Who is Métis and Who has a Right to Hunt?
The Court has left it open to allow the Métis Nation to define its own citizenship by recognizing that who is Métis for the purposes of exercising a Métis harvesting right may be different than who is Métis for other purposes (i.e. such as citizenship within the MNO). Powley confirms that a s. 35 Aboriginal harvesting right of a Métis community can be exercised by someone who: 1. Self-identifies as Métis; 2. Has a demonstrated genealogical connection to the historic Métis community; and 3. Is accepted as Métis by the Métis community. The Court recognized that there might be other individuals who legitimately claim Métis identity, but do not have a genealogical connection to the historic Métis community. However, whether these individuals may also exercise a Métis community’s harvesting right was not decided in this case because the facts did not warrant such a determination. Ancestors of Métis harvesting rights claimants could have taken treaty without losing their Aboriginal rights or
