MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication).
This letter relates to various stories that have run in MidlandToday in recent months such as 'Manitoba Métis, Chiefs of Ontario incensed by MNO's 'cultural, identity theft', published May 9, and 'War of words erupts over report questioning local Métis community's ancestry', published June 14.
In response to the following letter, MidlandToday points out that it has given the Métis Nation of Ontario opportunities to respond to our reporting. MidlandToday and Village Media stand by the accuracy and fairness of our coverage.
I am a member of the Georgian Bay Métis community, my ancestors come from Red River and Drummond Island, and I am a proud citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO). I am writing to you as the Regional Councillor for MNO Region 7 regarding coverage in MidlandToday which, in my opinion, has been very one-sided over the past year.
Consistently and overwhelmingly, the narrative and tone of the coverage has undermined the existence, rights and legitimacy of Métis communities and citizens in Ontario. Articles published on these pages have depicted the MNO and its citizens as frauds and perpetrators of Indigenous identity theft, such as “Métis 'threat' causing angst among First Nations community,” and “Wrong to give Métis 'privileges' afforded First Nations.” This is disturbing. It also defies the reality on the ground here, where First Nation and Métis families have known each other for generations. Our veterans fought alongside each other from the War of 1812 to Afghanistan. And now, a few bad actors want to perpetuate divisions.
It is disheartening to see such important issues related to Métis rights that overlooks crucial information, especially at a time when anti-Métis sentiment has been rife. This context is important because in recent months, MidlandToday has elevated and legitimized the voice of Chief Scott McLeod, a well-known perpetrator of this targeted harassment. Mr. McLeod has publicly admitted to telling Métis students “you are not who you think you are,” when visiting their classrooms. In publishing articles that give anti-Métis sentiments a platform, it erodes rights of Métis people, it further marginalizes Métis voices in Ontario, and it fosters inter-Indigenous tensions.
MidlandToday caters to an audience that is home to the largest verified, rights-bearing Métis community in the province. I hear from Métis friends and family regularly about their concerns with media coverage they have seen. When local journalism is supposed to be the last reliable link to reputable news, this publication has a responsibility to act in good faith. Instead, articles have contributed to lateral violence, harassment and hate towards a historically marginalized group.
This paper has propped up political figures who make punchy comments and do not represent Métis communities in Ontario. They are motivated by their own political agendas. This has been seen via the promotion and publication of columns like “Métis 'threat' causing angst among First Nations community,” and articles including: “Local First Nation leaders call out MNO attempt to 'rewrite history', and “Ontario chief calls on province to 'erase' six Métis communities, including Georgian Bay".
I would advise the political leaders and journalists who promote them to read the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in R v. Powley, which confirmed that distinct Métis communities emerged in the Upper Great Lakes region of what is now Ontario with indisputable claims to recognition of their histories and rights.
It is unacceptable to continuously drown out historically accurate details that have been confirmed in Canada’s highest court of law. The bulk of stories undermining and questioning the existence of Métis people in Ontario are troubling, and their increasing number, is puzzling.
We have a well recorded history in Georgian Bay since our community was relocated from Drummond Island to Penetanguishene in 1828. We have consistently identified as Métis (or Halfbreed), not Anishinaabe or French. And just like other Métis communities from Ontario-westward, we petitioned for the recognition of our Métis identity and actively defended our rights, only to be met historically with exclusionary policies from the Crown.
We have persisted to this day, and we will continue to persist. We, the Metis, respectfully request your journalism reflect a fairer and more accurate portrayal of our story. It is within your power, responsibility, and means to foster community and unity, not divisiveness.
I urge readers to look beyond political agendas and seek out the full, accurate stories of our Métis community in the Midland/Penetanguishene region. For those looking to engage with the facts, rather than the rhetoric, I encourage you to visit Ontario Métis Facts.
Sincerely,
Greg Garratt, Regional Councillor for Métis Nation of Ontario Region 7
