metis community profiles: the standing senate committee on aboriginal peoples

7/27/2019 Metis Community Profiles: The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples

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The Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples

Community Profiles: Expressions of Mtis Identity

Source:http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm

In September and October 2012, the Senate Committee travelled to several Mtiscommunities across Western Canada and the Northwest Territories. The committee heldseveral fact-finding meetings with a variety of stakeholders, including communityleaders, educators, harvesters, social service providers, and elders. The meetingsgenerated interesting and wide-ranging discussions on Mtis identity in thesecommunities.

The below community profiles and selected images offer a glimpse of what thecommittee experienced during the course of their study on Metis identity. Senators wantto thank all those who shared cultural traditions, thoughts and personal experiences withthe committee.

The Metis Community of Saint Laurent

The Saint Laurent area, located along the southern shore of Lake Manitoba, was firstinhabited by Mtis families who migrated north from the Pembina territory in the UnitedStates in the early 1820s. Other early Mtis in the area included those who migrated fromthe Red River Settlement, in and around present-day Winnipeg. The Mtis whoestablished semi-permanent settlements in the area were primarily fishers, traders with

the fur company posts, and socio-economic intermediaries with the local Cree andAssiniboine populations.1

The traditional economy in Saint Laurent continues to be based around the lake fishery;other traditional sources of livelihood include hunting, trapping, gardening and farming.Recent legal and policy developments have supported Mtis Aboriginal harvest rights inthe area. In 2009, the Provincial Court of Manitoba, applying the Powley criteria, foundthat a historic Mtis community and associated hunting rights existed across a largeportion of southwestern Manitoba.2 Provincial government and conservation officialshave since worked with the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) to develop rules forrecognizing Mtis harvesting rights across southern Manitoba, culminating in the

September 2012 harvesting agreement between the Province of Manitoba and the MMF.3

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Top: Senators meet with Manitoba Metis Federation Interlake members

Bottom: Senators visit Aurle Lemoine school

The Michif language spoken in the area, generally a mixture of French and Cree, washistorically a vital element in the development of Mtis group identity in Saint Laurent.4The language, along with music, dress, harvesting activities and other aspects of materialculture remain important to Mtis identity and ways of life in the area. Indeed, SaintLaurent is featured in a permanent exhibition of contemporary Aboriginal life andidentities at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington,D.C.5

The Michif language is an important aspect of Mtis identity in Saint Laurent, despite arange of historic and contemporary challenges to its continued use and preservation. Theold mission schools in the area, for example, actively discouraged previous generationsfrom speaking the Michif language. Today, the influence of English is increasing as thecommunity continues to grow and change demographically. Another challenge relates tothe nature of the language itself: Michif is primarily a spoken language with manyregional variations, which complicates efforts to compile a common written vocabularyor design education curricula.

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In supporting the use and preservation of Michif, local educators told the committee thatfamilies are the best teachers of the language to the younger generations. Theirpedagogical approach focuses on providing programs to support parents in transmittingthe language and culture to their children, integrating lessons in Aboriginal culture intothe existing provincial curriculum, and teaching values relating to personal and group

identity, diversity and multiculturalism. As one educator noted, Mtis students mustrecognize who they are before they can recognize the person in front of them.

The Mtis Community of Cross Lake

The Mtis community of Cross Lake is located approximately 520 air kilometres north ofWinnipeg on the shore of the Nelson River, where the river enters Cross Lake. Thecommunity was first established in 1795 as a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company.The Mtis here are largely descended from Cree populations and Scottish company fur

traders who settled in the area. The men of the community have a proud tradition as trip-men on the York boats that travelled the difficult and dangerous inland routes betweenthe Red River settlement and York Factory on Hudson Bay.6 Today, many communitymembers call themselves half-breeds, a reclaimed term used to reflect their Scottishand Cree heritage.7

Senators meet with community leaders of Cross Lake, MB

The landscape of the area was significantly altered in the early 1970s with the

construction of the Churchill-Nelson River hydroelectric dam project. The floodingcaused severe effects on the local ecology and undermined the traditional hunting,trapping and fishing ways of life of many Aboriginal communities, including the CrossLake Mtis community and the adjacent Cross Lake First Nation. In 1977, theGovernments of Canada and Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro (a provincial power utility), andfive Northern Manitoba First Nations signed theNorthern Flood Agreement(NFA).8Although there is disagreement among the parties with respect to the agreement'simplementation, the NFA was originally intended to compensate for damages suffered by

