Michel Band society looks for scattered descendants as it pushes to re-establish First Nation
''When we lost the band, we lost everything,' says Michel descendant Brandy Callihoo
The Michel Callihoo Nation Society (MCNS) is looking for descendants of the former Michel Band in Alberta as they make a push for Canada to recognize the First Nation that gave up its Indian status more than 60 years ago.
The Michel Band's enfranchisement when members were desperate to get out from under the control of Indian agents was all part of the assimilation tactics used by the Canadian government, said Kim Beaudin, an MCNS board member.
"It was really genocide policy," said Beaudin.
"They were starving people out, wouldn't give them the tools to work on their own land. They [would] throw them in jail if they cut down a tree to keep warm."
Until 1985 under the Indian Act, First Nations people could enfranchise, which meant they would surrender their Indian status to receive the same rights as non-Indigenous Canadians, like voting, land ownership and freedom to travel. Typically enfranchisement was a decision made as an individual. But in 1958, the entire Michel Band enfranchised as a collective — the only community in Canadian history to do so.
Through his work with the MCNS, Beaudin said he's encountered relatives he never knew existed.
"When they [eliminated] the reserve and kicked everybody off and everybody lost their Indian treaty status, then families became divided and you didn't know who was who," he said.
Now the MCNS is working to get families on the path toward reclaiming community. Registering the band is a key step in that process, according to Brandy Callihoo, director of the MCNS.
"When we lost the band, we really lost everything," she said.
"When you lose the land, you lose the people, you lose the language, you lose the culture."
Band's early history
Around 1800, a group of North West Company voyageurs from the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) community of Kahnawà:ke, south of Montreal, settled in the Jasper, Alta., area alongside local Cree and Métis people, according to Callihoo.
Louis Kwarakwante (Callihoo) was one of the voyageurs who moved to the area; his son Michel Callihoo signed Treaty 6 in 1878. The Michel Band reserve was established just outside Edmonton in 1880.
While the band included Cree, Haudenosaunee and some Métis, Beaudin said the customs, culture and language of the community were primarily Cree.
The decision to enfranchise came after decades of government pressure and a strong desire to escape the oppression of the Indian Act, he said.
Callihoo, the great-great granddaughter of Michel Callihoo, said she's not angry at the people who voted to enfranchise but "there's a lot of hurt."
"I've lived with the repercussions of that [decision] all my life," she said.
And she's not alone.
Callihoo said there are already about 800 Michel Band descendants who have signed statements of intent to become members if the Canadian government creates a new band.
But in order to qualify, people must first prove they are descendants of a treaty member of the Michel Band, she said.
The final decision for who qualifies will be up to the Canadian government once an agreement about a new band is reached, Callihoo added.
"A lot of it will depend on being a registered status Indian," she said.
Descendants face legal hurdles
Some descendants were able to get status through Bill S-3, which dealt with individual cases of people who had been enfranchised, including through sex-based discrimination.
Callihoo said the changes allowed her to gain status through her mother's family. However, Callihoo said she and some other Michel descendants remain bandless.
"That's the whole reason I'm here fighting," she said.
It's also why descendants are awaiting the passage of Bill C-38, which would address collective enfranchisement. The bill passed first reading in the House of Commons in December 2022 but remains at the second reading stage.
Bill C-38 could double the number of Michel descendants with federal status and help the push for band recognition, according to Callihoo.
Right now the group is in exploratory discussions with the government and hopes the Indigenous Services minister will exercise discretion to create a new band. Then the two parties will be able to enter active negotiations, Callihoo said.
"Michel Callihoo signed Treaty 6 in 1878 and the treaty relationships are supposed to be forever," she said.
"The Indian Act, I guess in the government's eyes, superseded the treaties."
MCNS had planned to hold a membership drive in Hinton, Alta., in late July but postponed due to the wildfire situation. The group now plans to hold an online membership drive instead, although they have not yet set a date.
They continue to look for descendants of the former band through billboards, social media and in-person events.
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