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Métis Studies

This is a guide for researchers to showcase resources on Métis history, culture, language, genealogy and more.

Michif Language

The Michif language is the traditional language of the Métis and can contain various elements of the French, Cree and Ojibwa languages. Primarily, it consists of Plains Cree verbs and French nouns. It is an endangered language, as there are thought to be fewer than 1,000 speakers in North America. As Peter Bakker explains in A Language of our Own, the impetus for the emergence of Michif was that "the bilingual Métis were no longer accepted as Indians or French, and they formulated their own ethnic identity, which was mixed and in which a mixed "language of our own" was considered a part of their identity."

 

The following resources below are excellent for furthering one's knowledge of the emergence of Michif as a language, in addition to learning how to speak or write Michif.

Michif Language - Books

Co-development of a National First Nations, Inuit and Métis Languages Act

The Department of Canadian Heritage, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Métis Nation are working together to co-develop national First Nations, Inuit and Métis languages legislation that will reflect the distinct geographical, political, legislative and cultural context impacting language preservation, promotion and revitalization.
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