First Nations in B.C. and Ontario have embarked on a campaign to discredit Métis groups in their respective provinces, warning that government efforts to empower the organizations could lead to infringement on First Nations rights and territory.
The criticisms complicate the country’s already difficult path toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, as policies aimed at harmonizing relations with one group are interpreted as modern day colonialism to others.
Last week, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) passed a resolution denouncing “Métis colonialism in B.C.” and which says the Métis Nation British Columbia and BC Métis Federation are asserting hunting rights that have no legal basis and a history of occupation that is unfounded.
“The UBCIC Chiefs Council forcibly reaffirms that the Métis hold no land, water, or air-based inherent and constitutionally protected rights or related jurisdiction within BC, and rejects and denounces any and all forms of Métis colonialism in BC and those who facilitate it,” the resolution states.
BC Métis Federation president Keith Henry said the resolution amounts to hate speech and has asked the UBCIC to retract the resolution within 14 days to avoid a legal or human-rights claim.
Métis Nation’s traditional homeland
The traditional Métis
Nation Homeland
Métis Nation
of Ontario
Yukon
NWT
Nunavut
B.C.
N.L.
Alta.
Sask.
Man.
Que.
Ont.
PEI
N.B.
N.S.
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:
NATIVE-LAND.CA; MÉTIS NATION OF ONTARIO
Métis Nation’s traditional homeland
The traditional Métis
Nation Homeland
Métis Nation
of Ontario
Yukon
NWT
Nunavut
B.C.
N.L.
Alta.
Sask.
Man.
Que.
Ont.
PEI
N.B.
N.S.
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:
NATIVE-LAND.CA; MÉTIS NATION OF ONTARIO
Métis Nation’s traditional homeland
The traditional Métis
Nation Homeland
Métis Nation of Ontario
Yukon
NWT
Nunavut
B.C.
N.L.
Alta.
Sask.
Man.
Que.
Ont.
PEI
N.B.
N.S.
MURAT YÜKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:
NATIVE-LAND.CA; MÉTIS NATION OF ONTARIO
“We are not colonizers,” said Mr. Henry in a news conference on Tuesday. “We are trying to desperately maintain our culture, language and traditions, no different than First Nations across British Columbia and Canada every single day.”
The tension is the same in Ontario, where First Nations are working to stall a forthcoming federal bill that would grant self-governing powers to the 30,000-member Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO).
Since its 1993 founding, the MNO has successfully convinced the province of continuous Métis occupation throughout Ontario, a crucial component to establishing aboriginal rights guaranteed under Section 35 of the Constitution Act. The group backed the famed 2003 Powley case, in which the Supreme Court found that a historic Métis community existed in the Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., area. A 2017 agreement between the MNO and the province recognized six other historic Métis communities.
But some Ontario First Nations leaders have never heard of Métis communities in their traditional territories – historic or modern day. They also question the veracity of the MNO’s research on historic communities. Two recent reports commissioned by First Nations found that a number of ancestral names identified as Métis by the MNO were actually historically recorded as First Nations or European.
“The communities represented by the MNO did not exist historically and cannot be Section 35 rights holders,” said Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod at a news conference on Monday. “Recognition of unfounded claims undermines legitimate rights-holders.”
In February, Ottawa signed updated self-government agreements with the MNO, the Métis Nation of Alberta and Métis Nation-Saskatchewan. Proposed legislation that would implement the agreements is expected any day.
“We’re not opposed to any specific legislation, but we want to make sure that all legislation that pertains to us and our rights is done with us there and with our consultation,” said Mr. McLeod. “It has to have some factual and legal basis.”
The MNO has labelled the First Nations claims “Métis denialism” and said the federal agreement only recognizes MNO jurisdiction over core governance matters such as citizenship, elections, administration and caring for children. “It does not impact the rights of First Nations in any way,” said the MNO in a news release.
The organization has acknowledged that a portion of its membership registry lacks adequate Métis documentation. In a province-wide plebiscite in March, MNO members voted to purge some 5,400 members from its registry because they could not be verified as Métis rights-holders.
“Métis and First Nations have always been stronger when we work together, as we have for more than 200 years,” said MNO president Margaret Froh. “It is only very recently that politics have gotten in the way of our shared progress.”
Kim Beaudin, national vice-chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, a group representing both Métis and First Nations, said he hopes the two sides can sit down and talk. “It’s disheartening to see our own people pitted against one another,” he said. “Canada created this problem with the Indian Act, with reserves, with creating distinct groups and nations. Now it’s coming home to roost.”
Patrick White