In 1993, two Métis men, Steve and Roddy Powley, hunted a moose near Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., asserting their right to harvest on their traditional lands — an action that would alter the course of Métis rights in Canada.
The father and son were charged with hunting a moose illegally and argued that, as Métis people, they had a constitutionally protected right to hunt on their traditional lands.
After a ten-year legal battle ending in 2003, the Supreme Court ruling affirmed the rights of Métis people under section 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act.
All 14 judges who reviewed the case agreed with the two Sault locals, who fought not only for the rights to their own land but for all Métis people across Canada. This decision established Sault Ste. Marie as a critical landmark in the recognition of Indigenous rights in the country.
More than 20 years later, Sault Ste. Marie celebrates another milestone for the Métis community with the grand opening of the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Heritage Centre — the first of its kind in Ontario.
The centre, located at 136 John Street, opened its doors on Oct. 19 and will serve as a permanent home for the stories and legacy of the historic and contemporary Métis community in Sault Ste. Marie.
In addition to the two permanent exhibits, “Born Upon the Soil: The Sault Ste. Marie Métis Experience” and “Remembering the Powley Case,” the heritage site features meeting rooms, an early learning play space, a maker’s space for cultural enrichment, and a gift shop with Métis artisan goods.
Visitor hours will be determined once a new curator is hired within the next few weeks, and admission will likely be by donation, says Mitch Case, Councillor for the Huron-Superior Regional Métis Community.
The Métis are a distinct Indigenous group with mixed First Nations and European ancestry, primarily descending from relationships between First Nations women and European fur traders in the late 18th century. Over generations, the Métis developed a unique culture, language, and identity that is neither solely Indigenous nor European.
“The most common misconception is that Métis people are just of mixed ancestry, but that’s certainly the furthest thing from our understanding of ourselves,” said Case. “Our unique and distinct Métis identity comes from the fact that our ancestors saw themselves as unique and distinct and advocated for themselves as something separate from their Indigenous or European ancestors.”
Case explained that the Métis established a distinct political identity beginning around the 1800s, though the Canadian government ignored their pleas and petitions to be recognized.
The site, which includes a former Anglican church built in 1900, has deep ties to Métis history. Originally a cemetery, there are four graves of Métis ancestors still intact. When the church closed in 2017, ownership was transferred back to the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council with the vision of transforming it into the Métis Heritage Centre, so the project has been in motion for about 7 years.
The centre’s three structures required extensive updates to make operable. “There was no insulation when we started,” said Case. “The main building had to be gutted completely.”
Renovations cost approximately $2 million, funded by the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council and the Métis Nation of Ontario Housing and Infrastructure Branch.
Additional funding from Heritage Canada’s Museum Assistance Program provided $197,000 for the centre’s Powley exhibit, and a further $100,000 for a digital archive that makes more than 300 artifacts accessible online.
While the museum hosts about 40 ancestral objects at a time, the remaining 300 objects can be viewed online or by request in person.
“Since the 1850s we’ve been, essentially, a landless community with no permanent place to call home,” said Case in an interview with The Sault Star. “For the Elders that raised me to be able to see that there’s a place that’s going to keep those stories safe and that they’re going to value them and protect them, I think that’s the real meaning of this place, and to create an opportunity for our kids to learn about their culture.
“By and large, Canada and its education system has done a terrible job about educating people about who we are, and largely, for the better part of the century, more than a century, that was on purpose and deliberate,” said Case.
He also stated that the centre brings the potential for tourism and economic growth in downtown Sault Ste. Marie. In addition, “it’s an opportunity for important conversations surrounding reconciliation not just here in the community, but for the country, generally,” said Case.
“This Heritage Centre is a physical reminder of our Community’s history in Sault Ste. Marie, a reminder that down-town Sault Ste. Marie is built on top of lands once home to dozens of Métis River Lots, which were sold out from under our ancestors as increasing waves of settlers arrived in the region after 1850,” added Steve Gjos, Sault Ste. Marie Métis Council President.
Algoma is home to about 2,000 Métis people, with about 1,500 of them living within the city of Sault Ste. Marie.
