The Métis are mixed-race descendants of European settlers and the original Native American residents of Canada. The Métis were mostly descended from settler men and indigenous women, and a distinct Métis culture evolved within generations (especially in central and western Canada). Most of the mothers were Mi'kmaq, Algonquin, Salteaux, Cree, Ojibwe, Menominee, Maliseet, or a mixture of more than one tribe, and the fathers were either French voyageur fur traders or Anglo-Métis fathers from England or Scotland. The two groups would merge into one Métis culture, and they practiced Catholicism with indigenous influences. In 2011, there were 451,795 Métis in Canada, making up 1.4% of the Canadian population.