Killarney: “of the Métis Nation”

The Killarney Historic Métis Community was one of seven historic Métis Nation communities in northern Ontario studied by the landmark MNC Expert Panel through the lens of the 2002 National Definition and contemporary Métis governance.

During its year-long study, the MNC Expert Panel reviewed over 50,000 pages of evidence and engaged with over 160 Métis Nation citizens, elders, youth, scholars, and leaders during more than 120 hours of meetings.

The MNC Expert Panel’s 260-page Final Report represented the most comprehensive, transparent, ethical, and objective study ever conducted on historic Métis Nation communities in what is now Ontario and outlined fact-based historic and contemporary relationships between the Killarney Historic Métis Community and the larger Métis Nation.

The Expert Panel’s conclusions were clear, stating that the Killarney Historic Métis Community “meets the threshold and is a member of the Métis Nation” (pg. 154) as per the National Definition and contemporary Métis governance.

The Expert Panel also recognized that the Killarney Historic Métis Community “has a long history and is a hub within the larger Upper Great Lakes Métis regional community”, with “its own unique history and political conflicts with settlers and others” (pg. 157), “culture and lifestyle [that] are similar to other Métis communities” (pg. 157), and that it has been “recognized in historical documentation as a ‘small half-breed village’” (pg. 156).

See Our Sources

• MNC Expert Panel Final Report

• Upper Great Lakes Submission to the MNC Expert Panel

• Threads of the Sash: Killarney Historic Métis Community

• MNO’s Written Submission to the MNC Expert Panel

• Expert Panel – Métis National Council

• MNC Expert Panel Enabling Resolutions and Terms of Reference

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