The MNA is the manifestation of the Métis Nation within Alberta's long struggle to have our self-government, rights, and interests recognized within the province of Alberta. In 1934, in response to MAA lobbying, Alberta appointed the "Half-breed Commission" to examine and report on Métis health, education, homelessness, and land issues. The MAA's leadership consistently attended the Commission's hearings. After a two-year investigation, the Commission recommended that the province provide Métis with a secure land base and adequate services. In 1938, Alberta responded by adopting the Métis Population Betterment Act, which created the province's 12 original Métis colonies (between 1941 and 1960, Alberta rescinded four of these colonies). In 1961, the MNA, then still known as the MAA, was first incorporated and registered under provincial legislation. This registration was mainly done because governments began making funding available to Indigenous representative organizations such as the MNA but insisted that such organizations be incorporated in order to be legally recognized entities and obtain the funding available. Our leaders chose to incorporate the MAA to act as a legal and administrative complement to our Métis self-government. In 1975, the Alberta Federation of Metis Settlements Association ("FMS") was incorporated and registered under provincial legislation. It aimed to provide the remaining Métis colonies with a united voice. One of the FMS's earliest leaders, Adrian Hope, was a proud member of the MAA who had attended the hearings of the Half -breed Commission on the MAA's behalf and had served as MAA president from 1961 to 1967. The FMS negotiated with the Government of Alberta for increased political, cultural, social, and economic development on the eight remaining Métis colonies. Ultimately, these negotiations culminated in the signing of the Alberta-Metis Settlements Accord in 1989. The following year, pursuant to the Accord, Alberta passed the Metis Settlements Act and related legislation and granted the Metis Settlements General Council ("MSGC") fee simple title to the lands of what are now known as the Metis Settlements. This was done for the benefit of all Métis in Alberta:  “[T]his legislation is for all Métis of Alberta. Yes, it's directed to the settlements because that is in fact where the land base of 1.25 million acres is located, on the eight settlements. But any Métis can access membership and the rights to live and follow the Métis culture on these settlements...