Reconciliation and the Metis in Canada

October 23 – 25, 2015

In Partnership with the Metis Treaties Project, Institute of Canadian and Aboriginal Affairs, Chair of Metis Research and the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa

Fauteaux Hall, University of Ottawa

57 Louis Pasteur Priv.

Ottawa, Ontario

This conference is intended to bring together scholars of various disciplines to consider outstanding questions regarding the state of Metis affairs in Canada. Relevant topics include the debate around questions about who are the legitimate Metis and what is the nature and source of their rights. The conference will also consider and examine the growing and deeper scholarly history of Metis people that has emerged and how this enriched history and understanding can relate to and assist in legal and policy development.

We also intend to highlight historical relations between Metis peoples and First Nation peoples and how this relationship can manifest today. Moreover, the conference will explore the historical and evolving relationship between the Metis and the Crown. This will entail a review of constitutional and legal developments and how they may contribute to new models of Metis – Crown relations.

These are difficult topics and will no doubt generate controversy and debate. It is hoped that this conference and the debate that ensues will be a small step towards a deeper and richer understanding of the Metis and the relationships between the Metis and others.

Agenda

Day 1: October 23 (Fauteaux Hall)

Format / Panel Theme / Speakers/Participants / Comments/Location
Registration
5:00 – 5:30 / Fauteaux Hall Foyer
Welcoming Remarks
5:30-5:40 / Nathalie Des Rosiers, Dean, Common Law
Welcome by Benny Michaud, President Ottawa Regional Metis Council / Room 351
Keynote
5:40 – 6:30 / Keynote Address / Paul Chartrand
The Constitutional Status And Rights of the Metis in Canada. / Introduction by Tony Belcourt
Room 351
Welcoming Reception
6:30 –8:00 / Reception food provided with Cash Bar
3rd Floor Lounge

Day 2: October 24, (Fauteaux Hall, Room 147)

Panel 1
9:00 – 10:30 / Perspectives on the Nature of Metis Social and Political Structures / Nicholas Vrooman
"Aboriginal Rights Litigation and Negotiation among the Metis of BC: Community Perspectives on Creating Legal Change"
Kerry Sloan
"Montana's Metis: Federal Recognition & Shared State/Tribal Sovereignty"
Nathalie Kermoal
“Navigating the Troubled Waters of Politics to develop a Métis Social Project: The Canative Example” / Melanie Mallet (Chair – Discussant)
All Panel Presentations will be in room 147
Break
10:30 – 10:40 / Coffee, Tea and Snacks Provided
Panel 2
10:40 – 12:10 / Mapping Narratives of Metisness, and Community / Jennifer Adese
"Métis Were Clearly in the Northwest: Narrating Métisness in Constitutional Debates and the Abuse/Misuse of s.35"
Signa Daum Shanks
“Being Presentist for the Sake of Passing On Knowledge: Using Community Stories to Help Improve Modern Social Relations”
Brenda MacDougall
"Towards Spacial Justice: Stories of Metis Families in Place and Space” / Nicole St. Onge (Chair – Discussant)
Lunch
12:10 – 1:10 / Short film and tribute to the work of Dr. Raoul McKay / Lunch Provided
Panel 3
1:10 – 2:40 / Metis as Aboriginal, Indigenous or Other / Sebastien Grammond
“How Courts Perceive Aboriginal Communities”
Chris Andersen
“Peoplehood and nationhood: concepts for understanding historical legal context”
Denis Gagnon
“A return to politics - The Senate and Métis identity” / Karen Drake (Chair – Discussant)
Break
2:40 – 3:00 / Coffee, Tea and Snacks Provided
Panel 4
3:00 – 4:30 / Metis as Treaty Parties? / Brenda Gunn
"Relevance of International Treaty Law to the Question of Metis Treaties"
Adam Gaudry
“Peace, Friendship, and Family: A history of Métis-First Nations diplomacy in the nineteenth century”
Darren O’toole
“The Manitoba Treaty – A Critical Perspective of Manitoba Metis Federation” / Alexandre Michaud (Chair – Discussant)

Day 3: October 25, (Fauteaux Hall, Room 347)

Panel 5
9:30 - 11:00 / Contemporary Metis – Crown Relations and Metis Rights Issues / Joseph Magnet
“Aspects of Daniels v. Canada”
Cathy Bell
“TheDanielsCase and Erosion of Inter-jurisdictional Immunity: Implicationsfor Alberta Metis Settlements”.
Larry Chartrand
“Rethinking the Plenary Nature of Section 91(24): Implications for Metis” / Yvonne Boyer (Chair – Discussant)
Break
11:00 – 11:10 / Coffee, Tea and Snacks Provided
Academic Roundtable Discussions
11:10 – 12:45 / General Discussion of Issues Raised and Ideas for Research and Collaboration / Conference Attendees who wish to contribute to a discussion of the issues raised or ideas of future direction for the Metis Treaties Project.
Lunch Keynote
12:45 – 1:30 / Gabriel Dumont and the Gabriel Dumont Institute / Darren PrefontaineandKaronShmon
“Gabriel Dumont and the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan” / Lunch Provided
Reflections and Conclusions
1:30 – 2:00 / Closing Remarks and Recommendations

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