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the signatory First Nations as a result of the flooding. However, Mtis communities andsome First Nations affected by the flooding were not parties to the NFA.9

In 2010, following approximately 20 years of litigation and negotiations, the Mtiscommunity of Cross Lake reached a settlement with the Province of Manitoba and

Manitoba Hydro for damage caused by the Churchill-Nelson River project. Thesettlement agreement provides for financial compensation, the transfer of severalthousand acres of land to the community, and the establishment of a co-managementcommittee to help manage resources within a registered trapline area.10

Cross Lake became an incorporated community under the Manitoba Northern AffairsActin 2010,11with powers and responsibilities similar to a municipality. While thecommunity welcomed this change in its local government, representatives told thecommittee that the community still wishes to be recognized and dealt with as arepresentative Mtis community by other levels of government. The community hasaccessed federal funds for isolated programs accessible to the Mtis but does not

otherwise have a relationship with the federal government.While Cross Lake retains a strong sense of its distinct Mtis culture and identity, almostall individuals in the community are registered (status) Indians under the Indian Act.Many regained status or chose to register for the first time following the reforms to theIndian Actstatus provisions under Bill C-31 in 1985. Community members described thechoice to register as difficult but necessary for many people given the benefits, such asnon-insured health benefits, available to registered Indians under the act. Others in thearea have chosen not to accept Indian status because they self-identify as Mtis.Community leaders indicated that the issue of Indian status, while largely a personal one,has affected their ability to hold the people together as a Mtis community.

The Metis Communities of Duck Lake and Batoche

In the 1870s, many Mtis migrated from the newly formed province of Manitoba andestablished communities in the North-West Territories along the banks of the North andSouth Saskatchewan rivers. Many of the families who settled in these areas had longtraditions as buffalo hunters, trappers, and suppliers and freighters for the North-West furtrade.

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Senators hear from Mtis elders and regional representatives in Duck Lake, SK

In the spring of 1885, disputes over land surveying and other federal policies broke into

armed conflict between the Mtis, led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont, and the North-West Mounted Police. The Battle at Duck Lake was the first of a series of battles betweenthe Mtis and police and militia forces, which culminated at the Battle of Batoche in May1885.12

This history is now commemorated at many sites and events in the area, including theBatoche National Historic Site, the Duck Lake Regional Interpretive Centre, and anannual cultural festival known as Back to Batoche.13

The Mtis in the Duck Lake and Batoche areas impressed upon the committee a deepsense of their history, genealogical roots and identity as a Mtis people. The committee

heard that many community members had invested much time and resources in learningtheir family histories and genealogies, and knew the network of families that comprisedthe Mtis communities in the area.

However, community members emphasized that the membership criteria of various Mtispolitical organizations did not fit with their view of themselves or their communities. Thecriteria of the Mtis Nation of Saskatchewan (a provincial organizations of the MtisNational Council) were described as too narrow, excluding many community memberswhose Aboriginal ancestry was tied to areas outside the Mtis Nation Homeland.14Organizations whose only criterion for membership was self-definition were too broad,lacking important ties to the communitys shared sense of history and place.

For example, the president of a local affiliate of the Mtis Nation of Saskatchewan toldthe committee that she is not officially eligible for membership in the provincialorganization because her Aboriginal ancestry is tied to Quebec.

The committee heard that further dialogue with communities was needed around moreinclusive definitions of Mtis and appropriate membership criteria. Such a dialogue wasneeded to establish, as one community member put it, a strong foundation on which tobuild present-day and future Mtis communities.

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Back to Batoche Days Festival

Cultural events and festivals, including the Mtis Nation of Saskatchewans annual Backto Batoche Days, play an important role in preserving the Mtis traditional culture andstrengthening the contemporary community

The Metis Community of Ile a la Crosse

The northern Saskatchewan community of Ile a la Crosse was established in 1776 as a

main Hudson's Bay Company trading post, and is the second oldest permanent settlementin Saskatchewan.15Most Mtis in the community have French surnames, reflecting theirdescent from local Cree women and French-speaking voyageurs from Quebec.16 Ile a laCrosse is the birthplace of Louis Riel's father, Louis Riel Sr., and the gravesite of hissister, Sister Marguerite Marie Riel (Grey Nuns).17

