Fort Smith (Mar 08/04) - Metis rights in the South Slave have been challenged by a Dene leader.

In letters to the federal government, Chief Peter Liske of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (Dettah) -- on behalf of Akaitcho Territory chiefs -- claims Metis rights do not exist in the South Slave.

Peter Liske: Declines comment

Liske calls on the federal government to terminate the South Slave Metis Framework Agreement, or to clarify that those negotiations will not lead to treaty rights or any harvesting or land rights without Akaitcho consent.

Liske declined comment when contacted last week about the letters.

Sharon Venne, the Akaitcho's chief negotiator, says the letters seek legal clarification from DIAND.

Venne claims they don't state the Metis do not have rights. "The letters say the Metis have to prove if they have rights."

She says concern arose in October after the Akaitcho became aware of a map indicating Metis interest in land stretching from west of Hay River to the Barrenlands "in the heart of Akaitcho Territory."

Robert Tordiff, the president of the Northwest Territory Metis Nation, describes the letters as "bizarre." The Metis leader says there will be overlap between the Metis and the Akaitcho negotiation processes. "We're going to have significant overlap with Akaitcho. It's just the history of the area."

Barry Dewar, the director general of claims and Indian governance with DIAND in Ottawa, says negotiations in the South Slave have tried to avoid debates on legal issues that divide people.

Negotiations with the Metis seek to create a contractual agreement on land, resources and some governance issues, he explains. "It's not expected to be constitutionally protected."

However, he says that should not be interpreted as meaning Metis do not have aboriginal rights. "Basically, we've set aside the issue of whether the Metis have aboriginal rights to focus on negotiating these arrangements."

Liske supports his arguments by pointing to last September's Powley decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. That ruling used a Metis hunting case in Ontario to define legal parameters for Metis aboriginal rights.

"In particular, this decision calls into question the ongoing negotiations between your government and those 'Metis' groups in Akaitcho Territory, as well as their right to participate in other processes as aboriginal rights-bearing people," Liske wrote.

However, Tordiff questions the impact of the Powley case in the NWT. "I think it is a site-specific case, and at this point in time applies to Ontario."

There is no question Metis people in the South Slave have rights, Tordiff adds, noting the federal government signed a framework agreement with the Metis in 1996 and have been in negotiations since 1997.

In his letters, Liske argues that based on the Powley decision, anyone asserting Metis aboriginal rights in Akaitcho Territory must be connected to a distinct Metis community that existed no later than the beginning of the 20th century. "In our experience, none of this is the case in the Northwest Territories."

The letter notes all aboriginal people in Akaitcho Territory were identified as Dene or of Dene descent until the late 1970s.

Tordiff counters that Liske's version of the past doesn't reflect the true history of the North.