Absolutely. There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever. Métis have the right to self-government, the rights to the land. They require a land base in order to operate as a government. At the time of treaty, the Crown was trying to keep them from this. They prevented, as you heard Mr. Belcourt say, in the treaties.... We know that in Treaty No. 4, they prevented the Métis from being what we referred to as “treated with” at that time, to be receiving the same the rights that the “Indians”—the language used at the time—were receiving.
We were very concerned about their existence, about their rights as first nations people. We wanted our cousins to be dealt with properly and not to be ignored. They absolutely are entitled to the right to self-government, the rights to the land, the rights to a land base—not just the the rights to hunt, fish, trap and gather—all those aboriginal or inherent rights, as some people will refer to them, because they are Métis people. They are of our blood. There's no question whatsoever. They haven't been dealt with properly since contact.