METIS NA TION Of ONT ARIO Annu A l Repo R t 20122013 17 tors The str ength of our society is based on democracy fr eedom fair ness equality gener osity justice and the customar y and written law of our people Above all we cherish harmony and peace As Aboriginal people we hold sacr ed the rights of the individual and of the collective W e have r espect for each other for the land and for the animal and plant life that surr ounds us W e ar e people who honour and r espect the family our elders who hold the key to the past and our childr en who ar e our futur e Guided by our spiritual values we aspir e to attain our highest potential n ow t her efor e W e Declar e as Follows W e the Metis Nation ar e a distinct Nation among the Aborigi nal peoples in Canada and as such our Aboriginal and tr eaty rights ar e r ecognized and affrmed under Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982 W e the Metis Nation have the inher ent right of selfdetermina tion and selfgover nment W e the Metis who live within the Metis Homelands of Ontar io desiring to bind our people together to collectively pr omote our common cultural social political and economic wellbeing have founded the Metis Nation of Ontario to be our r epr esentative body with the following aims and objectives to r esear ch publish and pr omote the genealogical documenta tion of the Metis and to establish and maintain a r egistr y of the Metis Citizens of Ontario to establish democratic institutions based on our inher ent right of selfgover nment to encourage the full participation of all Metis in the Metis Nation to pr omote and foster community development to r eestablish land and r esour ce bases to develop pr osperity and economic selfsuffciency within the Metis Nation to pr ovide car e and support necessar y to meet the fundamen tal needs of the citizens of the Metis Nation to pr omote the impr oved health and wellness of the individu al the family and the whole Metis community to establish ef fective means of communication for the Metis Nation to encourage academic and skills development and to enable citizens of the Metis Nation to attain their educational aspira tions to pr omote the histor y values cultur e languages and tradi tions of the Metis Nation and to cr eate an awar eness of our pr oud heritage pr omote Metis artistic and cultural achievement to ensur e that Metis can exer cise their Aboriginal and T r eaty rights and fr eedoms and in so doing act in a spirit of coopera tion with other Aboriginal and nonAboriginal people to establish good r elations with all Aboriginal peoples for the pursuit of our common inter ests and goals to continue our affliation with the Metis National Council for the r epr esentation of the inter ests of the Metis Nation in On tario at the National and Inter national levels and to gain the r ecognition and r espect of the Metis as a Nation and a people