Controversy dogs East Coast awards show
Métis chief seeks reversal of decision outlawing artist
A Métis chief is calling HALIFAX for the reversal of the East Coast Music Association’s decision to pull a Nova Scotia nominee from consideration for an Indigenous artist award amid questions about his heritage.
Cape Breton guitarist Maxim Cormier, who identifies as being of Acadian and Métis heritage, has been withdrawn from the Indigenous artist of the year category.
Karole Dumont, chief of the Council of the First Métis People of Canada, said there is no question that Cormier is Indigenous, and to suggest otherwise is an affront to Métis identity. “(Aboriginal people) are the only, only group of people in Canada who constantly have to prove who we are,” Dumont said. “We’re not going to take it laying down. This has been going on for quite a while, and it’s part of a much bigger dispute ... at the national level.”
Dean Stairs, chair of the East Coast Music Association’s board of directors, called the situation “regrettable.” He said the decision was made based on research and in consultation with government officials and community stakeholders. “Though we do not question how someone identifies their own ancestry and personal identity, we also (have to be) respectful of the Indigenous peoples of Atlantic Canada,” Stairs said. “We must ensure that all nominees for the Indigenous Artist of the Year award have met the true intent of the criteria.”
Neither Cormier nor the community he belongs to, the Highlands Métis Nation Association, is recognized as a member of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples under constitutional law, the board says. But Dumont said the awards association is wrong about both the musician and the Highlands Métis, one of the council’s treaty partners.
She said the council has determined Cormier’s lineage can be traced back to Métis ancestors on both sides, and based on this evidence, the council is consulting with lawyers about challenging in court the music association’s withdrawal of his nomination. A spokesperson for the music association declined to provide further comment. Representatives for Cormier did not return a request for an interview.
The chief of the Highlands Métis Nation Association, founded two years ago, said he was “disappointed” in the organization’s decision, but declined to comment on the association’s legal status. A spokesperson for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada said the government does not maintain a list of Métis individuals or groups.
The Métis population in Atlantic Canada increased by nearly 125 per cent between 2006 and 2016, Statistics Canada says, leading some academics to question the legitimacy of many people’s claims to Métis ancestry.
After centuries of discrimination, Dumont said many people of Métis heritage have only recently come to take pride in their identity. She acknowledged there have always been a handful of “charlatans” making fraudulent ancestry claims, but insists Cormier is not among them.
“He shares the same lineage and same blood as people who are currently registered as status Indians,” she said.