Métis Peoplehood and Ontology
A Research Talk by Sebastien Mallette (Department of Law and Legal Studies)

ABSTRACT
Métis politics provides a fantastic window to better understand Indigenous political movements. In the case of the Métis, it reveals at least two political ontologies. On the one hand, we find a political ontology influenced by binary classic nationhood criteria, requesting the “birth” of a “New People” grounded in what is conceived as an exclusionary delineated space: the “Metis Historic Homeland.” On the other hand, we see a more flexible and relational approach to Métis identity based on this notion of being “walkers” of both worlds. This Research Talk will discuss an alternative model to think of Métis “peoplehood” that operates on the basis of a more relational, pragmatic, and multi-centred approach to Métis identity.

BIO
Sebastien Malette is of mixed-heritage Métis/Québécois (Michigamea/Kaskaskia Historic Community). Sebastien is interested in problematizing the relationships between Law and Indigeneity as both enabling and disrupting relations of domination affecting countries and communities with a colonial history. His research centers on Indigenous Law, Métis/Mixed-Heritage Studies, governmentality, environmentalism, and decolonization.

EVERYONE WELCOME!
Light reception to follow