The Métis Flag was first used by Métis resistance fighters in Canada prior to the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. The flag is either blue or red with a white infinity symbol superimposed on top. The blue flag is used to associate the Métis employees of the North West Company,[1] while the red represents the Métis who worked for the Hudson's Bay Company[1] (see Anglo-Métis). The symbol represents the mixing of the European immigrants and the First Nations peoples, which creates a new and distinct culture, the Métis.
The blue background flag has been accepted by the Métis National Assembly as the official flag of the Métis Nation of Canada. The red flag now stands as the provincial ensign for the Métis Nation of Alberta.
The white infinity symbol on the flag represents the faith that the Métis culture shall live on forever.[1] It can also be perceived as two conjoined circles, standing for the unity of two cultures, Aboriginal First Nations and European (primarily French).[1] The flag can still be seen in areas in Manitoba, and other traditional Métis territories such as Batoche and other settlements in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and northern Ontario.
The symbol is drawn from the mark made by Catholic and other missionaries in birth and baptismal church records, beginning in the 1600s, to denote a parent who was Indian.[2]
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