We Are Included!: The Metis People of Canada Realize Riel's Vision (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: We Are Included! The Métis People of Canada Realize Riel's Vision Joe Sawchuk We Are Included! The Métis People of Canada Realize Riel's Vision. John W. Friesen and Virginia Lyons Friesen, Calgary: Detselig, 2004. Pp. 166, illus. $27.85 We Are Included begins with the dubious statement that the Metis have finally won 'the right to status as aboriginal people' thanks to the Supreme Court of Canada decisions of 19 September 2003, referring to the Powley and Blais cases, which dealt with the Métis' Aboriginal right to hunt for subsistence. While the Powley case is undoubtedly a milestone in the development of Métis identity and political strength, it is hardly the most significant one on their journey. Surely that honour must go to recognition of the Métis as one of Canada's Aboriginal peoples in section 35(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982. But the authors of this book show little concern – or understanding of – the political struggles and course of events that shaped Métis identity and political status in Canada. Putting undue emphasis on the recognition of limited Aboriginal rights is merely one example. And even here, the Friesens neither explain nor analyse the decision or the logic and evolution of the court's findings, nor do they analyse, in any meaningful way, the reactions of Métis spokespersons to the decision. The book relies primarily on secondary sources. Somewhat defensively, the authors state that they have deliberately eschewed primary sources because their main question – 'What if the Métis ... really deserve to be regarded as a culturally distinct people, even a Charter Nation?' does not require the re-examination of primary data. This may be a reasonable approach for the historical sections of the book, given the plethora of published and sometimes redundant material already available, but their review of the literature is arbitrary and incomplete. They also make what can be described only as silly mistakes worthy of first-year students – for example, referring to Howard's Strange Empire as a 'historical novel.' Even more troubling is their coverage of contemporary issues, which is heavily dependent on news releases and second-hand descriptions of initiatives, government agreements. and Supreme Court decisions. The result is a distant and telescopic view of the Métis that yields little insight or understanding. This is hardly surprising. To adequately discuss the main issues of this book would have required speaking directly to the [End Page 561] lawyers, politicians, civil servants, and others who have been involved in and affected by the Supreme Court cases. Even more important would have been to interview and analyse the work of those who were engaged in earlier struggles, such as establishing the original Métis political organizations that were instrumental in gaining recognition for the Métis as Aboriginal people in the Constitution. Perhaps the biggest problem with their approach is that it makes the Métis appear as passive recipients of government accommodation and court decisions, rather than as active participants in the determination of their own political development. When the authors finally mention the Constitution on p. 111, they merely state that 'the right (of Métis) forcefully to voice their concerns occurred in January 1981, when the federal government announced the proposed Canadian Constitution,' totally ignoring the fact that the initiative for Constitutional recognition of the Métis did not come from the government, but from difficult and successful political lobbying by the Native Council of Canada, the Métis National Council, and several provincial Métis political organizations and their leaders. The authors ignore much detail. For example, they point out that some Métis politicians want Louis Riel pardoned, but they ignore the interesting debate that occurred among Métis spokespersons, some of whom opposed the issue because they didn't want Canada to be 'let off the hook,' or felt that the issue had been co-opted by non-Métis politicians. The Friesens also ignore interesting issues of contemporary Métis identity, such as the contrast between the Western and Ontario Métis, and the 'other Métis' in Labrador and elsewhere. It is difficult to understand the...