The agreement between the MN-S and the university was signed Saturday at the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly in Saskatoon and will ensure that the university relies on the MN-S citizenship registry to assess the relevance of Métis opportunities at post-secondary settlement. This is the first type of agreement of its kind between a Canadian university and a Metis government. Speaking to MBC News, Stoicheff says the agreement is based on the understanding that self-identification “is not enough today” to determine and validate the identity of Saskatchewan`s Métis citizens. While this agreement guarantees the ancestry of Saskatchewan`s Métis citizens who attend university, President Stoicheff says the university will participate in a national conversation to determine the Métis citizenship of Métis people who attend school and who may not be from the province. The agreement comes after the organization called on universities, industry and the government to recognize the MN-S citizenship process, requirements and government institutions, according to the press release. Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the University of Saskatchewan have signed a historic agreement on Métis citizenship and identity. Under the agreement, mn-S will decide whether individuals who meet the criteria for Métis citizenship when applying for university based on Métis identity. This agreement responds to MN-S calls for academic institutions, industry and governments to recognize the MN-S citizenship process, requirements and governance institutions. The university president added that the agreement helps bring “clarity” to the United States. The agreement was good news for Métis members of the USask community in the face of ongoing concerns about the misappropriation of Métis identity in science. The MOU follows the review of Indigenous identity claims by Carrie Bourassa, a senior U.S. professor and Indigenous health researcher.
A CBC investigation found no evidence that Bourassa was in fact Métis. (PHOTO: University of Saskatchewan President Peter Stoicheff and MN-S President Glen McCallum sign a Métis Identity Agreement. Photo by Joel Willick) The agreement between the university and the MN-S comes weeks after Carrie Bourassa, a researcher at the University of Saskatchewan, was taken off from the university after her claims to Métis heritage were criticized. SASKATOON, SK, Nov. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the Government of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan (MN-S) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask) signed a Métis Citizenship and Identity Agreement. The agreement will ensure that the university relies on the objectively verifiable MN-S citizenship registry to assess eligibility for Métis opportunities at the university. It is a precedent-setting partnership between a Canadian university and a Metis government. In addition to pushing for an increase in enrolment, the MN-S also called on post-secondary institutions, corporations and governments to use the MN-S registry to determine Métis ancestry. The agreement with the university is the first agreement of its kind to be signed.
Historic agreement signed at NML in Saskatoon “This is an important moment for The Métis of Saskatchewan,” said Glen McCallum, President of the MN-S. “This agreement recognizes that only the Métis government of Saskatchewan and its citizens can define who we are through our laws and methods. This allows us to work well with the university. The Métis Nation – Saskatchewan (MN-S) and the University of Saskatchewan have signed an agreement to ensure that the right Métis citizenship and identity criteria are met when people apply for employment in the United States. The Métis Nation of Saskatchewan (MN-S) and the University of Saskatchewan (USask) signed an agreement on Métis citizenship and identity on Saturday. The university agreed to rely on the MN-S citizenship registry to assess eligibility for Métis opportunities at the university. The President of the United States believes that this agreement is consistent with the University`s commitments to reconciliation and indigenization. . Asked about the possible exclusion of Métis from Saskatchewan who are not registered under the MN-S, Glen McCallum says they have the opportunity to register. .
About the Métis Nation – Saskatchewan Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) is the recognized government of the Métis Nation in Saskatchewan. MN-S is based on Métis identity, culture, values and language. MN-S is committed to Métis rights and recognition. MN-S represents the political, socio-economic, cultural and educational interests of more than 80,000 Métis in the province through a system of elected representation at the local, regional and provincial levels. . After initially defending the professor, USask put Bourassa on indefinite leave without pay from his duties at the College of Medicine in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology in November. The university conducted its own investigation, while Bourassa remained on leave. In his speech, Mr. McCallum talked about many things and tried to convey the importance of a strong Metis government in this country.
“The Métis Nation and Saskatchewan Citizenship Registry is a unique, effective and secure way to assess who the Métis are in Saskatchewan,” said McCallum. “The University of Saskatchewan`s understanding shows the hard work we have done together, and we expect others to follow suit. The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan represents saskatchewan`s Métis community as the government. It is up to us, as a Metis community, to recognize our own people, and we have both the authority and the means to do so. “The university cannot play the role of accepting self-identification, but rather appreciates the MN-S`s exclusive ability to be the government to validate citizenship,” Stoicheff said. Kelly`s contract with UCLA now runs through the 2025 season. “The registry is so important,” Glen McCallum told MBC News at the MN-S meeting in Saskatoon. “(This is) a historic moment with the Métis Nation and the University of Saskatchewan to be able to sit down at a table and sign a document that really deals specifically with citizenship issues.” The meeting saw the historic signing, the swearing-in of the new Youth President of the Métis Provincial Youth Council, Autumn LaRose-Smith, and President McCallum`s State of the Union address. .