In August 2017, the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) and the Province of Ontario announced their creation of the historic Métis community of Killarney & Environs. It’s meant to support MNO’s claims to Métis Aboriginal rights. Métis people with customs and a way of life that is noticeably different than that of First Nations or European people…MNO says they must be “more than a mere mixed Aboriginal ancestry population”.
But Killarney & Environs is a fictional settlement, populated by a small selection of Anishinaabek that MNO transformed into Métis inhabitants.
MNO relies heavily on records that describe people as being of mixed Indian-European ancestry (e.g., half-breeds), as if this observation alone is sufficient evidence of being Métis.
MNO and Ontario have nothing to say about the history of Killarney & Environs. Instead, they focus on the village of Shebahonaning, now widely known as Killarney. At the same time that Ontario is highlighting its commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, it is a collaborator
with MNO in the deliberate erasure of our Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi ancestors.
The documents available for download in the pdfs below illustrate some of the misrepresentations in their superficial research about our community. The paper was sent to the federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and to the provincial Minister of Indigenous Affairs. The brief was sent to the federal Standing Committee on Indigenous & Northern Affairs. Briefs sent to the Committee were limited to 10 pages, double-spaced. Therefore, it does not provide the same detail as the paper sent to the Ministers.
Shebahonaning
Chebonaning
Jiibaonaning
Zhiibaanaaning
Killarney
"Shebahonaning" sounds like
"jii-bon-an-ing", with the emphasis on "bon".
