The president of the Manitoba Métis Federation has condemned comments on Métis identity by Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, as racist, CBC News reports.
Speaking in Ottawa on Monday after a meeting between First Nations leaders and Canada's first ministers, the first such talks on Indigenous rights in two decades, Woodhouse Nepinak said federal rules had produced many people unsure of their identity. She suggested a large group of people who call themselves Métis probably have First Nations roots, and said some claimed Métis identity to obtain hunting and fishing cards.
She repeated the remarks at a second news conference, saying First Nations should control who can claim membership. Manitoba's grand chief said she stood firmly behind the national chief. CBC was unable to reach Woodhouse Nepinak for comment on Thursday.
Source: CBC News Canada
