and women departments to discuss matters affecting the Métis Nation in the province. The Métis Nation Legislative Assembly serves as the governing authority of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan. Past presidents of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan include Lorna Docken, Clément Chartier, Jim "Jimmy D" Durocher, and Robert Doucette.
The government was originally named Métis Nation of Saskatchewan, but this was changed to Métis Nation—Saskatchewan at the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly on November 18, 2000.
History Early Métis governments in Saskatchewan The earliest Métis governments in what is now Saskatchewan began prior to the 1870 Red River Resistance, but grew rapidly after that event. Southbranch Settlement communities such as Duck Lake, St. Laurent, St. Louis, Fish Creek, and Batoche grew along the South Saskatchewan River, growing from the original La Petite Ville mission. Each community had between 40 and 60 families, representing a considerable population. The communities of the Southbranch Settlement gathered on December 10, 1872 outside of the church at St. Laurent to form the Council of St. Laurent with Gabriel Dumont as their president. This council served as the administrative, judicial, and military body for these settlements. This council would adopt a constitution and codify laws that are known as the Laws of St. Laurent, using the Laws of the Buffalo Hunt as their foundation. This council set the precedent for all future Métis political activities in Saskatchewan.
Métis provisional government
The Métis of the Southbranch Settlement, concerned with the arrival of settlers and the need to secure title to their lands, petitioned the Government of Canada for title to the land that they had been living on for years. They grew frustrated with the stalling and general lack of response from the government, so the Council of St. Laurent decided to ask Louis Riel to return from exile in Montana to lead the Métis again. Riel would establish the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan led by the Exovedate council established in Batoche on March 19, 1885, that started the North-West Resistance. The Government of Canada responded with a military force, culminating at the Battle of Batoche where the Métis government was defeated.
Early political movements The North-West Resistance resulted in the displacement of many Métis, leading to the loss of community. Trying to make the best of new opportunities, the Métis looked to farming and other ways to earn a living, but the Dust Bowl and Great Depression of the 1930s left many Métis destitute. Métis community councils began to form around this time, organizing themselves along the model of labour unions and using the name "locals" for their representative structure. This led to growing political awareness and social activism among Métis, demanding recognition of Métis rights.
Recognizing the need to establish a formal governance structure for their voice to be heard, Métis in Saskatchewan began to organize. The first Métis provincial political organization established after the province of Saskatchewan was established was in 1935 under Joe Ross, and was called Half-breeds of Saskatchewan. The organization was created to help with issues that Métis people were dealing with as a result of the Great Depression. The organization drafted their first constitution in 1937 and was renamed the Saskatchewan Métis Society. In 1943, the Saskatchewan Métis Association was formed to represent the Métis in the Northern part of Saskatchewan. This organization echoed, and often rivalled the efforts in the South by the Saskatchewan Métis Society. Despite strong growth in these organizations in the early years, internal divisions and turmoil as well as the start of the Second World War lead to the dissolution of these early Métis political organizations during the years of the War.
The Métis political movement would be restarted in the 1960s. In 1964, the Métis Association of Saskatchewan was established to focus on issues for Northern Métis people, and in 1965, the Métis Society of Saskatchewan was established to focus on issues for Southern Métis people. Recognizing the benefits of working together, the Métis Association of Saskatchewan and the Métis Society of Saskatchewan amalgamated in 1967 under the banner of Métis Society of Saskatchewan. The organization was renamed to the Association of Métis and Non-Status Indians of Saskatchewan (AMNSIS) in 1975 under the leadership of Jim Sinclair and included Non-status Indians within the membership of the organization, the Métis Society of Saskatchewan in 1988 following a referendum that decided that the organization would be Métis specific, the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan in 1993 in declaring a Métis government, and finally the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan in 2000.
Past leaders of these organizations include Joe LaRocque, Jim Brady, Malcolm Norris, Howard Adams, Jim Sinclair, Clifford LaRocque, Jimmy Durocher, Clément Chartier, Gerald Morin, and Robert Doucette.
Métis government Contemporary political structures The Métis of Saskatchewan met to establish the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan (later renamed to Métis Nation—Saskatchewan in 2000), adopt a constitution in 1993, and declare the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan to be a self-governing body for the Métis of Saskatchewan. The first sitting of the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly was in 1994.