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Top: At the Ile-a-la Crosse Friendship Centre, Senators met with members of the

community

Bottom: Senators meet with students at Rossignol Community High School in Ile-a-la-Crosse, SK

Beginning in 1847, the community was the site of a Catholic mission boarding school,which for a period of time was designated for Mtis children. Others from the communityattended the nearby Beauval Indian Residential School, which operated from 1895 to1983.18 Former students of the boarding school at Ile a la Crosse told the committee oftheir experiences at the school. Like many other survivors of this sad chapter in Canadianhistory, these survivors recounted experiences of severe physical abuse, isolation from

family and community, and being forbidden from speaking the Michif language. Thecommittee further heard that the physical and psychological after-effects of theseexperiences included loss of language, culture, community connections and parentingskills.19

In 2007, a settlement was reached with the federal government on behalf of formerstudents of Indian Residential Schools, which included processes for individualcompensation and an apology delivered by the Prime Minister to the survivors of the

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schools.20 While the Beauval school was included on the settlement agreement's list ofrecognized residential schools, the mission boarding school at Ile a la Crosse was deemedineligible for inclusion under the terms of the settlement agreement.21 Community leaderstold the committee that they are continually working to gain recognition for the survivorsof the Ile a la Crosse school.

In the 1970sSenators meet with students at Rossignol Community High School in Ile-a-la-Crosse, SK, the community took greater control over education by establishing its ownschool board to administer and develop educational programming for the localelementary and secondary schools. The board works under provincial educationlegislation and curricula to provide culturally appropriate programming to students in thecommunity, including programs to teach the Michif language, Mtis fiddling andtraditional outdoor skills.22 Though such programs are non-compulsory or extra-curricular, they have a high participation rate among students. School officials stated thata key measure of the local school board's overall success has been the increase in highschool graduation numbers, which reportedly grew from none prior to the establishment

of the board, to over 300 since 1979.

Buffalo Lake Mtis Settlement

The eight Mtis settlements in northern Alberta, with a combined area of 1.25 millionacres (506,000 hectares), comprise the only collective Mtis land base in Canada. Thesettlements are largely the product of a unique history in the province in the late 19th andearly 20th centuries, which combined Mtis political action with provincial efforts toimprove the socio-economic circumstances of the Mtis.23

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Top: Senators visit Buffalo Lake Mtis Settlement

Bottom: Senators meet with community leaders of Buffalo Lake Mtis settlement

In 1990, provincial legislation codified a negotiated framework for the governance andmanagement of the Mtis settlements.24The framework includes several local andregional government institutions with delegated authority over a wide range of areas,including areas previously under municipal and provincial jurisdictions.25In general, theeight local settlement councils have largely municipal-like powers to enact bylaws onmatters of local governance and to run local programs and services. The regional MtisSettlements General Council enacts binding policies in specified areas that collectivelyaffect the settlements, holds underlying title to the settlement land base, and manages

collective settlement funds. A tribunal handles disputes relating to lands and membershipin the settlements.

The Buffalo Lake Mtis Settlement, located approximately 200 km northeast ofEdmonton, has a membership of approximately 1,200 and a land base of 87,000 acres(35,356 hectares). The lands of all the settlements are owned under a unique structure ofownership known as provisional title. Under this system, each member of thesettlement is allocated 10 acres; landowners can sell their lands to another member or to

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the General Council. Future expansion of land is not contemplated in the legislation; thecommittee heard that Buffalo Lake had recently purchased adjacent lands to expand itsland base.

The provincial legislation establishing the settlements outlines both a broad definition of

Mtis (a person of aboriginal ancestry who identifies with Mtis history and culture)and particular criteria and processes for obtaining membership in the Mtis settlements.The criteria contain a restriction against membership for those who have registered as anIndian under theIndian Act, or as an Inuk for the purpose of a land claims agreement,with narrow exceptions.26 This restriction was recently upheld by the Supreme Court ofCanada as justified [i]n order to preserve the unique Mtis culture and identity and toassure effective self-governance through a dedicated Mtis land base.27 The committeeheard that many current members of the settlements would likely be eligible to beregistered as status Indians under theIndian Act, but for this restriction against Indianregistration in the settlements membership criteria.

