Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Tuesday June 9 2015 11 POLITICS ABORIGINAL By MEAGAN WOHLBERG Leaders of the North Slave Mtis Alliance NSMA stood before a Federal Court judge last week to ght for their right to intervene in an ongoing court case that could have lasting impacts on the fate of Mtis in the Northwest Territories. The NSMA wants the ability to serve as an intervenor in a court battle between the Akaitcho First Nations and the government of Canada over Ottawas ongoing land claim negotiations with the NWT Mtis Nation NWTMN. The Akaitcho launched their case seeking to halt negotiations with NWTMN in early 2012 alleging that the eligibility clause for membership within the Mtis land claim Agreement in Principle overlaps with their own criteria and thus impacts their unset- tled land claim negotiations. That eligibility clause requires all NWTMN members to have either Cree Chipewyan or South Slavey First Nations ancestry. The Akaitcho worry that criteria overlaps with their own and could lower the compensation and land quantum they receive from Canada which is dependent on population. Two separate Mtis groups Enge While the case does not directly interfere withthe goings-onofMtisinthe NorthSlave NSMApresidentBillEngesaidthegroupwants to challenge assertions by the NWTMN that it represents all Mtis in the territory. He said the basis for eligibility in the NSMA isnotgroundedinIndianancestrybutMtis ethnicity as decided by the Powley test which establisheswhetherornotanindigenousgroup has section 35 Aboriginal rights in an area. Theyre attempting to broaden the scope of their land claim based on ancestry Enge said. But that is not who we are. We are com- prised of ethnic Mtis and thats more than Indian ancestry thats things like music lan- guage and culture. ThatdifferentiationisimportantEngesaid because the Akaitcho suit claims there are no Mtis in Akaitcho territory rather they allege allMtisarereallyAkaitchoFirstNationswho should be part of the Akaitcho claim. We have a direct interest because we want to ensure our rights as Mtis are protected Enge said. Canada NWTMN opposed Canada and the NWTMN have both op- posed the NSMAs request to intervene in the lawsuit saying the North Slave Mtis - including Enge - are not a distinct in- digenous group but are in fact eligible to become beneficiaries of the NWTMN land claim. Canada in collusion with the NWT Mtis Nation have shamefully tried to swindle the North Slave Mtis Alliance of their her- itage to subsume them into a land claim and we get nothing for it Enge said. Its old-style colonialism at its worst. Enge said the NSMA has already proven it is a distinct entity separate from the NWTMN through a recent court victory against the territorial government wherein its members won the right to harvest cari- bou in the North Slave and were given sev- eral tags for hunting the Bluenose-East herds and ceremonial harvesting tags for the Bathurst. If the NSMA is granted intervenor sta- tus Enge said it would be a powerful rein- forcement of the groups claims to indige- neity in the North Slave and possibly force Canada to create a separate land claim ne- gotiating table something for which the NSMA has been legally fighting for years. Securing intervenor status would help us demonstrate that the NWT Mtis Na- tion does not represent North Slave Mtis Alliance members and does not have a mandate beyond the South Slave Enge said. We want the court to understand that there are ethnic Mtis in Akaitcho territory and protect that. North Slave Mtis seek right to intervene in Akaitcho trial Filephoto 6.8103 in x 6.3125 in North Slave Mtis Alliance president Bill Enge says his membership is not represented by the NWT Mtis Nation and wants to be able to argue that in court.