Lighting

In Canada, the political project of the Métis Nation of Ontario divides

Composed of federated territories and provinces, Canada is also populated by First Nations and Inuit, but not only. The Metis have formed as nations in some provinces. The Métis Nation of Ontario, whose legitimacy is debated within the Métis and rejected by other Indigenous peoples, may be the first to have its right to self-governance recognized by the federal government.

Leaders of the Superior Huron Métis community and the Métis Nation of Ontario at the launch of an affordable housing project in Sault Ste. Marie on June 26. Mitch Case is in a black vest, on the right. © Léopold Picot / RFI

Text by: Léopold Picot Follow

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From our correspondent in Montreal,

Mitch Case, with a full red beard and mischievous almond eyes, is a Métis craftsman. On his Facebook page and website, he shares his passion for beadwork: he practices a traditional style of mixed floral beading, covering his clothes with traditional motifs. Far from limiting himself to art, the thirty-year-old is also involved in the Métis Nation of Ontario, of which he is one of the regional advisors: in Canada, the Métis are not simply an ethnic mix, but a true culture at the crossroads of First Nations and settler ancestors.

The federal government announced earlier this year that it would introduce legislation to enshrine in the Canadian Constitution the principle of self-governance of the Métis Nation of Ontario, which recognizes its community with powers in terms of administration and citizenship. "It would consolidate rights that we've fought for for years," says Mitch. The project could be tabled within the year, but there are protests among First Nations and even some Métis communities.

A community in a patchwork

Canadian society has been and still is a federal political project, originally imposed by English settlers, who are trying to hold together a patchwork of different peoples. For example, the Inuit and First Nations, such as the Cree or the Atikamekw, were there before the settlers arrived: they gained political rights and power over their communities. Some Quebecers are still fighting for independence, by virtue of their francophone origins.

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Originally, the Métis emerged in the Red River region in the early nineteenth century, when French Canadians working for the North West Company and Scots employed by the Hudson's Bay Company mingled with Indigenous people, such as the Cree," says Francis Lévesque, professor of anthropology at the School of Native Studies at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. The fur traders worked closely with the First Nations: unlike what may have existed on other territories, they did not blend into Aboriginal culture, but created a hybrid culture.

The Métis were already included in the rights obtained by First Nations, including the section of the Constitution Act, 1982 that recognizes "existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada," such as the right to hunt. However, there was no definition of the term "Métis." Who was Métis? In 1993, Steve and Roddy Powley of Métis were charged with hunting the original without a permit. Ontario is prosecuting them, but they are pleading not guilty under this section. The Canadian Supreme Court ruled in their favour ten years later, opening the door to recognition of Metis rights and establishing the Powley test to determine whether or not a person was from Metis culture.

Internal and external tensions

Despite progress, the aspirations of the Métis Nation of Ontario are not universally accepted. Historically, the Métis have been mostly concentrated in Manitoba, another province in Canada. However, since the Supreme Court decision, a large number of Canadians have identified themselves as Metis thanks to the Powley test. "The so-called historic Métis of Red River have several organizations: some of them will recognize the movements of the Métis in Quebec and Ontario, others, the most important, do not recognize them. Many Métis leaders say that the majority are individuals who take ownership of their identity," observes Francis Lévesque. The Métis Nation of Ontario voted in March to expel 18 per cent of its members who had lied about their ancestry to obtain fishing and hunting rights.

For Mitch Case, the question is not that he is Metis, and always has been, and his family raised him as such. Its culture is a mixture of historical events, such as the battles of the Métis against the federal project in the nineteenth century, crafts, dialects and a particular worldview. "Historically, our communities had what is now called a syncretic worldview, where they did not see their traditional indigenous spirituality and Christianity as opposing each other, but that they were complementary," explains the regional councillor. Similarly, although he does not speak the Métis dialect of his community, his ancestors speak and spoke a mixture of French and Aboriginal languages.

First Nations peoples also take a dim view of the emergence of Métis claims, which risk encroaching on their territories. Some communities even state that no Metis have lived on some of their territories, in the memory of elders. For the legal counsel of the Métis Nation of Ontario, Jason Madden, interviewed by Radio Canada, the question does not arise: the upcoming agreement with the federal government will not have an impact on the agreements reached with other First Nations.

Beyond these legal and political debates, the Métis Nation of Ontario is now trying to strengthen ties in its community: building affordable housing and supporting workers. That's most important, says Mitch Case: "Outside of our day-to-day political responsibilities, we're also building Ontario's first cultural centre dedicated to the Métis Nation. It will be a museum, a home for our stories, to gather, to celebrate and to mourn our dead. The Métis of Ontario believes the centre will open in the fall, hoping it comes just before the passage of legislation to strengthen the rights of his community.

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