The committee heard that the settlements are not formally affiliated with the MtisNation and its provincial organization, the Mtis Nation of Alberta. However, somesettlement members are also members of the MNA. Community leaders in Buffalo Laketold the committee that its membership criteria also allow the settlement to acceptmembers from outside the province, including those who, for reasons relating to thegeographic origins of their Aboriginal ancestry, may not qualify for membership with theMNA.

Kelowna, British Columbia

The City of Kelowna and many other communities in the Okanagan region are home tomany Mtis from across Canada, including those who have relocated to B.C. within thelast few generations. Several local organizations of the Mtis Nation of British Columbia(MNBC) are based in and around Kelowna; in addition, several community-basedorganizations provide a variety of social services, including housing and child and familyservices, to Mtis populations in the Okanagan region. The committee met with severalof these organizations in Kelowna, including the Mtis Community Services Society ofBritish Columbia, the Mtis Commission for Children and Families of British Columbia,and the Okanagan Mtis and Aboriginal Housing Society.

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Senators learned about the experience of Mtis in British Columbia during a meeting inKelowna.

These organizations told the committee that the term Mtis is used in British Columbiato describe populations with mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry, as well as thosewith ancestral ties to the historic Mtis in the Red River region. Local Mtis serviceproviders, including those mentioned above, serve all self-identifying Mtis populationsand work to address their common social needs.

Methods of identifying Mtis in the region include community cards and provincialcards. Representatives of local chapters of the MNBC told the committee that they issuecommunity cards to Mtis based solely on self-identification. Particularly since thePowley decision, the MNBC has emphasized the provincial cards as the primary meansof Mtis identification. However, many Mtis community members have opted not to

enter the detailed and expensive process to obtain a provincial card, and continue to relyonly on community cards to demonstrate their membership in the local Mtis community.

The committee heard that many Mtis in B.C. have over the generations lost theirconnections to their Aboriginal culture and heritage, due to complex factors includingracism, discrimination and social dislocation. One important aspect of the work of theseservice providers is in assisting individuals to rediscover their Aboriginal heritagethrough genealogical research. Service providers told the committee that many Mtis,while generally aware of their Aboriginal ancestry, have over generations lost theirconnections to particular Aboriginal ancestors or historic Mtis communities. As thecosts associated with doing the required historical research can be very high, some social

services organizations access funding through the provincial government to assist indoing genealogical research. In some cases, individuals may use this research to gainmembership in the Mtis Nation of British Columbia.

The effects of re-discovering ones Aboriginal heritage are profound for many. Forexample, one service provider told the committee about the genealogical research herorganization did on behalf of two siblings in the foster care system. The organizationobtained some initial information from their great grandmother, and later traced the

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family ancestry to one of the founders of the Batoche Mtis settlement in Saskatchewan.The organization reported the information to the great grandmother, who indicated thatthis knowledge made her feel like she was somebody.

Northwest Territories: Metis North of 60

Two historic treaties cover parts of the NWT Treaty 8 (1899) and Treaty 11 (1921) .28The treaty commissions for these respective historic treaties with the Dene were alsogiven the authority to investigate Mtis claims under special Half-breed Commissions.While a few Mtis in the NWT took treaty, most Mtis were issued money or land scrip.Land scrip was only issued in areas covered by Treaty 8; Mtis in Treaty 11 territorywere issued only money scrip because of a lack of arable land in the area. The Treaty 11Half-breed Commission, for example, accepted scrip applications from the Mtis afterTreaty 11 was signed; and the federal government issued172 scrip payments in the

amount of $240 per person between 1924 and 1927.29

Senators meet with Mtis youth and regional representatives in Yellowknife.

The committee heard that early written records on the Mtis in the NWT are scarce.However, both written and oral histories cover the experiences of a prominent Mtisancestor, Franois Beaulieu II (1771-1872). His descriptions of Mtis and Dene ways of

life in the region are published in the writings of a Catholic missionary named milePetitot, and remain an important written source on the history of the Mtis in the NWT.30

Among the unique rights and benefits of the Mtis in the NWT are those negotiated underthree comprehensive land claims agreements.31Negotiations are ongoing with respect totwo additional land claims agreements that count Mtis as beneficiaries.32 Mtis residentsof the NWT are also eligible for certain non-insured health benefits, including dental andprescription drug benefits, through the territorial government.

