Michel Band

The Michel Band also called the Michel Caillehoo, Michel Caillehouis, Michel Caillehow, Michel Calahoo, Michel Calistrois, or Michel Calliho Band^[1] was a group of "Indians" (typically First Nations people, and in this case Métis people) united in a band government. The band was a party to Treaty 6 with the Canadian government, having signed an adhesion to it in 1876. They had an Indian reserve near the present-day Hamlet of Calahoo approximately 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Edmonton, Alberta. Following the Second Riel Rebellion in 1885 many members of the band with mixed heritage choose to take Métis scrip (coupons for land or money) and were removed from the Indian Register.^[2] The few remaining members continued as a band until 1958 when they were "enfranchised" (removed from the Indian Register and given the right to vote) en masse by the Department of Indian Affairs and the band was dissolved. This is the only known case in Canadian history of the federal government enfranchising an entire band. In 1985 many descendants of the historic Michel Band regained Indian Status through Bill C-31. They have since that time lobbied the federal government to once again recognize them as an Indian band with Aboriginal and treaty rights.^[3]

Many band members trace their ancestry to Louis Callihoo, a Mohawk-Iroquois fur trader from Montreal region who married three local women (a Sekani native and two French-Cree Metis sisters) and started a new band. Iroquois may at one time have been the language of the band, but by the late nineteenth century Father Albert Lacombe wrote that most band members spoke Cree or French,^[4] which may also mean that Michif, a mixed Cree-French language, was also present.

The Numbered Treaties: Treaty Six
Numbered Treaties	Treaty 1 Treaty 2 Treaty 3 Treaty 4 Treaty 5 Treaty 6 Treaty 7 Treaty 8 Treaty 9 Treaty 10 Treaty 11
Manitoba	Marcel Colomb First Nation Mathias Colomb First Nation
Saskatchewan	Ahtahkakoop First Nation Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation Big Island Lake Cree Nation Big River First Nation Flying Dust First Nation Island Lake First Nation James Smith First Nation Lac La Ronge First Nation Little Pine First Nation Lucky Man First Nation Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation Mistawasis First Nation Montreal Lake First Nation Moosomin First Nation Mosquito-Grizzly Bear's Head-Lean Man Muskeg Lake Cree Nation Muskoday First Nation One Arrow First Nation Onion Lake First Nation Pelican Lake First Nation Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Poundmaker Cree Nation Red Pheasant First Nation Saulteaux First Nation Sweetgrass First Nation Sturgeon Lake First Nation Thunderchild First Nation Waterhen Lake First Nation Witchekan Lake First Nation
Alberta	Alexander First Nation Alexis First Nation Beaver Lake Cree Nation Cold Lake First Nation Enoch Cree Nation Ermineskin Cree Nation Frog Lake First Nation Heart Lake First Nation Kehewin Cree Nation Louis Bull First Nation Michel Band (disputed) Montana First Nation O'Chiese First Nation Papaschase (disputed) Paul First Nation Saddle Lake Cree Nation Samson First Nation Sunchild First Nation Whitefish Lake First Nation (Goodfish)

References