Our Communities - Metis Alliance of Canada Cooperative

MÉTIS COMMUNITIES

OUR HISTORIC METIS COMMUNITIES IN THE EAST

If you search online, you can easily find information on historic Metis communities in the west as well as Ontario, but many do not know that there are also many historic Metis communities in Quebec and the Maritime provinces as well. In order to establish the fact that they were indeed historic, documents are provided to show how these communities were viewed at the time by Priests, French explorers, the press, and the British.

Nova Scotia

La Have-Mirligueche Region

Located in the south shore of Nova Scotia lies the areas of La Heve which is La Have and Mirligueche which is now Lunenburg. These historic Metis communities which were established around 1650, were the home of many Metis families and were noted in the Daniels Case as distinct Metis Communities that were separate from Acadians and Mi’kmaq Indians in the area.

Cape Breton Island

Located in the northeastern part of Nova Scotia, it is separated by the mainland by the Strait of Canso. Here, many Mixed Blood Acadian Metis Communities such as Cheticamp, Ilse Madame, and L’Ardoise exist and have existed since the 1600’s. If you drive through the communities, you can see the rich culture that exists there.

Cape Sable Island

Cape Sable Island is the most southern part of Nova Scotia and is the home of the famous Cape Island Boat or Cape Islander. Here, a distinct Metis people inhabited the area during the mid to late 1700’s and still reside there today.

Clare

Situated on the shores of St Mary’s Bay in the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region, the Municipality of Clare is home to the largest Acadian Community in Nova Scotia.

MAP OF NEW BRUNSWICK

New Brunswick

Caraquet

A town in Gloucaster County, New Brunswick, Canada. Situated on the shore of Chaleur Bay in the Acadian Peninsula. It’s name is derived from the Mi’kmaq term for meeting of two rivers.

Caraquet was first settled by Gabriel Giraud dit St-Jean who was a French Fur Trader and Merchant. He married a Mi’kmaw woman and settled in Lower Caraquet. After the Expulsion of the Acadians from southern New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 1755, some Acadians settled in Upper Caraquet. Led by Alexis Landry in 1757, the original town site was founded at what is now called Sainte-Anne-du-Bocage. The land was officially granted for the town in 1774 through the Royal Proclamation to 34 families of Acadian (Upper Caraquet), and Normam et Metisse (Lower Caraquet) origin.