{"id":56481,"date":"2022-10-22T08:09:32","date_gmt":"2022-10-22T12:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=56481"},"modified":"2022-10-22T08:09:32","modified_gmt":"2022-10-22T12:09:32","slug":"metis-community-calls-for-reconciliation-on-outstanding-crown-promises-172-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/22\/metis-community-calls-for-reconciliation-on-outstanding-crown-promises-172-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"M\u00e9tis community calls for reconciliation on outstanding Crown promises, 172 years later"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Yesterday, October 21st, 2022 marked 172 years since the Crown acknowledged and committed to protect the rights to land of the Sault Ste. Marie M\u00e9tis Community in the Robinson-Huron Treaty negotiations. That solemn commitment remains unfulfilled, and reconciliation is stalled without it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In recognition, the bell in the steeple of the Sault M\u00e9tis Centre — the former St. John\u2019s Anglican Church — rang 172 times, signifying the 172 years that have gone by since the solemn promise was made to the M\u00e9tis community at Sault Ste. Marie. Church bells have long been used in M\u00e9tis communities as messengers, to announce births, deaths and important meetings \u2013 and as it has for the past two years \u2013 the bell rings as a call to justice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Canada has long turned a blind eye to these promises but, the Sault Ste. Marie M\u00e9tis Community has never forgotten.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have made significant gains in having our right to self-government recognized and affirmed, but reconciliation is not possible without these issues being addressed. This is a top priority for our community,\u201d said Mitch Case, M\u00e9tis Nation of Ontario Regional Councillor. \u201cIt is fitting that we are advancing our call for reconciliation on M\u00e9tis land rights in Sault Ste. Marie the home of the Powley<\/em> case that remains the only Supreme Court of Canada decision affirming M\u00e9tis rights protected by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, broken promises and the exclusion of the M\u00e9tis from the Robinson Treaties — despite the Treaty Commissioner\u2019s express recommendation that they be included — is just one story in what has been the common experience of M\u00e9tis communities of exclusion and marginalization as Canada asserted itself on the land.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Crown\u2019s broken promise to protect M\u00e9tis in Sault Ste. Marie are not the only issues affecting M\u00e9tis communities stemming from the lack of a M\u00e9tis Claims Policy at the Federal level.\u201d said Margaret Froh, President of the M\u00e9tis Nation of Ontario. \u201cM\u00e9tis in Penetanguishene, Sault Ste. Marie, James Bay and Northwestern Ontario all have outstanding issues to be addressed by the Crown, to say nothing of the significant issues for other M\u00e9tis communities across the Homeland, such as the fraudulent scrip system in Western Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis community needs and deserves a process to resolve this issue, and I would argue that Canada needs it also \u2013 if Canada intends to restore its honour and reputation and make true the idea of reconciliation, it needs to sit down with this community, listen to our elders and make good on their promise. It\u2019s time,\u201d said Case.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Background<\/u><\/strong>: <\/strong><\/p>\n

As a result of the combined Anishinaabe and M\u00e9tis rights assertions and action at Mica Bay in 1849, Treaty Commissioner William B. Robinson was appointed by Canada to address Indigenous interests in the region, ultimately leading to the Robinson Treaties being signed in 1850 in order to open the region to legal European settlement and resource extraction.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

On September 9th<\/sup>, 1850 Robinson made a promise on behalf of the Crown that the lands along the St. Mary\u2019s River, upon which the M\u00e9tis community resided, would be respected, and protected. His report and recommendations to the Crown included a promise to protect these M\u00e9tis lands, which are now downtown Sault Ste. Marie. On October 21st<\/sup> 1850, Robinson formally submitted his report to the Governor General.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite M\u00e9tis pre-existing land interests in the region as well as Crown commitments that those interests would be recognized, the M\u00e9tis were excluded from the Robinson treaties and suspect land speculation led to the M\u00e9tis losing their traditional lands along the St. Mary\u2019s River. Notably, Commissioner Robinson, the Crown\u2019s appointed representative and the man who made promises to the M\u00e9tis on behalf of the Crown, also participated in this land speculation against M\u00e9tis interests.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 1850, the M\u00e9tis submitted a petition, accompanied by a supporting petition from the local Anishinaabek Chiefs, including Shingwaukonse and Nebainagoching, to gain free and full access and possession of their own land. In response, the colonial government designed a scheme that broke their promises, by requiring the M\u00e9tis to instead purchase the very lands they had lived on for generations and that they were promised \u201cfull and free\u201d possession of.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a result of the government scheme, within 10 years, 90% of the M\u00e9tis river lots had been lost. In effect, the Crown broke their promise to the M\u00e9tis as a part of expansion of Canada. As a result, the M\u00e9tis lost their land base and the social, political, and economic impact of that loss continues to be felt through the generations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Federal Specific Claims Policy Act which is relied on by First Nations to advance their historical grievances stipulates that the process is only available to Indian Act Bands, thereby excluding M\u00e9tis communities, including the Sault Ste. Marie M\u00e9tis community, from even getting to a table to discuss their historic grievances with the Crown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, October 21st, 2022 marked 172 years since the Crown acknowledged and committed to protect the rights to land of the Sault Ste. Marie M\u00e9tis Community in the Robinson-Huron Treaty negotiations. That solemn commitment remains unfulfilled, and reconciliation is stalled without it.   In recognition, the bell in the steeple of the Sault M\u00e9tis Centre …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-district","category-indigenous"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-30 00:57:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56481"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56482,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56481\/revisions\/56482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}