By 
With the news that the Metis are considered by the Canadian government in the same way as First Nations and Inuit, everyone wants to know what benefits the Metis get. People who suspect they are “partially Indian” want to know for sure and get their Metis Status card, but there is so much conflicting information out there that it’s hard to find the right answers.
pride
Earning Metis status is a way to show pride in your ancestors and their hard work in starting North America’s first economy, the fur trade. Considering that it is the native women who did most of the work, it is time we all honor our great-grandmothers and the sacrifices they made for our benefit.
Community
Metis Status provides access and fellowship to our extended kinship community. Because Metis groups can only apply for government funding based on their registry membership, obtaining a Metis Status card helps our communities in many ways. Without membership, Metis communities will not get funding. Every person who stands up and gets their Metis Status card helps build what was lost over generations of hiding our identity.
Because most of the fur traders were French, their unions with native women represent the majority of mestizos in North America. Most people who grew up in a French Canadian city or town don’t even realize how much of their culture is actually Métis, nor that they have fur traders in their ancestry, nor how many people in their community are of Native American descent. Getting a card with the organization that represents your ancestry type is not like being in a club, it’s about being part of a family and community.
Obtaining a Metis Status card means that your genealogy has been verified to be true and accurate. It is proof that you are actually “part Indian”. The card you have describes the cultural community to which you belong.
programs
Social programs are varied and can include health programs, health studies for particular hereditary diseases, cultural learning programs, assistance programs, cultural and heritage workshops, improvement incentives, work programs, help with housing, family programs ( well-being of the baby, family advice, etc.) conservation of heritage and culture, etc. Program funding depends on agreements with the Canadian government and the number of registered members of an organization.
Representation and Rights
Some groups would like harvest rights, hunting or fishing rights, or even access to harvest plant material. Rights to any of these are determined by agreements signed between the government and the individual organization. There are many different organizations that represent many different groups of Metis. Being a Metis or having a card does not entitle you to automatic rights. Standing up and being counted by getting a status card better helps these groups negotiate rights on your behalf. So right now you can’t go hunting or fishing just because you have a Metis card, unless your group tells you that there are agreements to do so, and how the activity should be done.
We don’t know what the future holds for anyone. In our communities today, there are some areas where people are not allowed to harvest certain plant materials. Having Metis status with a particular organization could mean that your community has a voice in negotiating rights, for now and for the future.
Education
Considering that Native Americans have traditionally had fewer high school, college, and university graduates than the average population, and Native Americans have traditionally been underrepresented in the workforce, and Native Americans are the group of fastest growing people, the government now understands that they will need training as they will be an important workforce pool in the future. For all of these reasons, the government encourages educational institutions to offer accommodation to Aboriginal people, whether First Nations, Inuit or Metis.
Having a Metis Status card can help secure a place in a particular educational program, such as a college or university. Considering that the ancestors of the Metis families helped build the economy of this continent and then had to hide their identity for generations or had their rights taken away from them, and considering that the hard work of these native ancestors has never been properly recorded or recognized It’s time for Half-Bloods to take their place on shows if having a status card helps to do so.
There are also scholarships and fellowships that Metis can apply for. The request for such funding should really be based on genuine need, as there are many Metis families who lack resources for education.
Workplace
Large corporations often have a policy that encourages the hiring of the 4 least represented groups of people in the Canadian workplace: visible minorities, people with disabilities, Aboriginal people and women. Aboriginal people under the Canadian Constitution Act include First Nations, Inuit and Metis. Whether or not this helps with the workplace is debatable and depends on the circumstances.
We pay taxes
All Metis people pay taxes, just like everyone else in the country. Will there be any change in that? Who knows.
Describing themselves as “French Canadian” has been PC’s way of saying French and native. Although her culture is Metis, there are still many misunderstandings and old Hollywood stereotypes about what it means to be Aboriginal. And so many mestizos feel unworthy to claim it because they think they need to learn and become First Nations culturally, but that’s not true. Métis culture is no more like First Nations culture than being Filipino would make someone Chinese. And there are as many types of Metis culture as there are communities where the Metis have lived.