SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Metis man fighting for recognition of a group he has dubbed the "Mountain Island Metis" is facing eviction after he started building a cabin on Prosperous Lake.

The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs filed a civil claim of trespassing against Clem Paul in NWT Supreme Court after construction on the cabin in 2003.

Paul, a former president of the North Slave Metis Alliance, couldn't be reached for comment but his lawyer, Ken Staroszik, said his client has rights to land at Prosperous Lake because the Mountain Island Metis - a name Paul coined for the indigenous Metis of the North Slave region - are signatories to Treaty 11, signed in Behchoko in 1921.

Staroszik said the land where Paul is seeking to build his cabin is in the traditional territory of the Mountain Island Metis, adding there is a map from 1923 which shows the land was promised to them.

He said those belonging to the Mountain Island Metis number around 500, although some have chosen to become Tlicho citizens.

According to the NWT Registrar of Societies, the group has six registered members.

The territorial government launched its civil suit against Paul in August, 2005. Paul has since filed a statement of defence and a counter-claim against both the territorial and federal governments. The claim seeks to provide aboriginal title for the Mountain Island Metis, "who he claims he represents," said Ian Blackstock, legal council for the territorial government.

"We don't accept (Paul) represents an organization called the Mountain Island Metis, which we've never heard of," said Blackstock,

Blackstock added that the territorial government also disputes that the Mountain Island Metis has an aboriginal claim to the area where Paul is attempting to build a cabin.

The federal government's response to the claim states "Canada does not admit that Mr. Paul is a 'leader' of the purported "Mountain Island Metis.

"Canada denies that Mr. Paul has any right or authority to assert any claims of, or on behalf of, the purported 'Mountain Island Metis' in his counter-claim."

But Staroszik said the Mountain Island Metis were living in the North Arm of Great Slave Lake since the 1770s, on Mountain Island, hence the name.

"When the government says they haven't heard of the Mountain Island Metis, they're just being cute," said Staroszik.

He said he is currently working on an affidavit for Paul, which will include historical documents proving Paul has a right to the land he is building his cabin on.

Paul's statement of defence states, "In 1921, Canada promised the Dogrib and the Mountain Island Metis that they could continue their ways of life and economies unhampered, and that their traditional territories would forever be reserved for this purpose."

Paul will be holding a meeting on June 20 at the Yellowknife Ski Club to discuss the court case with descendants of the Metis who signed the treaty in Rae in 1921.