by Joanne DeCosse
Carleton University
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Christopher Adams, Gregg Dahl and Ian Peach (eds.), Métis in Canada: History, Identity, Law & Politics. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2013, 530 pages. ISBN 978-0-88864-640-8, $65.00 (paperback)
In 2003, the Powley decision from the Supreme Court of Canada laid out what became known as “the Pow-ley Test,” a set of criteria defining what it means to be rights-bearing “Métis.” In order to be recognized, Métis groups no longer need ties to Rupert’s Land, or to the Red River Settle-ment with its particular brand of nationalism that culminated in Louis Riel’s 1869 provisional govern-ment. Instead, Métis groups are designated based on substantive circumstances and require evidence of existence as historically dynamic and distinctive communities. These legal developments have had a great impact on Métis scholarship, spawning discus-sions about their implications for Métis rights, how the lines are drawn around “Métis” and what the label means politically, socially and legally.
These emerging conversations about legal classification led to the compilation of twelve essays by editors Christopher Adams, Gregg Dahl and Ian Peach. Métis in Canada: History, Identity, Law & Politics, aptly described as a “forum” by its editors, combines the works of many scholars, several of whom are newcomers to Métis studies, and offers readers an assemblage of fresh, innovative perspectives. The interdisciplinary collection includes papers by scholars of fields including history, art history, sociology, political science and legal studies, enabling it to express and promote dialogue between academics often divided by disciplinary boundaries.
As a whole, the collection tackles—and problematizes—the question: Who is Métis? The complexities of the category “Métis” (or sometimes “métis,” or even “Metis”) is reflected throughout the book. The authors do not share the same terminologies or theoretical frameworks and are careful to define their terms. Effectively, this linguistic diversity demonstrates that the very notion of stable identity—and stable labels—remains contested. Significantly, the authors frequently disagree with each other, continually emphasizing that “being Métis in Canada cannot be captured by a homogeneous set of rules and descriptions [but a] modality accompanied by diverse histories, identities, laws and political dynamics” (p. xviii).The book’s essays are organized into four sections: Identity, History, Law, and Politics. The first section, “Identity,” includes material dealing with personal and perceived Métis identities. Gloria Bell starts off the collection with her discussion of historical artistic depictions of Métis peoples in the Great Lakes region. She examines paintings both as evidence of self-representation, via clothes and jewellery, as well as colonial depictions for non-Aboriginal audiences, pointing out the importance of who tells a story and for whom it is told. Laura-Lee Kearns explores feminine Métis identity in her poem, which deals with personal family history and accentuates the fluidity and diversity of Métis experiences. Finally, Gregg Dahl takes on some of the issues surrounding Métis labels. He traces the development of the term “half-breed” with which he proudly defines his own identity in order to “honour [his] relations’ acceptance of that label” (p. 94) as English-speakers in the Red River Settlement, and because it reflects his pride in the Constitutional recognition of the term. Effectively, the section expresses the complexities of Métis identity in personal and scholarly ways, accentuating their overlap.
Essays in the “History” portion of Métis in Canada emphasize that politics have always affected how and when Métis peoples have been written about. In this vein, Darren O’Toole examines revisionist, historical narratives about Métis identity formation. He compares differing approaches and their consideration of class and occupational niches (namely fur-trade work for the North West Company), concluding that institutional structures and practices played an important, although inadequately addressed, role in the development of Métis collectivity. Equally revisionist, Liam Haggarty demonstrates how the traditional fur fur-trade economic narrative “obscures as much as it reveals” (p. 206) and does not account for the diversity of Métis histories and experiences. The section is concluded with newly discovered letters and poems written by Louis Riel ranging in date of origin from 1858 to 1885, presented, contextualized, and edited by Glen Campbell and Tom Flanagan.
The book’s section on “Law” is particularly interesting for the issues that arise out of legal categorization. “All encompassing identity categories ... are too abstract to reflect the complex reality of being Métis” (p. xxv), which may not simply mean bearing legal rights but may cover aspects including self- identification or asserting political power. In this context, Ian Peach provides a history of Métis Aboriginal rights jurisprudence in Canada. He focusses on how court actions since the Powley case seem to reflect a change in thinking about Métis people as ‘not quite’ First Nations to a distinct group, a move that was slowed by the lack of legislative records of recognition. Conversely, Jeremy Patzer challenges Powley as a key moment of Métis recognition. Instead, he claims that the essentialist characteristics put forth by the decision gloss over complexities and divides previously united people by drawing new lines between them, problematizing the very notion of legal classification.
Works in the “Politics” section begin with Kelly Saunders’ essay on how Métis organizations evolved from early self-government endeavours. She stresses that Métis people have continually pushed against state-imposed boundaries, using all available tools. However, she highlights the problems that come with over-reliance on Western-influenced political structures. Siomonn Pulla also provides a historical overview of Métis associations but does so in a broader context; she maintains that Métis movements “cannot ... be examined completely in isolation from coexisting Indigenous political organizations and the development of a national Canadian Indian policy” (pp. 397-398). Legislation, including the Indian Act, from which Métis peoples were largely excluded, left them comparatively unrestrained. Janique Dubois looks at the evolution of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S), the MN-S Constitution, and The Métis Act in Saskatchewan. She describes them as legislative tools allowing for the realization of measurable Métis self-determination. Lastly, the final essay by Christopher Adams employs “interest group” theory and uses interviews with Métis leaders across Canada to discuss the tools used by Métis groups for the purpose of lobbying, advocating and taking legal action in order to influence governments and public opinion on key issues.
The individual essays are, perhaps inevitably, injected with the technical vocabularies of the authors’ respective fields. Even so, the authors appear to have gone to some lengths to make their ideas clear to interdisciplinary audiences. Additionally, the helpful introduction explains many of the texts’ broad arguments in more accessible terms. Consequently, the collection is a valuable source for any professional interested in Métis scholarship. However, the compilation’s style and diction are targeted towards an academic audience, which may deter more casual readers. Similarly, the book will be better appreciated by readers previously exposed to academic research on the Métis. Nevertheless, Métis in Canada is a must-read for anyone, in any field, who is interested in critical perspectives on the Métis reality in Canada.
We thank Clara Bachmann for assistance in preparing the online version of this article.
We thank S. Goldsborough for assistance in preparing the online version of this article.
Page revised: 29 March 2020
