Powley Day event hosted by Centre for Indigenous Student Services

On Sept. 19, York University’s Centre for Indigenous Student Services (CISS) invites Indigenous students to attend an in-person screening of the Métis Nation of Ontario’s virtual Powley Day event, including a viewing of the new movie Hunt for Justice: The Powley Story.

Indigenous students who wish to attend in person can meet in Room 280N York Lanes at 11:30 a.m. for the event beginning at noon.

Those interested in attending virtually can register here: zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItdO2vpzMvHtHpKsRyHvYITTRrnEhUxjq6.

What do we celebrate on Sept. 19?
Sept. 19 is known as Powley Day, recognizing the anniversary of the 2003 Supreme Court ruling on R v. Powley, a landmark case in Métis legal rights. On Sept. 19, we celebrate the accomplishments and determination of the Métis community, and remind ourselves of the work we must continue to do to protect Métis rights.

Who are the Powleys and what is the Powley case?
Steve and Roddy Powley were Métis hunters from the Sault Ste. Marie community of Ontario, “who descended directly from the Lesage family, one of the early Sault Ste. Marie Métis families” (Sterling and Lemmond 246). In October of 1993, the Powleys were charged with shooting a bull moose without a ticket, which violated provincial hunting laws. The Powleys challenged the charge by citing their Métis identity as evidence of Aboriginal harvesting rights under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. The Powley case was one of the first cases in Métis legal rights, and therefore would set a precedent for all future cases regarding Métis legal rights. This made the Powley case of special importance to both the Métis, provincial and, eventually, federal governments, and caused the newly formed Métis Nation of Ontario to use it as a “test case,” providing funding for the legal proceedings.

What happened during the R v. Powley trials?
In 1998, a trial judge ruled in favour of the Powleys, dismissing their charges. The Crown appealed the ruling in 2000 and again in 2001. Under both appeals, the trial decision was upheld alongside the Powleys’ right to harvest as Métis, which led the Crown to appeal the decision one last time in 2003, to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Métis Nation of Ontario was not the only political organization involved in the Powley case. While the legal proceedings of the Powley case took place, the Métis Nation (or Métis National Council) was working on its first official definition of Métis identification. As Jean Teillet highlights in her book The Northwest is Our Mother, the Métis National Council (MNC) was “concerned that the courts would take the definition out of its hands, thus undermining their right to self-determination” (Teillet 477). In 2002, the MNC published its definition of Métis identity, which is used to register Métis citizens today:

“Métis” means a person who self-identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry and who is accepted by the Métis Nation” (Teillet 478).

When the Powley case reached the Supreme Court in March 2003, the MNC began to provide financial support for the case. Finally, on Sept. 19, 2003, the Supreme Court issued its final ruling on the Powley case, unanimously upholding that Métis held rights as an Aboriginal people, and dismissing all charges against the Powleys. The precedent set in this case established a 10-step test used to determine Métis legal rights, and a three part test to determine whether someone is a legitimate Métis rights holder.

What was the impact of the Powley case?
The Powley case was extremely important for advancing Métis legal rights. The case set important precedents for future cases in Métis rights and was instrumental in creating standards for Métis historical communities and identifying Métis citizens.

Unfortunately, there were some people who chose to abuse the new recognition of Métis rights that came with the Powley case to falsely claim Métis identity. Jean Teillet, the legal counsel for the Powleys during their case, describes these people as “race shifters” (Teillet 480) or “new Métis” (Teillet 481), and highlights the frustration and pain caused by people claiming and appropriating Métis culture.

More important than anything, the Powley case forced the federal government to finally recognize the Métis as a rights-bearing Aboriginal people. The independence, traditional practices and unique culture of the Métis were finally recognized in a court of law during the Powley case. Métis still face discrimination and ignorance today, but there has been a substantial increase in Métis recognition, which was spurred by the ruling in the Powley case.

Want to learn more? Check out the sources below:

• on celebrating Powley Day: September 19 is Powley Day – Métis Nation of Ontario (metisnation.org);
• on the Powley case: metisnation.org/registry/the-powley-case.