More native stuff

Poor Randy Boissonnault, tying himself up in linguistic, cultural and legal contortions trying to claim he is Indigenous.  Apparently, technically he's not.  But, maybe he is, sort of.  Or not.  Probably.

I know navigating who is Indigenous, who is Métis or who is Inuit is foggy slogging, but Randy really stepped right in it (as my Grandfather used to say) on this one.  For years he has claimed he was Cree.  Now, it turns out, he has been "confusing" people about his heritage.

Randy trying to pull an Indigenous rabbit out of his hat.

"I never claimed Indigenous status," he told 'The National Post'.  Whaaat??!!  Yes you did.  You even sat as a member of the Indigenous caucus.  Apparently, now he describes himself as a "non-status, adopted Cree" because his adoptive mother and brother are Métis.  

But from my research about who can claim Métis status, he may well be.  In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that a Métis can be a person of mixed European and Indigenous race, but can also include people who have lived among Métis, or married into a Métis community.  So, Randy should not have claimed he was Indigenous, but could well have claimed Métis status.  He didn't.

With all the sh-t the government has to deal with, wasting time on this tempest-in-a-teacup is ludicrous.  But there are people who earn their living doing just that.  Robert Henry, an Indigenous research chair at the University of Saskatchewan, said Boissonnault should not have been included among Indigenous colleagues on the caucus website.

"You have to be clear, he's actually non-Indigenous," said Henry, "because positioning yourself as Indigenous gives you a different authority to speak on these issues."

See what I mean?  Frankly, even I have lost the plot on this one.  So Randy, sit down, shut up and start working on the many serious issues in your Edmonton riding.