Metis Land Claims - Supreme Court Hearing In Its' Entirety !!

The link below will get you to the video where you can watch the Supreme Court Hearings on Metis land Claims.
This is a must watch for all Canadians.
The case gives a little insight on the struggles of the Metis during the Rebellion era and also gives the viewers a chance to watch courtroom history unfold before your eyes. 

http://metisportals.ca/MetisRights/wp/vgallery/

We should emerge victorious here.
When one considers the era, the Metis were fresh off getting our butts handed to us by the Canadian army and our people must have lived quite timidly during the post Rebellion recovery, the government did have more of a fiduciary (definitely moral) responsibility to fulfill. My uncle use to tell me that the Orangemen would hang outside the local store and routinely ridiculed or intimidated our people.
Certainly not nation building nor an environment of acceptance.
The government should have been more supportive of the Metis during that period. More supports should have been put in place to ensure the smooth hand off of lands and full inclusion.
Facts presented in the court certainly prove that wasn't the case.

Membership Renewal Required For Manitoba Metis Federation

 a bit of info on the new membership requirements ;


RESOLUTION
NO: 2     DATE:  September 11, 2011 
WHERE AS:  Article III (4)(a) of MMF By-Law No. 1 (the MMF 
Constitution) provides in part that: 
4. Classes of Membership 
a. Individual Member 
Current Members: 
All current members shall be required to provide a genealogy including 
supporting evidentiary documents completed a recognized institution to 

objectively verify the members Historic Metis Nation Ancestry no later than 
September 1, 2012. 
AND WHEREAS Article IV (5) of the Constitution provides: 
Termination of Membership 
Individual membership shall terminate upon the happening of one or more of 
the following events:  viz, 
5. It is determined by the Federation that the member has not 
provided the genealogy including supporting evidentiary 
documents that he or she objectively and verifiably meets the 
definition of Metis in Article III 1 and the individual membership 

requirement in Article III and the individual membership 
requirement in Article III 4 (a). 
AND WHEREAS the Board of Directors of the MMF have determined that 
a number of current members will not be able to comply with the 
requirement to provide the genealogy including supporting evidentiary 
documents by September 1st 2012. 
BE IT RESOLVED that Article III 4 (a) of the Constitution be amended by 
deleting the words “no later than September 1st 2012” and substituting 
therefore the words “no later than September 1st 2014”. 
MOVED BY:  Ed Charrier 
SECONDED BY:  John Fleury 
RESOLUTION PASSED

Grandmaster Explains Fiddling Style of The Metis

Metis Fiddle Style Explained by Grandmaster Fiddle finalist Trent Freeman 

Louis Riel....never forget the man, the legend, the leader

Court Of Appeal Sides With Metis

CALGARY — The Alberta Court of Appeal has agreed to hear the case of a Metis man challenging Alberta’s Metis hunting rules.

In a four-page decision, Justice Constance Hunt granted leave to appeal the conviction against Garry Hirsekorn.

Hirsekorn was charged in 2007 after he shot a mule deer in the Cypress Hills.

In December 2010 a provincial court judge found Hirsekorn guilty of hunting out of season and illegal possession of wildlife.

A Court of Queen’s Bench justice upheld the conviction in a November 2011 decision.

The case is strongly linked to a landmark decision on Metis hunting rights, the Powley decision, which established a 10-part test adapting aboriginal hunting rights to Metis people.

In Hunt’s decision, he said Hirsekorn should be granted the chance to argue how the Powley case applies to Metis living on the Prairies.

The Metis Nation of Alberta applauded the ruling and said it goes to the heart of a 2007 Alberta government decision to cancel a province wide Metis hunting agreement.

“We are extremely pleased that the Alberta Court of Appeal rejected the Alberta government’s arguments to deny leave to appeal and that the court has agreed to hear this important case for all Alberta Metis,” Audrey Poitras, Metis Nation of Alberta president, said in a statement.

A hearing before an Alberta Court of Appeal panel is expected this spring.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Metis+hunter+challenging+Alberta+laws+granted+appeal+court+hearing/6058172/story.html#ixzz1kteKdD00
related reading ;
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2009/01/08/metis-hunting.html

Saskatchewan Metis leaders Signs Solidarity Pact with The French

 Métis Nation president Robert Doucette, left, and Paul Heppelle of the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise sign the solidarity pact Saturday afternoon in Saskatoon. (Ryan Pilon/CBC) Facebook 3 Twitter 1 Share 4 Email Saskatchewan's Métis and francophone communities have signed a solidarity pact, promising to put aside their differences and work together on common issues. The pact, signed Saturday afternoon in Saskatoon, is the result of six years of discussions between the Métis Nation – Saskatchewan and the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise. "When we need each other, to lobby and advocate for each other and to work with each other, I think that this pact of solidarity formalizes that process, and I'm very pleased to sign it," said Robert Doucette, president of the Métis Nation. Doucette said it's the first time in Canada that a pact has been signed between the two sides. The Métis and the French did work together, but that changed with the North-West Resistance of 1885, according to both groups. "Each of us recognizes the other community for what it is [and] recognize that we have a history," said Paul Heppelle, president of the Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise. "Perhaps that history hasn't always been the most glorious that it could've been, and we want to set that right." The two organizations have been meeting regularly since 2006 to "rebuild historical, cultural and social ties that were common to our peoples in past generations," according to a release.

