OTTAWA 鈥� A two-day summit in Winnipeg on Tuesday and Wednesday will hear from Indigenous leaders across the country on how they're reacting to 鈥� and can come together to fix 鈥� what they call Indigenous identity fraud.
Co-hosted by the Manitoba M茅tis Federation and the Chiefs of Ontario, the meeting will also include Inuit leaders who have raised concerns about the topic in their respective jurisdictions.
"The summit marks an unprecedented gathering of First Nations, Inuit and Red River M茅tis Leadership from across Canada who share concerns about the wholesale theft of their respective identities by those seeking to use them for their own purposes or gains," the organizations said in a release.
One of the topics up for discussion is Bill C-53, a federal piece of legislation that seeks to formally recognize M茅tis governments in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario. Also included on the list is "illegitimate and shifting claims to Indigeneity" in Eastern Canada, according to Inuit and Innu leaders.
Bill C-53 is hotly contested by the Manitoba M茅tis Federation and the Chiefs of Ontario, who say the inclusion of M茅tis Nation of Ontario threatens their rights 鈥� and who question the validity of the organization altogether.
The Assembly of First Nations, which represents some 630 chiefs across Canada, passed a resolution calling for the federal government to kill the legislation. The AFN鈥檚 concerns are mainly focused on six new communities the M茅tis Nation of Ontario and the province recognized in 2017, which it says have no historical basis to exist.
The M茅tis Nation-Saskatchewan pulled support from the legislation it's part of in April, citing political and legal pressures from the Alberta and Ontario organizations.
M茅tis Nation of Ontario president Margaret Froh has long defended her organization, and says she has been consistently denied requests to meet with First Nations leaders in Ontario to make amends and explain the history of M茅tis in the province.
The Manitoba M茅tis Federation, which represents Red River M茅tis, often speaks about how the M茅tis Nation of Ontario uses symbols of the Red River M茅tis without having community linkages to the area.
In a letter to Manitoba M茅tis Federation president David Chartrand in early May, Froh requested a speaking role during the summit, saying it could be an opportunity to "correct the record on the history, existence, and relationships between the M茅tis communities in Ontario and the broader M茅tis Nation."
As of Monday, the M茅tis Nation of Ontario is not included in the list of speakers.聽
In another letter to M茅tis Nation of Ontario members this month, Froh said in the face of the Manitoba M茅tis Federation's "continued and calculated campaign to erase the history of M茅tis communities in Ontario," it's important to share stories "rooted in facts." The organization began releasing short videos attempting to do just that, including one about M茅tis in the Sault Ste. Marie area, and is encouraging members to share those videos.
"We cannot allow anyone to diminish our historic M茅tis communities and our rights. The summit, as it stands, threatens to do just that."
The host organizations of the summit, meanwhile, say Indigenous identity theft undermines Indigenous self-determination and promotes "a new form of colonialism."
Beyond the Chiefs of Ontario and the Manitoba M茅tis Federation, the court system is also catching wind to what they call Indigenous identity fraud.
Earlier this year, British Columbia Provincial Court Judge David Patterson warned a "tsunami" of Indigenous identity fraud cases is coming to Canadian courts, saying it's driven by the "desire" of non-Indigenous people to access what they deem to be benefits of identifying as Indigenous.
In the ruling around child pornography, Patterson wrote that judges must be 鈥渁live to the issue鈥� and require proof that ensures an offender is entitled to be sentenced as an Indigenous person.
The offender in this case, pastor Nathan Allen Joseph Legault, claimed M茅tis ancestry based on 鈥渇amily lore鈥� that his great-great-grandmother was Indigenous. As such, he argued Gladue factors should be considered, which urge the courts to consider the background and traumas of Indigenous offenders during sentencing.
The author of his Gladue report, however, noted there are no indications his life experience is in line with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod, a vocal opponent of what he calls Indigenous identity fraud in Ontario, said at the time that self-identification is part of the problem.
People who aren鈥檛 Indigenous or only have distant Indigenous ancestry don鈥檛 understand the 鈥渉arsh reality鈥� of having that identity in Canada, said McLeod. Yet now that 鈥渢he sun is shining a little bit鈥� on reconciliation 鈥� and more Canadians are becoming aware of the "true history and treatment of Indigenous Peoples" 鈥� some of those same people are now looking to cash in.
鈥淲e have people trying to take advantage of it."
Included in the list of speakers for the summit are Manitoba M茅tis Federation president David Chartrand, Ontario regional Chief Glen Hare, lawyer Pam Palmater, academic Darren O'Toole, Nunatsiavut Government president Johannes Lampe and Simon Pokue, Innu Nation鈥檚 grand chief.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2024.
Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
