45 First Nations denounce group claiming to represent B.C. Métis

Dozens of First Nations in British Columbia are denouncing an organization claiming to represent Métis from the province.

Chiefs and councillors from 45 Coast Salish First Nations have signed a statement in opposition to the B.C. Métis Federation (BCMF). Tsartlip First Nation Chief Don Tom, vice-president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), read the statement at the organization's annual general meeting in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Tuesday.

The BCMF filed a lawsuit against the Government of Canada in July for its refusal to recognize BCMF as a representative of Métis people in the province.

The court documents say BCMF has 6,000 members it represents from "who trace their genealogy back to a historic Métis community in British Columbia or to a Métis community elsewhere in Canada." The court documents refer to these B.C. communities as "Pacific Northwest Métis."

The lawsuit was filed by the BCMF and three of its members who claim to have ancestral ties to B.C. First Nations, or what it claims as historic Métis settlements within the province.

The statement from the First Nations says "No historic Métis communities of any kind exist within our territories. No distinct Métis people, language, or culture emerged from the union of Coast Salish women and settler men."

It said the assertions in the lawsuit "have no basis in history or reality" and are "deeply offensive."

"We will not stand silently as BCMF, or any other Métis organization or individual, attempts to co-opt our ancestors, names, and histories and undermine our rights and authority," read Tom.

The statement said they welcome Métis people who have settled in B.C. who acknowledge they are "guests" and that their homeland and rights are east of the province.

Keith Henry, president of BCMF, said in a statement the lawsuit does not involve UBCIC or any party other than the federal government.

"The B.C. Métis Federation has brought proceedings against Canada to protect their members' right to equality with other Métis people in B.C. and their right to freely associate and pursue their common goals," said Henry in the statement.

CBC Indigenous reached out to the office of the Attorney General of Canada, the defendant named in the lawsuit, for comment but did not hear back by time of publishing.

Court documents say the BCMF has previously received funding from federal organizations such as Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, Natural Resources Canada, and the Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians Contribution Program.

The documents list nine examples where BCMF has applied for programs or funding and been refused for not holding section 35 rights or because the Métis Nation British Columbia is the recognized service delivery organization for Métis in the province.

The documents call this prejudice against BCMF, since its members are unable to access MNBC services because they are not members. The documents say MNBC's definition of Métis requires an ancestral connection to the Red River Métis.

In a statement, Walter Mineault, president of MNBC, said his organization respects the rights and titles of the First Nations and values the relationship with First Nations.

He said Métis "share a distinct culture, heritage, and the Michif language. These connections bind us, but too often others try to define who we are or create their own version of our story.

"We know who we are; we have always known who we are."

Métis definition

Kurtis Boyer, a member of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan and JSGS Research Chair in Métis Governance and Policy at the University of Saskatchewan, said it is up to the MNBC to decide who its citizens are, and its current governance structure is the Métis National Council (MNC).

The Métis Definition was created by the MNC general assembly in 2002.

"National definition was really built slowly over time through consensus within MNC and so it really had the voice of the nation within it," said Boyer.

Boyer was a researcher on a report looking at the Métis Nation of Ontario's controversial inclusion of seven Ontario communities as "historically" Métis.

The report says the sole reliance on ancestral family lineage to First Nations is at odds with how the "Métis Nation in the West understands identity to be tied to a person's relations to a community with shared histories, political struggles, and cultural practices."

"On the Prairies, you don't have any First Nations saying that Métis people don't exist," said Boyer.

He said the Métis Nation's relationship with First Nations is important to furthering Indigenous self- determination, because it shouldn't be left solely to the government to decide Indigenous identity.