{"id":48201,"date":"2021-10-21T08:01:57","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T12:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=48201"},"modified":"2021-10-20T20:52:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T00:52:13","slug":"sault-ste-marie-metis-ring-bells-as-reminder-of-broken-land-promises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2021\/10\/21\/sault-ste-marie-metis-ring-bells-as-reminder-of-broken-land-promises\/","title":{"rendered":"Sault Ste Marie M\u00e9tis ring bells as reminder of broken land promises"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong>The Huron-Superior Regional M\u00e9tis Community is asking Sault Ste. Marie residents to listen for the sound of church bells today. The bell at the 136 John Street church will ring 171 times calling attention to the 171 years that have passed since the Crown made a commitment to the Sault Ste. Marie M\u00e9tis Community regarding their right to the land\u2013 a solemn commitment that remains unfulfilled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the autumn of 1850, government-appointed Treaty Commissioner William B. Robinson made a promise on behalf of the Crown that the lands along the St. Mary\u2019s River, upon which the M\u00e9tis community resided, would be respected and protected. Commissioner Robinson\u2019s assurances were documented in the written record as well as in M\u00e9tis oral history.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

October 21, 2021 marks the 171st<\/sup> anniversary of Treaty Commissioner Robinson submitting his report and recommendations to the Crown, which included the Crown promise to protect M\u00e9tis lands that are now downtown Sault Ste. Marie. Along with his report, Robinson submitted two petitions to the Crown. One petition was from the M\u00e9tis community and the other was from the local Anishinaabek Chiefs, including Shingwaukonse and Nebainagoching, who wrote in support of the M\u00e9tis right to the lands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mitch Case, M\u00e9tis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Regional Councillor, said, \u201cin our culture, church bells have always been messengers \u2013 they call us for important events, births, funerals, meetings \u2013 today this bell will ring out on our behalf and will call on Canada to fulfill their promise.\u201d He added that, \u201cthis bell will also be heard in the spirit world and our ancestors will know we have not forgotten what they worked for.\u201d The Huron-Superior Regional M\u00e9tis Community will ring the church bells as a reminder of these promises made to the M\u00e9tis and in a call for justice and reconciliation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bell in question lives in the steeple of the former St. John\u2019s Anglican Church in Sault Ste. Marie, the three-building church complex was gifted to the Historic Sault Ste. Marie M\u00e9tis Council (HSSMMC) in 2017 by the Anglican Church as an act of \u201ctangible reconciliation\u201d in recognition of the existence of a M\u00e9tis burial ground on the site. HSSMMC has done extensive renovations and is converting the site into a community centre including a program and service delivery hub, community hall and museum.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have made significant gains in having our right to self-government recognized and affirmed, we continue to find ourselves without a process or a willing partner in Canada to settle these outstanding issues. Reconciliation is not possible without these issues being addressed. Our elders have been clear in their conversations with me, that I need to make this \u2018priority one\u2019 as the representative of this community,\u201d said Mitch Case \u201cThe Honour of the Crown is at stake and the principle of Reconciliation demands a process be established without further delay.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe broken Crown promise to protect M\u00e9tis in Sault Ste. Marie are not the only issues affecting M\u00e9tis communities stemming from the lack of a M\u00e9tis Claims Policy at the Federal level,\u201d added Margaret Froh, M\u00e9tis Nation of Ontario President. \u201cM\u00e9tis in Penetanguishene, Sault Ste. Marie, James Bay and Northwestern Ontario all have outstanding issues to be addressed by the Crown, to say nothing of the significant issues for other M\u00e9tis communities across the Homeland, such as the fraudulent scrip system in Western Canada \u2013 our people deserve and demand a fair process.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The call for a federal process is not only coming from the local community, or the provincial governing body. Recently elected M\u00e9tis National Council President, Cassidy Caron, added, \u201cFor generations, M\u00e9tis leaders have taught us that the rights to land, self-government, and self-determination are just in any society. Our history has been one of righteous resistance, trying to make those ideals a reality. We must continue holding Canada accountable for the promises they\u2019ve made to M\u00e9tis people, and find respectful ways of working together to achieve lasting justice. On behalf of the M\u00e9tis National Council, I would like to thank your dedicated volunteers and elected leaders for their indelible contributions to the M\u00e9tis Nation. I encourage you to keep sharing your community\u2019s stories and fostering the relationships that have always been our M\u00e9tis people\u2019s greatest strength.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOver a century and a half has passed since this promise was made to our ancestors. My ancestors were directly involved in the Mica Bay Incident, the Robinson-Huron treaty negotiations, and the petitioning for the recognition of our lands. I look at my nephews who are young; I do not want to tell them for another century that Canada doesn\u2019t respect us enough to live up to their promise. Our community needs a process for how to move forward and find the justice we deserve,\u201d explained Kim Powley, President of the Historic Sault Ste. Marie M\u00e9tis Council.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The MNO invites Sault Ste. Marie residents, to take time to learn more about the history of the M\u00e9tis community in the Sault area and the outstanding promise that remains unfulfilled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Huron-Superior Regional M\u00e9tis Community is asking Sault Ste. Marie residents to listen for the sound of church bells today. The bell at the 136 John Street church will ring 171 times calling attention to the 171 years that have passed since the Crown made a commitment to the Sault Ste. Marie M\u00e9tis Community regarding …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":48202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 13:54:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48201"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48205,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48201\/revisions\/48205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}