From the very beginning of European contact in North America, Métis People have existed. The joining of European and Native cultures created distinct and unique cultures separate from both parent cultures. Regardless of what name was applied, they were, and the descendants are Métis.

From the Nova Scotia Museum (subtitled Femme Micmac)

In Nova Scotia, the most obvious and largest group are those people who became known as Acadians. Adopting aspects of both cultures, they carved out their niche in the country, and reserved their place in history.

During the Acadian expulsion in the mid-1700's, many refused to leave their homes and land and went deep into the forests of the interior to escape deportation. Their descendants have stayed together over the centuries in various communities in Yarmouth, Shelburne, and Digby counties such as Tusket and Quinan.

Others fled to New Brunswick, Quebec, and Maine. Many of the descendants of these individuals returned after 1765 to Nova Scotia, the homeland of their parents.

Yet others who escaped went further and further west with the ever-expanding fur trade to help form the historic Métis nation.

Today, the Métis are those who have aboriginal and non-aboriginal ancestry. There are some individuals and groups who deny this, but we are a living, breathing testimony to this fact.

The Métis culture in Nova Scotia mainly made up of French, English, Mi'kmaq, and Wampanoag descendants. Fiddling, step-dancing, square-dancing, and aspects of traditional aboriginal beliefs are characteristics of today's Métis community in Nova Scotia.

The French settlers of Quebec created the Assomption variation of the woven sash. Sashes, such as the one illustrated, were a popular trade item manufactured in a cottage industry in the village of L'Assomption, Quebec. The Quebecois and the Métis of Western Canada were their biggest customers. Sashes were also made by local Métis artisans. Sashes of Indian or Métis manufacture tended to be of a softer and looser weave, frequently incorporating beads in the design. 

The sash was used by the Métis as a practical item of clothing. It was decorative, warm and could be used to replace a rope or tumpline if none were available. The sash has been the most persistent element of traditional Métis dress, worn long after the capote and Red River coat were replaced by European styles. 

The Métis share the sash with two other groups who also claim it as a symbol of nationhood and cultural distinction. It was worn by Eastern Woodland Indians as a sign of office in the 19th century. It was worn by French Canadians during the Lower Canada Rebellion in 1837. It is still considered to be an important part of traditional dress for both these groups. 

The sash has acquired new significance in the twentieth century, now symbolizing pride and identification for Métis people. Manitoba and Saskatchewan have both created "The Order of the Sash" which is bestowed upon members of the Métis community who have made cultural, political or social contributions to their people. 
 

The Métis Flag

The flag was first used by Métis resistance fighters prior to the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. It is the oldest patriotic flag indigenous to Canada. The Union Jack and the Royal Standard of New France are older, but these flags were first flown in Europe. As a symbol of nationhood, the Métis flag predates Canada's Maple Leaf flag by about 150 years. The flag bears a horizontal figure eight which is also the symbol for infinity. This symbol represents the coming together of two distinct and vibrant cultures, those of the European settlers and the indigenous peoples of North America which produced the new Métis culture. The flag symbolizes the creation of a new society with roots in both European and Aboriginal cultures and traditions. The sky-blue background of the flag emphasizes the infinity symbol and suggests that the Métis will exist forever.

(Flag of the Historic Métis nation)

Spirituality

The common misconception is that the Métis practiced only the religion of their fathers (Catholicism or Protestant). The truth is that like the Métis Nation itself, the spiritual mixture is as complex as the people who make up the nation. From the beginning, the Métis child absorbed the teachings of both father and mother. Those teachings were made up of the Father's religious background and the traditional teachings of the Aboriginal Nation of the mother. The child learned to live in both the Aboriginal and white worlds encompassing both in their spirituality. As we see this ability to learn from all of nations they came in contact with added to the future spirituality of the Métis.

Today Métis practice all forms of religion, from mainline Christianity to New Age concepts and everything in between. From their Catholicism they have the Patron Saint of Métis People, St. Joseph of Nazareth. From their Aboriginal relatives they incorporate the sweat lodge, medicine wheel, sacred pipe and Long House ceremonies, and many other Aboriginal spiritual beliefs. Many Métis People, as with other Aboriginal communities, have lost their spiritual connections to the past because of marginalization or poverty and decimation of their communities and their way of life. The healing has begun and the renewal of their spirituality is an exciting journey that many Métis People are taking. It is very common to encounter a prayer and a smudge at the opening and closing of meetings of Métis People.