Self-government
Recognizing their distinct identity as Métis, the pursuit of Métis rights and self-determination, and seeking to be a third order of government, the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan was established as the government of the Métis of Saskatchewan.
MN—S has been operating through legislation for non-profit organizations. Though the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan has pushed the limits of what is possible within the legislation to move forward in shaping their governance and moving forward their political aspirations, the legislation has limited what MN—S is able to accomplish in terms of being self-governing and independent from the authority of the provincial and federal governments.
The Métis of Canada have been fighting for recognition of their Indigenous rights and their inherent right to practice them. Until , neither the Government of Saskatchewan nor Government of Canada wanted to hold responsibility of negotiating with the Métis. After the Daniels v Canada decision, the Government of Canada and the Métis Nation (represented by the Métis National Council and give members of its board of governors) signed the Canada–Métis Nation Accord on April 13, 2017 to start to repair the relationship between The Crown and the Métis Nation, to address the legacy of the wrongs committed against Métis people and the Métis Nation, to move forward on recognition of Métis rights, and to address the needs and issues facing Métis people. On July 20, 2018, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan and Canada signed the Framework Agreement for Advancing Reconciliation, which established the mechanism by which the negotiations on the shared objectives would be conducted. As negotiations have progressed between Canada and the Métis Nation, Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, along with Métis Nation of Ontario and Métis Nation of Alberta, signed the Métis Government Recognition and Self-Government Agreement with Canada on June 27, 2019.
MN—S previously supported Bill C-53, a federal bill tabled in 2023 that would establish a framework to "advance the recognition of the right to self-determination" by MN–S, the Manitoba Métis Federation, and Métis Nation of Ontario. In April 2024, MN—S withdrew its support, stating that "the one-size-fits-all approach proposed by the federal government was fundamentally flawed". The bill has also faced criticism over its recognition of the Métis Nation of Ontario, which has been accused of recognizing communities that do not have a sufficient population of Métis citizens as defined by the MNC's definition. In May 2024, MN—S announced its own proposed self-determination treaty, Kishchi Mashinaayikun Ooshchi Michif ("The sacred document of the Métis"), which it planned to present to the federal government in 2025 after ratification by its citizens.
The Métis Act In 2002, the Government of Saskatchewan passed The Métis Act. The Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan establishes the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan as a self-governing entity, and distinguishes the difference between the political existence as a Métis government from the existence as a non-profit corporation that provides programs and services. The Métis Act is the first legislation in Canada to recognize the political aspirations of the Métis. It established a bilateral process that empowers the elected leadership of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan to negotiate as an equal partner with the Government of Saskatchewan on matters of interest to the Métis. This is an unprecedented de facto recognition in Canada of Métis aspirations of Métis Nation—Saskatchewan as a governance institution, though it stops short of recognizing the Nation—Saskatchewan as a government.
Métis Nation—Saskatchewan governance structure Traditional Métis governance practices of participatory governance and community councils are the basis for the governance structures and practices of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan.
Locals Locals are the basic unit of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan, and they operate at the community level. Each local has an elected leadership that may include executive, board of directors, and other structures that a local establishes for their own governance that are consistent with the Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan. Locals may also incorporate with the appropriate government. Locals have the responsibility of preparing communities for self-government, and they may seek the necessary finances and resources for their programs, services, and other objectives that they have established. To be an active local, a local must have a minimum of nine members, and they must hold local leadership elections every one to three years. A Métis citizen can belong to only one local at a time, and they must ordinarily reside in the area of the local for a minimum of six months before they are allowed to join a local (exceptions can be made for educational or medical purposes, or where there a local does not exist in a community). Locals were originally modelled on the labour movement, and were established as collective representative bodies for their members to assert their rights.
Urban councils The Constitution of the Métis Nation—Saskatchewan allows for the establishment of urban councils. In the major cities of Saskatchewan, there are often more than one local, dividing either on geography or on mandate. The urban locals in a given city are allowed to establish an urban council if they choose to help move towards self-government.
Regions
The Métis Nation—Saskatchewan has divided the province of Saskatchewan into 12 regions: Eastern Region 1, including one local in Cumberland House Eastern Region 2, including nine locals in Melfort and other communities Eastern Region 2A, including seven locals in Yorkton and other communities