Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Fort Providence (Oct 07/05) - With Dehcho First Nations' lawsuits over the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline resolved and self-government back on the agenda, Metis leaders hope their concerns do not become lost in the shuffle.

"Metis people have made a tremendous contribution to building Canada, especially here in the NWT," Albert Lafferty, president of the Fort Providence Metis Council, said Friday.

"It is not our intention to dishonour our ancestors and ourselves by subsuming Metis culture through the Deh Cho constitution."

Land claim and self-government negotiations between the Ottawa the Dehcho First Nations resumed earlier this month after the aboriginal group dropped a pair of lawsuits over the $7 billion pipeline project.

In return, Deh Cho communities received $31 million from the federal government, $15 million of which is earmarked for economic development.

While the Metis are represented by the Dehcho First Nations, Lafferty said the federal government has a history of "discriminating" against his people.

"To us (the self government process) is about the reconciliation of an unacceptable Canadian legacy of corrupt practices, fraud and abuse of our people's rights and culture," he said.

Calls by the Drum to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development were not returned before presstime.

Under Canadian law, Metis communities are not eligible for the same federal funding as aboriginal bands and their title to ancestral lands are often not recognized, Lafferty said.

Through the negotiation process, Lafferty hoped the federal and territorial governments would address those issues, which he called a "stain" on Canadian history.

"At the end of the day, we want to see a good government that everyone can agree on," Lafferty said.