Chantal Fiola - Returning to Ceremony: Spirituality in Manitoba Métis Communities

Mtis Spirituality: Confronting Stereotypes

For fifteen years, Indigenous ceremonyand the spiritual, cultural education found withinhas guided my life. I am Michif (Red River Mtis) and grew up in my fathers rural, French farming community of Ste. Genevive, Manitoba. Before I moved away from home at age seventeen, my family and I regularly visited my mothers Mtis community of St. Laurent, Manitoba (Figures 2 and 3).in downtown Toronto, of all places!

Figure 2. The Guiboche sisters, c. 1951. Left to right: Patricia, Suzanne, Julie, Dorothe (authors maternal grandmother), and Bernadette. Authors photo.

Figure 3. Authors maternal grandfather, Robert Normand with a woman believed to be his grandmother Marguerite Lalibert, before 1953. Authors photo.

Figure 4. Author with Midewiwin relatives after initiating into the Three Fires Midewiwin Society at Bad River Indian Reservation, Wisconsin, 2011. Authors photo.

Indigenous spirituality became increasingly important in my life. I began actively seeking out spiritual teachers, elders, and ceremonies, especially when I moved back to my ancestral land of southern Manitoba. Over the years, I would pass tobacco to Mizhakwanagiizhik (Charlie Nelson of Roseau River First Nation, who would adopt me as a daughter) I also began focusing on Indigenous spirituality where possible in my graduate studies, including in the research for my PhD in Indigenous Studies at Trent University. Eventually, I published my dissertation as a book titled Rekindling the Sacred Fire: Mtis Ancestry and Anishinaabe Spirituality (2015). The book you are now reading is a follow-up to that early exploration of Mtis spirituality.

Figure 5. Authors completion of second year of Sundance at the Blacksmith Sundance, Manitoba, 2018. Authors photo shared with permission from Sundance Chiefs David and Sherryl Blacksmith.

Through my personal, academic, and spiritual journey, I have come across many false stereotypes surrounding Mtis identity and spirituality. Stereotypes regarding Mtis identity include the following:

Mtis equals mixed;

Mtis refers to any mixture of Indigenous and non-Indigenous blood/ancestry;

Mtis people are more mixed than other Indigenous peoples;

Mtis people are not truly Indigenous; and

Mtis people are less Indigenous/authentic than First Nations people.

Stereotypes regarding Mtis spirituality include these notions:

all Mtis people are Christian (especially Roman Catholic);

Mtis people only go to church (and First Nations people only go to ceremonies)