Association of Métis,
Non and Status Indians
Saskatchewan
Association of Métis,
Non and Status Indians
Saskatchewan
History of AMNSIS
Prior to 1976 there was little political representation at the provincial level for Non-Status Indians in Saskatchewan.
In 1976, the Métis Society of Saskatchewan partnered with Non-Status Indians in the province and formed the Association of Métis and Non-Status Indians of Saskatchewan.
Under Bill C-31 (1985). thousands of Non-Status Indians regained their “Indian” status.
As a result, AMNSIS dissolved in 1988 and the Métis Society of Saskatchewan (MSS) reconstituted itself as the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan (MN-S) leaving the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples to represent the province’s Non-Status Indians.
The 2016 Supreme Court of Canada Daniels v Canada ruling determined Non-Status Indians are “Indians” in Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution.
AMNSIS is the only organization that represents Non-Status Indians in Saskatchewan.
Championing Métis, Non and Status Indian Advocacy
We are dedicated to protecting the rights, heritage, and future of our community through relentless advocacy and support across Saskatchewan.
First Minister’s Final Constitutional Conference – 1987
“I may be gone but my people will be back.”
Jim Sinclair (June 3, 1933 – November 9, 2012)
Legacy of AMNSIS
In 1985 AMNSIS published its Declaration of Aboriginal Rights
#12. The right to establish our own political organization; to the operation of our own social, cultural, educational, and political institutions and to represent the views and interests of our people to other Governments.
Jim Sinclair became President of AMNSIS in 1971 and held that position for 18 years.
Jim Sinclair is revered for his humility, courage, dignity, passion and commitment to Saskatchewan and Canada’s Aboriginal people.
He is remembered for his dedication and belief in the grassroots ideology and that people and their communities must speak and act in their own best interests.
AMNSIS instituted "nation-building" long before the concept was
articulated. Gabriel Dumont Institute, SaskNative Development
Corporation, Urban Housing Corps, were visionary aspects that
were realized during the AMNSIS regime.
AMNSIS Reconstituted 2021
In August 2020, the Coalition of Aboriginal Peoples of Saskatchewan (CAPS) officially changed its name back to the Association of Métis, Non and Status Indians of Saskatchewan or AMNSIS.
AMNSIS seeks to restore kinship and reconciliation amongst Saskatchewan’s Aboriginal people and their communities.
AMNSIS believes that its potential strength and growth lies in the will and support of the grassroots people and the communities they serve and call home.
AMNSIS believes that Saskatchewan’s Aboriginal people must take ownership of their own destiny.
AMNSIS believes it has an advocacy role to grow and reinvigorate community activism and debate on those issues of creating social, cultural, educational, and political institutions to represent the views and interests of Canada’s Aboriginal people.