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While the Mtis have attained recognition in some areas, the committee heard that theystruggle to be recognized in others. For example, Michif (here a mixture of French andDene) is not among the 11 Aboriginal languages recognized under territorial legislation.Federal funds to preserve the Michif language were at one time accessible throughHeritage Canada, but those funds have now ceased.

The Northwest Territory Mtis Nation (NWT MN) is currently in negotiations withCanada and the NWT on the first Mtis-only land claim agreement in Canada. The grouphad been involved in negotiations on a joint Mtis/Dene agreement since the early 1980s,but the agreement was never ratified. In 1996, the parties signed a Framework Agreementto begin this negotiation process, which in 2012 reached an Agreement-in-Principle(AIP).

Eligibility criteria under the future agreement are expected to revolve around a concept ofIndigenous Mtis. This term refers to those Mtis who can trace their ancestry in thetreaty territory back to 1921. The committee heard that those Mtis who arrived in the

region after 1921 would be considered non-Indigenous Mtis with no rights under theagreement. The AIP also defines Mtis as separate from other Aboriginal peoples, andthus status Indians would not be eligible to become beneficiaries under the agreement.

Footnotes:

1See Nicole St-Onge, Saint Laurent, Manitoba: Evolving Mtis Identities, 1860 1914(Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina, 2004); and GuyLavalle, The Mtis of St. Laurent, Manitoba: Their Life and Stories, 1920 1988(Winnipeg: Published by the Author, 2003).

2

R. v. Goodon, 2008 MBPC 59 (CanLII).3 See Manitoba Metis Federation,Natural Resources, and Government of Manitoba,Metis Natural Resource Harvesting. As part of this negotiated arrangement, the Mtisexercise their rights to harvest in accordance with the traditional laws set out in an MMFdocument entitledMetis Laws of the Harvest. See Manitoba Metis Federation,MetisLaws of the Harvest (Third Edition).

4 It should be noted that Mtis peoples across Canada have spoken many Aboriginallanguages and dialects that include Michif (e.g. Michif-Cree, Michif-Dene) and otherdistinct combinations of Aboriginal and European languages (e.g. Bungi, Chinook).

5 Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian, Our Lives:Contemporary Life and Identities.

6 See Archives of Manitoba,Hudson's Bay Company Cross Lake; and Frederick J.Alcock, Past and Present Trade Routes to the Canadian Northwest, GeographicalReview, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Aug., 1920), pp. 57-83 (JSTOR).

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7 English-speaking mixed populations in the area were commonly, and pejoratively,called half-breeds by non-Aboriginal populations in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

8 See Office of the Arbitrator,Northern Flood Agreement.

9

For more on the complex history and legal claims surrounding the Northern FloodAgreementin Manitoba, see Thibault Martin and Steven M. Hoffman, eds.,PowerStruggles: Hydro Development and First Nations in Manitoba and Quebec (Winnipeg:University of Manitoba Press, 2008); and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern DevelopmentCanada,Backgrounder - Manitoba Northern Flood Agreement: Implementation.

10 See Cross Lake Community Settlement Agreement(2010).

11The Northern Affairs Act(2006), C.C.S.M. c. N100.

12 These armed conflicts are known collectively as the North-West Resistance, or the

North-West Rebellion. For more on this history, see Walter Hildebrandt, The Battle ofBatoche: British Small Warfare and the Entrenched Mtis (Ottawa: Environment Canada,1989).

13 The committee visited and met with stakeholders at all of these locations in the courseof this study. See Parks Canada,Batoche National Historic Site; Duck Lake HistoricalMuseum Society,Duck Lake Regional Interpretive Centre; and Mtis Nation Saskatchewan,Back to Batoche Days.

14 According to the Mtis National Council and its provincial organizations, the historicMtis Nation was based within a homeland that includes the three Prairie Provinces

(Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta) and parts of Ontario, British Columbia and thenorthern United States.

15 The oldest community is Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, established two yearsearlier in 1774.

16 However, a few English and Scottish traders from the Red River settlement inManitoba also established families in the community in the 19th century. See RobertJarvenpa and Hetty Jo Brumbach, Occupational Status, Ethnicity, and Ecology: MetisCree Adaptations in a Canadian Trading Frontier, Human Ecology, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Sep.,1985), pp. 309-329 (JSTOR).

