A
French word, akin to
mestizo in Spanish. It originally denoted "half breeds" -
Québecois offspring of French and
Native parents in
Canada's pre-Confederation era, but has come to denote
Canadians of mixed Indian and non-Indian ancestry; the term is usually used if one parent is Native, but is also used if one parent is Métis. It all depends on who you ask, I suppose.
A subset of non-status Indians, and generally less politically organized (and much harder to count) than the First Nations communities.