MMF - Métis land-claim case in Supreme Court

What do you think ?

Métis present land-claim case to Supreme Court ‎ CBC.ca - 3 hours ago Aboriginal rights lawyer Tom Berger represented the Manitoba Métis Federation in a land claims case before the Supreme Court of Canada on Tuesday. ... Supreme Court reviewing Métis land claim regarding 1.4 million ...‎ CTV.ca Metis multibillion-dollar land claim in court‎ Toronto Sun Métis land case heard in Supreme Court‎ Winnipeg Free Press Winnipeg Sun - Global Winnipeg all 38 news articles »

Back To Batoche Right Around The Corner !!

http://www.backtobatoche.org/

A Board Meeting With No Purpose ??

Heres' a snippet taken from a Manitoba Metis Federation internal memo.

To: Ron Chartrand; criddle@cca.gov.mb.ca; Andrew Carrier ; Alfred Anderson; Robert Gaudry; Jack Park; Denise Thomas; manault@hotmail.com; Jean Desrosiers; Leah LaPlante; Ken Leforte; John Fleury; Judy Mayer; Joan Ledoux; jferland@mmf.mb.ca; Julyda Lagimodiere; Ed Charrier; Elbert Chartrand; John Parenteau; Richard Genaille; Anita Campbell
Cc: Amanda Boudreau
Subject: Board of Directors meeting

Good afternoon,
Please see attached document in regards to the upcoming Board of Directors meeting and provide confirmation of attendance at your earliest convenience.. thank you and have a great day :)

I have the actual document but I cannot get the darn thing uploaded here. The actual MMF document was sent in PDF format. The memo states the board meeting will have no agenda and require no departmental reports.

The board meeting was to be held July 1st Canada Day, a day before MMF President David Chartrand's wedding.

PM Harper Entertains Metis National Council Prez Chartier

OTTAWA, Feb. 16 /CNW/ - In what has become an annual event, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has opened his door to National Aboriginal Leaders to discuss economic development and other pressing matters. Métis National Council President Clément Chartier represented the Métis Nation at yesterday's meeting held on Parliament Hill.
He told the Prime Minister, "the Métis Nation Protocol signed in 2008 set the foundation for a solid relationship between the Government of Canada and the Métis Nation." President Chartier added, "We are looking forward to working with your Ministers and we are open for business."
President Chartier indicated that the Métis Nation has been fully engaged in the Federal Framework for Aboriginal Economic Development which fits into the Métis Nation business model. The model is based on solid, professional management through economic development institutions such as Métis capital corporations offering small business loans, venture capital corporations and education and training centres including the Gabriel Dumont Institution.
Federal Interlocutor for Métis, the Honourable John Duncan and the Minister responsible for Human Resource Development, the Honourable Diane Finley also attended the meeting, which lasted about an hour in the Prime Minister's office.
Last month, Minister Duncan hosted a very successful Métis Economic Development Symposium to which he invited his provincial counterparts from the five Western provinces, Métis Nation leaders and industry.
President Chartier explained, "the Métis Nation wants to bring the Symposium to the regional level to directly engage industry partners through round tables and trade shows. I believe the Métis Nation Protocol is an effective instrument which, for Canada and the Métis Nation, is yielding good dividends."
The first regional round table is being organized for next month in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
In addition to Métis Nation Economic Development projects, President Chartier also touched on certain employment and training matters, the outstanding Métis Residential School issue, struggles with Health Canada and support for Métis Veterans.
Prime Minister Harper listened closely to President Chartier's words offering welcome comments that the Métis should not fall through the cracks. After President Chartier's discussion with the Prime Minister, he came away confident the infrastructure projects raised during the last meeting with the Prime Minister will soon be announced.

The MNC represents the Métis Nation in Canada at the national and international levels. The Métis Nation's homeland includes the 3 Prairie Provinces and extends into Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northern United States. There are approximately 350,000 - 400,000 Métis Nation citizens in Canada, roughly a quarter of all Aboriginal peoples in the country.