The Dominion of Canada purchases Rupert’s Land from the HBC. First Nations and Métis living in the expansive territory are not consulted. In response to Canada’s attempts to survey its new purchase, the Métis of Red River establish the Métis National Committee and formed a provisional government. The Provisional Council drafted the Bill of Rights that framed their negotiations with Canada over their entrance into Confederation.

Facing racism and marginalization, the Métis become the Forgotten People. Dislocated from their traditional lands, many Métis moved to other parts of Canada and the United States in search of work. Many more remained on or near their traditional lands attempting to protect what they could of their way of life.

In response to increasing encroachment on their lands by new settlers, Métis in Saskatchewan called on Louis Riel to press their concerns to Canada. The federal government sent troops from central Canada to places such as Duck Lake and Frog Lake to quell what it perceived as uprisings. For their roles in these events, Métis and First Nations men, including Louis Riel, One Arrow, Poundmaker, and Big Bear were arrested.

Department of Indian Affairs creates “Classification of Halfbreeds”. Only “Halfbreeds” living like Indians or “worse off than Indians” could be admitted to residential schools.

Residents of Métis communities in Western Canada such as Ste. Madeleine, MB and Cross Lake, SK were forcibly removed from their villages under the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act (1935).  Their homes were burned and their animals killed while the families were transported to other locations. Other Métis were compelled to leave their communities and settle in prairie cities and towns to find work during the Great Depression.

Métis and Indian political leaders in Alberta such as James Brady, Malcolm Norris, and Joseph Dion begin lobbying the provincial government for health care, education, and land for their communities. Their efforts led to the creation of the Alberta Métis Settlements.

Saskatchewan’s Commonwealth Cooperative Federation (CCF) government created cooperative farms for Métis and forcibly relocated a number of southern Métis communities to the north.

Métis and non-status Indians work together to draw attention to deplorable living conditions in their communities and to advance Aboriginal rights and advance Métis interests within a broader Aboriginal agenda.

The bestselling autobiography, Half-breed, was written by Maria Campbell in 1973 and was followed by Howard Adams’ book, Prison of Grass in 1975. These two seminal books by Saskatchewan Métis writers marked the artistic and intellectual renaissance of the Métis.

Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) filed a claim against Canada and Manitoba for breach of fiduciary duty for failing to fulfill land promises to the Métis following events of 1869/70 when they were guaranteed ownership of their river lots and granted an additional 1.4 million acres. In 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of the MMF.

As a result of their efforts, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, were affirmed as the Aboriginal peoples of Canada and secured a Constitutional provision that protected their existing Aboriginal and Treaty rights.

The Métis National Council (MNC) is established to represent the Métis Nation within the Métis Homeland.

Implementation of the Sahtu Dene and Métis Comprehensive Agreement in the Northwest Territories. This represents the first time Métis are included in a modern day land claim agreement.

In its first decision on Métis harvesting rights, the Supreme Court of Canada upholds a lower court decision in the Powley case by affirming that Métis are a distinct Aboriginal people with harvesting rights protected within Canada’s Constitution.

Legal representatives of former students, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit representatives, the federal government, and the churches sign the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA). Métis are not represented in the Agreement.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizes to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis for the residential school system. Métis Survivors of residential school are acknowledged.

The 125th anniversary of the Battle of Batoche is celebrated throughout the Métis Nation. Parliament as well as the legislature in Ontario and Saskatchewan recognize 2010 as the Year of the Métis.

Daniels v. Canada. (2013) F.C. R. 6 is a case of the Federal Court of Canada. It held that persons who are Métis or non-status Indians are “Indians” as the term used within s 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867.