Métis Nation Affirms Upper Great Lakes Métis

During R. v. Powley’s successful ten-year legal battle, Métis Nation governments rallied together behind the Powley family and their Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community. 

The Métis Nation, for example, intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada through the Métis National Council to affirm the unanimous position of Métis Governments across the Homeland that the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community and Powley family are, “part of the larger Métis Nation”.

While acknowledging that the R. v. Powley case only contemplated Métis harvesting rights around Sault Ste. Marie and the surrounding region, the Métis Nation’s Supreme Court factum also recognized and affirmed a larger interconnected Upper Great Lakes Métis Community, of which the historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community is a part, arguing: 

“This case is about the Métis community of the Upper Great Lakes generally and more specifically on the Sault Ste. Marie Métis community.” 

Indeed, the Supreme Court of Canada’s unanimous decision in R. v. Powley on September 19, 2003 not only explicitly affirmed the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community’s constitutionally protected right to harvest, but also opened the door to future legal victories, negotiated agreements, and Métis-specific funding for the entire Upper Great Lakes Métis Community and broader Métis Nation.

See Our Sources

• MNC’s Supreme Court Factum in Powley

• Clement Chartier Presents MNC’s Powley Intervention at SCC

• Supreme Court of Canada Decision in R. v. Powley, 2003

• Hunt for Justice: The Powley Story

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