The Métis are a distinct Indigenous people in Canada with a rich cultural and historical identity. The Métis ethnogenesis emerged during the fur trade era in North America, primarily in the 18th and 19th centuries. Resulting from the intermarriage of Indigenous Cree, Ojibwe, and other First Nations peoples with European fur traders, particularly French Canadians, the Métis formed a distinct cultural and ethnic group. This intermingling of diverse cultural elements gave rise to a unique identity characterized by a blend of Indigenous and European practices, languages, and traditions. The Michif language is a result of this intermingling, as it contains elements of French, Cree and Ojibwe.

Michif is an endangered language. According to the 2016 Canadian census, less than 2% of the Métis population were able to hold a conversation in an Indigenous language.

During periods of colonization, Métis children were often subjected to assimilationist policies that suppressed their linguistic and cultural heritage. This systematic persecution disrupted the intergenerational transmission of Michif, threatening its vitality. Recognizing the impact of these historical injustices, contemporary efforts are underway to address language revitalization and integrate Michif into educational curricula.

Michif exhibits regional variations, reflecting the diverse historical and cultural influences on the Métis communities. Despite their unique characteristics, all Michif varieties share a common linguistic base, making them integral components of Métis heritage and identity.

Over time, three distinct languages (Northern, Southern and French Michif), were developed and spoken among Metis people. The Michif languages distinguished the Métis as a distinct group with an identity separate from their European and First Nations ancestors.

• Michif-French
  Michif-French is one outgrowth of long contact between Cree and Ojibwe speakers and francophone traders. Their offspring — the Métis — are said to have created the language on the Plains in the early 1800s by blending varieties of French and Cree — Michif-French (or Métis French) and Plains Cree.
  
  
• Heritage Michif
  Heritage Michif is spoken mainly from western Manitoba all the way to central Alberta, in addition to Northern North Dakota and Montana. It originated among the bison-hunting Métis who lived on the plains. In Saskatchewan, it is spoken especially in the Yorkton, Cypress Hills, Qu’Appelle Valley, and Round Prairie/Saskatoon areas. Linguistically, it is considered quite unique among the world’s contact languages and is often described — somewhat simplistically — as a blend of French nouns and Cree verbs.
  
  
• Southern Michif
  Southern Michif is spoken primarily in southwestern Manitoba, southeastern Saskatchewan, and northern North Dakota and Montana. Southern Michif is composed mostly of elements from Plains Cree and French with some Ojibwe and, more recently, borrowing from English, which is reflective of its historical influences and multilingual roots.
  
  
• Northern Michif
  Northern Michif is primarily spoken throughout northern Saskatchewan and parts of Northern Alberta. This language has a standardized (Cree) orthography, although its few French words may be spelled phonetically or in standardized French.
  
  
• Bungii/Bungee
  Bungii/Bungee is a variation of the Saulteaux (Ojibwe) word panki, meaning “a little” or “a portion of.” It is a mixture of English, Gaelic, Ojibwe and Cree words. The language also had a few borrowed French words. The Bungi accent was reportedly heavily influenced by Orkney and Scottish speech patterns. Once spoken by Métis people with Ojibwa or Cree and Scottish parentage, the language is now nearly extinct, with reportedly only a few Elders who speak it.
  
  
• Brayet
  Brayet (also spelled Braillet or Braillette) is another language born of the interchange between Indigenous and European peoples. Although few sources exist about this language, it is said to have incorporated French and Ojibwe words, and was once spoken in areas around the Great Lakes, such as Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and further west around Lake of the Woods. ​Brayet is generally considered extinct.

As a dialect, Michif-French is a non-standard form of the French language. And as one of the mother tongue languages of the Métis people, Michif-French is a valid form of language and not a misuse of the standard form.

The difference between the two lies mostly in phonology (sound system), with the syntactic (word order) adjustment and the semantic distinctions.