Law and criminal labels: The case of the French Métis in Western Canada

Abstract

This paper examines the conflicts engaged in by the French Metis of Western Canada with the imperial state during the 19th century. More specifically, it is argued that the application of criminal labels corresponded to the level of struggle between the two parties. In the case of the conflict between the Metis and the H.B.C, “economic” forms of crime appeared at the top of the legal agenda. At a later conjuncture, when the legitimacy of imperial apparatuses was threatened, “political” crimes were paramount. Finally, with the ideological, institutional and economic hegemony of the Dominion state, the Metis were designated as “social” criminals. In each of these periods, legal struggles involving the Metis may be understood as surface manifestations of conflicts over political and economic power.