The BC Métis Federation (BCMF) seeks to mutually recognize and partner with local communities in British Columbia to create a robust membership process that leads to strong community coherence and wellbeing for all its members. As a locally derived process that is facilitated by the BCMF, membership is an expression of each community’s ability to define their own citizenship as an aspect of self-determination within the policy umbrella of a provincial organization. The membership process, therefore, is flexible, nuanced, and relational but based upon a community and provincial consensus that is unique to the Pacific Northwest.
The Internal Approval Process is conducted by the Membership Committee, pursuant to section 9.2(a) of the By-laws. The Interval Approval Process is a two-stage process for membership approval:
- Verification of genealogy
- Verification of community acceptance
Genealogy
BCMF accepts various forms of genealogical documentation to verify Métis ancestry. Birth certificate with parental information, commonly referred to as a “long form birth certificate” from Vital Statistics is the most frequently submitted document. Another common form of documentation is a baptismal certificate from the Archdiocese of the church where the baptism occurred.
BCMF recognizes that in some situations it may be a difficult, lengthy and costly route to obtain certain genealogical documentation, therefore there are additional forms of documents that BCMF accepts, such as marriage certificates listing parental information and death certificates with parental information, commonly referred to as a “long form death certificates” from Vital Statistics for deceased kinship.
Genealogical documentation is a mandatory requirement and must go back for five generations or 100 years, whichever comes first and must correspond with the information provided on the BCMF five generation genealogy diagram. Genealogical details on a genealogy diagram and corresponding documentation is only required for the kinship pertaining to the Métis ancestry.
Once an application is completed in its entirety and sufficient documentation is provided, the membership coordinator will begin the verification process.
The verification process consists of linking the genealogical documentation presented to the kinship listed on the genealogy diagram. Once a link has been established, the membership coordinator will then use internal genealogical resources such as census records, scrip records, books consisting of geographically specific compiled documentation such as birth, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials.
Community Acceptance
The required acceptance by a BCMF Partner Community is automatically recognized where proof of Métis community acceptance has been established. This may be done by providing a photocopy of the membership card or a letter of confirmation from the community leader stating recognition.
The Committee seeks to be representative of Métis communities across B.C. and aspires to appoint BCMF members to the Committee who reflect these different communities. The Committee meets virtually on a monthly basis to analyze, review and discuss applicant files presented by the BCMF Membership Coordinator for community acceptance. Applicants who do not hold a community card with a BCMF partnership community will require acceptance by the Committee before being granted a BCMF full membership card.
Applicants will access BCMF’s Membership webpage and complete all of the required fields in their application form, confirm the statutory declaration, give their consent for release of information, and provide evidence of their familial and historical connection to a Métis community. Once the application is received by BCMF, the Registrar will check the documents for their completeness and accuracy and, if satisfied, will forward the full application on to the President of the BCMF who will distribute it to the Committee for their consideration. If the application is incomplete or lacks sufficient evidence required by the Committee, it will be returned to the applicant for their attention and resubmission.
The Committee will adjudicate each application on its own merits and will come to a consensus on the candidate’s admissibility. Successful applicants will be notified of the decision of the Committee and encouraged to complete the registration process for membership. Applicants that do not meet the membership threshold will be provided a written explanation of the application’s deficiencies.
Applicants may submit a written request for reconsideration of a decision by the Committee within 30 days of the decision. A request for reconsideration must identify the reason(s) an application disagrees with the decision, and include any supporting documentation. The original decision may be maintained or changed. We will inform the applicant of the reconsideration decision in writing.
Click here to learn more about BCMF Membership and the Internal Approval Process.
