Exploring Identity: Who are the Mtis and what are their rights?

This article is a part of ourseries, 'Exploring Identity.' We're taking a closer look at issues surrounding identity in Inuit, First Nations and Mtis communities.

Canada's 1982 Constitution recognizesthree distinct Indigenous groups:First Nations, Inuit and Mtis.

Who are the Mtis and why is this question so complicated?Here's some historical background.

What does 'Mtis' mean?

In French, the word mtisis anadjective referringto someone of mixed ancestry.Since the 18th century, the wordhas been used to describe individuals with mixed Indigenous and European ancestry.

But it's generally recognized that beingMtisis more than havingmixed Indigenous and European heritage. Mtis have a distinct collective identity, customs and way of life, unique from Indigenous or European roots.

The 1996 Reportof the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples stated "Many Canadians have mixed Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal ancestry, but that does not make them Mtis or even Aboriginal. Some of them identify themselves as First Nations persons or Inuit, some as Mtis and some as non-Aboriginal. What distinguishes Mtis people from everyone else is that they associate themselves with a culture that is distinctly Mtis."

Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jim Sinclair pushed to have Mtis and non-status Indians' rights recognized in the Constitution, helping establish the Native Council of Canada (NCC).When the Constitution was repatriated in 1982,First Nations, Inuit and Mtis were recognized as Indigenous Peoples with rights underCanadian law.

In 1983, the Mtis Nation split from the NCC to form the Mtis National Council, which represents Mtis communities from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

The Mtis Nation are descendants of fur traders who settled in present-day Manitoba. There's a shared culture, traditions and language among those who trace their family roots back to the Red River colony.

There are others outside of the Mtis Nation who do not have connections to the Red River colony who also identify as Mtis, particularly in Quebec andthe Maritimes.TheRoyal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples referred to them as "the other Mtis" and said they constituted"a minority within a minority within a minority."

Over the last decade,the number of people identifying as Mtis in these areas has skyrocketed.

How many Mtisare there?

In the 2016 Census, 587,545 people identified as Mtis across Canada. That number represents a 51.2 per cent growth since 2006. Over the same period, the First Nations population grew by 39.3 per cent and Inuitby 29.1 per cent.

The highest jumps in Mtis population were seen in Nova Scotia, Quebec and New Brunswick, with numbers more than doubling over 10 years. Nova Scotia shows the biggest increase at just over 200per cent.

This has sparked conversation and controversy around Mtis identity.

What are Mtis rights?

Section 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act guaranteed Indigenous rights but they were not defined.

In October 1993, Steve and Roddy Powley killed a moose north of Sault Ste. Marieand were charged with unlawfully hunting a moose without a licence contrary to Ontario's Game and Fish Act. They argued that as Mtis they hadrights under s.35to hunt for food.

R. v. Powleywent to the Supreme Court of Canada and in the court'sSeptember 2003 decision, thePowleys were acquitted and the"Powley Test" was established for determining the rights to whichMtis are entitled.

The Powley Test

The test considers 10 criteria, encompassingself-identification, ancestral connection and community acceptance, to determine whether someone is entitled to exercise Mtis rights. The test was modeled after the Van der Peet Test which determines how First Nations claims to rights are defined.

The 10criteria are:

• Characterization of the right.
• Identification of the historic rights-bearing community.
• Identification of the contemporary rights-bearing community.
• Verification of the claimant's membership in the relevant contemporary community. (One must self-identify as Mtis, have an ancestral connection to a historicMtiscommunity and be accepted by the modern Mtis community.)
• Identification of the relevant time frame.(To determine whether something was integral to the Mtis community, the practice must have fallen post-contact but before European laws and customs ruled the land.)
• Determination of whether thepractice is integral to the claimant's distinctive culture.
• Establishment of continuity between the historic practice and the contemporary right asserted.
• Determination of whether or not the right was extinguished.
• If there is a right, determination of whether there is an infringement.
• Determination ofwhether the infringement is justified.

The Danielsdecision

In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)that Mtis and non-status Indians are considered Indians under s. 91(24) of the 1982 Constitution.

The decision established that the federal government must accept responsibility for negotiating programs and services for Mtis communities.