17 See Gabriel Dumont Institute, Virtual Mtis Museum, Gravesite of Sister MargueriteMarie (Sara) Riel.

18 See Larry Chartrand et al.,Mtis History and Experience and Residential Schools inCanada (Ottawa: Aboriginal Healing Foundation, 2006); and Gabriel Dumont Institute,Virtual Mtis Museum,Brenda MacDougall Discusses the Community of Ile a la Crosse(22 March 2002).

14
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref7http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref8http://www.nfa-arb.org/agmnt/http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref9http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100016370/1100100016371http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100016370/1100100016371http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref10http://www.hydro.mb.ca/community/agreements/cross_lake_agreement.pdfhttp://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref11https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/n100e.phphttp://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref12http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref13http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/sk/batoche/index.aspxhttp://www.dlric.org/index.htmlhttp://www.backtobatoche.org/http://www.backtobatoche.org/http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref14http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref15http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref16http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref17http://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/04451http://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/04451http://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/04451http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref18http://www.ahf.ca/downloads/metiseweb.pdfhttp://www.ahf.ca/downloads/metiseweb.pdfhttp://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/02400http://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/02400http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref7http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref8http://www.nfa-arb.org/agmnt/http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref9http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100016370/1100100016371http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref10http://www.hydro.mb.ca/community/agreements/cross_lake_agreement.pdfhttp://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref11https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/n100e.phphttp://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref12http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref13http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/sk/batoche/index.aspxhttp://www.dlric.org/index.htmlhttp://www.backtobatoche.org/http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref14http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref15http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref16http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref17http://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/04451http://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/04451http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/411/appa/dpk/01Jun13/gallery-e.htm#ref18http://www.ahf.ca/downloads/metiseweb.pdfhttp://www.ahf.ca/downloads/metiseweb.pdfhttp://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/02400


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19 In November 2012, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada held hearingsin Ile a la Crosse as part of its mandate to bear witness to the legacy of the residentialschool system and to guide a process of reconciliation among all Canadians. For moreinformation on the mandate and activities of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,see Truth and Reconciliation Commission,Home.

20 Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister Harper offers full apology onbehalf of Canadians for the Indian Residential Schools system, Office of the PrimeMinister, Ottawa, 2008.

21 See Indian Residential Schools Settlement Official Court Website.

22 See Ile-a-la-Crosse School Division,Home; and Sakitawak Cultural Site,Home.

23 For details on the legal and political history of the Mtis settlements, see Catherine Belland Harold Robinson, Government on the Mtis Settlements: Foundations and Future

Directions in Frederica Wilson and Melanie Mallet, eds.,Mtis-Crown Relations:Rights, Identity, Jurisdiction, and Governance (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2008), pp. 437-474,and T.C. Pocklington, The Government and Politics of the Alberta Metis Settlements(Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 1991).

24 See in particularAlberta-Mtis Settlements Accord(1989) between the government ofAlberta and the then Federation of Mtis Settlements, andMtis Settlements Act, R.S.A.2000, c. M-14 (Alberta Queens Printer).

25 See Government of Alberta, Ministry of Aboriginal Relations,Metis Settlements; MtisSettlements General Council,Home; and Mtis Settlements Appeals Tribunal,Home.

26 SeeMtis Settlements Act, ibid., sections 1(j), 75, 76 and 90.

27Alberta (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development) v. Cunningham, 2011 SCC 37,[2011] 2 SCR 670, para. 86.

28 Treaty 8 covers a vast swath of northern Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia,and a southern portion of the NWT. Treaty 11 covers the majority of the NWT and asouthern portion of Yukon. For a map illustrating these boundaries, see AboriginalAffairs and Northern Development Canada,Historical Treaties of Canada.

29

Library and Archives Canada,Mtis Scrip Records Treaty 11 Commission.30 See mile Petitot,En route pour la mer Glaciale (Paris: Letouzey et An, 1887), andParks Canada,Backgrounder: Franois Beaulieu II (C. 1771-1872).

31 These are: the Gwichin Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement(which came intoeffect in 1992); the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement(1994);and the Tlicho Land Claims and Self GovernmentAgreement(2005).

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32 One is with the Northwest Territories Mtis Nation (formerly the South Slave MtisTribal Council), and the other involves the Dene and Mtis of the Deh Cho region. SeeAboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, General Briefing Note onCanadas Self-Government and Land Claims Policies and the Status of Negotiations,January 2012, pp. 5658.

16
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