Present

"THE METIS PEOPLE IN THE 21ST CENTURY'

A CONFERENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN

JUNE 18-20, 2003

Radisson Hotel Saskatoon
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Co-sponsors: Dept of Native Studies, U of Saskatchewan, U of Alberta School of Native Studies, and MatriX; University of Manitoba Dept of Native Studies; others tba.

The conference

The objectives of the conference emerge from some of the goals envisioned by proponents of the newly established Indigenous Peoples' Justice Initiative (IPJI) at the University of Saskatchewan, including "To foster interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research connected with the theme of indigenous peoples and justice, in providing a congenial environment for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal scholars from Canada and other countries…"

The conference, which is presented jointly by the IPJI and the Indigenous Bar Association of Canada, will bring together, for cooperative, formal and informal discussion and debate, eminent scholars from various disciplines, policy analysts, authors, artists, senior government officials, and Metis people with specialized knowledge. The agenda has been designed to allow ample opportunity for all conference participants to participate in both formal and informal debates with speakers and panelists. Students and other researchers will have the opportunity to interview participants and engage in informal discussions. The conference will provide a multidisciplinary forum for discussion and debate, and possibilities of collaborative research, about the place of the Metis people in Canada in the 21st century. Papers presented at the conference will be published by the Saskatchewan Law Review and the Native Studies Review.

The conference will be complemented by some unique events. There will be a videotaped evening session where panelists will exchange views with the audience on the question of Louis Riel's status as hero and symbol in the 21st century. This question has been the subject of contested and impassioned views in various recent national initiatives, including several Bills in Parliament to 'pardon' Riel, and a controversial CBC televised 'retrial' of Riel in October 2002. There will be a gala dinner and dance, showcasing Metis culture with art, music and clothing shows and displays. Metis musical artists will revive the Metis national anthem, 'La Chanson di Bois Brules' created by Pierriche Falcon on 19 June, 1816.

The focus of the conference

The 1982 Constitutional amendment that expressly included the Metis people in the provision that recognized and affirmed the undefined rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada was the focus of intense political debate for a decade. A series of subsequent Constitutional reform conferences of First Ministers and Aboriginal leaders did not decide the nature of Metis rights, nor who has them. At the beginning of the new century, the focus is now on litigation that will develop a judicial theory of Metis rights. The questions that have been raised in public and academic debates and in the courts, have not been answered easily even among the people who identify themselves as Metis. These people now include a significant number of individuals all across Canada, as well as the descendants of 'Louis Riel's people' of western historical fame. Legal analysts and policy makers struggle to find applicable theoretical foundations and practical responses appropriate for their goals as they face the surging census figures that are generated by individual self-declarations of identity that are not tied to personal circumstances or acceptance by the communities or governments.

The conference is timely. The first two cases dealing with substantive Metis issues will be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in March, 2003, following two decades of litigation in lower courts. Metis policy-making is still overshadowed by uncertainty and contention, including in its political and Constitutional aspects. Some of the most contentious issues arise around questions of identity and definition, and about the legitimacy of political representation.

The focus of the conference proceedings will be on the historical, social and constitutional foundations of Metis identity and rights; and on the policy and practical dimensions of negotiating and maintaining an appropriate place for the Metis people in the life and public institutions of Canada.

The conference will emphasize the participation of Metis people in its proceedings and structure. This reflects an emerging appreciation of the significance of the participation of Aboriginal people in the development of law, scholarship, and policy in Canada. This trend is evident in principles that have been recently articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in aboriginal rights cases. It was a fundamental principle in the final report of the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. It is basic to the goals of the Indigenous Bar Association, and one of the foundational principles of the IPJI.

PRELIMINARY AGENDA

NB The titles of papers and presentations are, in some cases, working titles assigned to identify the subject matter.

DAY ONE - June 18

Welcome and Opening remarks

Ken Coates, Acting Vice Pres. Academic, U of Sask.
Mark Stevenson, President of the IBA

Overview of the conference objectives and structure.
Conference Co-Chairs:
Maria Campbell, College of Arts and Science, U of Saskatchewan
Paul L.A.H. Chartrand, I.P.C., College of Law, and Academic Chair, Indigenous Peoples and Justice Initiative, U of Saskatchewan

Opening Address

"The Metis people in the 21st century"
W.Yvon Dumont, former President, Metis National Council and former Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba.

EVENING SESSION

Moderator: Harry W. Daniels

Topic: 'Riel as hero and symbol in Canada in the 21st century'

Each panelist will offer a 5 minute commentary on the subject, followed by an interactive debate between panelists and the audience.

Panel:

Jean Teillet, great grand niece of Riel, lawyer on Powley case (confirmed)
Rudyard Griffith, Dominion Institute
Tony Belcourt, MNO
Maria Campbell
Others TBA

DAY TWO - June 19, 2003

Introduction to the day's agenda and issues:
Paul L.A.H. Chartrand

Keynote Address
How 'the Metis people' got into s.35 of the 1982 Constitution Act'
Harry W. Daniels, former President of the Native Council of Canada, and of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. (Introduced by Murray Hamilton)

SESSION A1
CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES
Chair: Rae Mitten, LL.M. candidate, U of Saskatchewan

SESSION A2
Chair: Wanda McAslin, Native Law Centre, U of Saskatchewan

EVENING SESSION
DINNER,METIS MUSIC, ART DETAILS: TBA

DAY THREE - JUNE 20, 2003

9:00-9:05

"Metis Urban and Rural Residence Patterns"
Professor Evelyn Peters, Dept of Geography and Canada Research Council Chair, U of Saskatchewan

SESSION 2
DEBATING METIS POLICY:
Subjects to be discussed may include:

• Provincial and federal jurisdictional issues in a federal system;
  
• Government responses to judicial decisions on Constitutional issues and to the final report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996)
  
• Political representation and group rights;
  
• Implications of Constitutional recognition for government recognition polic

Panel Debate
Senior Government Officials and Scholars, and Metis Representatives
Panelists will address several key questions to be selected and distributed in advance of the conference. The chair will facilitate the debate among panelists, who will be seated in a semi-circle in front of the audience. Some panelists may provide papers at the conference.

Panelists:
Fred Caron, Dep. Minister, Aboriginal Affairs Secretariat, Privy Council Office, Ottawa,
Harvey Bostrom, Deputy Minister, Aboriginal Affairs, Manitoba,
Donovan Young, ADM, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs, Saskatchewan,
Paddy Meade, Deputy Minister, Aboriginal Affairs, Alberta.
Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister Responsible for Native Affairs, Ontario ( invited)
Prad Khare, Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Community, Aboriginal & Women’s Services, British Columbia
Professor Brad Morse, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.
Tony Belcourt, Metis Nation, Ontario.
Jean Teillet, Pape and Salter, Vancouver.

Acknowledgments, Closing Remarks, Playing of the national anthems.