ECMA nomination withdrawal highlights debate of who is Mtis

The East Coast Music Awards decision to withdraw the nomination of a Cape Breton guitarist in the Indigenous Artist of the Year category is drawing criticism from a group that says the association has no business deciding who is Indigenous.

The ECMA's board of directors withdrew Maxim Cormier's nomination last week and issued a statement saying the organization determinedCormieris not recognized as Aboriginal under the Canadian constitution.

Cormier, a classical guitarist fromCheticamp, N.S., identifies as Acadian andMtis. He's amember of the HighlandsMtisNation, which describes itself as an association created to "foster, promote and preserve ourMtisidentity and heritage."

"Based on research conducted, input from government and input from many community stakeholders, that in its current state, the law has not recognized MaximCormieror the community he is a member of, the HighlandMtis," said Dean Stairs, chair of theECMAboard, in astatement Thursday.

'Regrettable for all involved'

Stairs called the situation "regrettable for all involved" and pledged to look at its nomination criteria and to make sure it's "more clearly defined, specifically as it relates to self-identification."

The board declined to comment further.

Cormier also declined to do an interview but referred questions to theCouncil of the First Mtis People of Canada.

KaroleDumont, the organization's chief who is based in Ottawa,said theECMAsshould not be dictating who is and who is not Indigenous.

"We're appalled. To us it's not even an issue whether he's Indigenous or not. We've proven it, beyond doubt. He's part of a very, very important Mtis family," said Dumont.

She said her group is now considering taking legal action and wants to see the nomination reinstated.

Who qualifies as Mtis has long been a contentious issue in Canada.

For instance, the Council of the First Mtis People of Canada is not part of the MtisNation, which doesn't have any governance structures east of Ontario.

The website of Indigenous and Northern Affairssays there is "no legal or legislative definition ofMtis." A spokesperson for the department saidthe government does not maintain a list of Mtisindividuals or groups.

Award recognizes role models

Mi'kmaqactivist Cheryl Maloney told the Canadian Pressmany groups claimingMtisties have cropped up in Atlantic Canada in recent years, and in some cases, opposed theMi'kmaq'sefforts to preside over their ancestral territory.

Indigenous artists make up a tiny cohort of the region's relatively small music industry, Maloney said.

"We need to be proud of the achievements of our people and for somebody to come in and they're not part of the Indigenous community, that leaves us without those role models," she said.

"It's hard to watch if you're a part of a real Indigenous community, a real struggle, a real identity to the land when someone walks in and takes what's ours."

Must be part of present, historical communities

The 2003 Supreme Court of CanadaPowleydecision says in order for someone to be consideredMtisunder the constitution, they must identify asMtis, be part of a present-dayMtiscommunity and have ties to a historical one that shared a common way of life in one geographic area and with a collective identity.

Further to that, the court said mixed heritage alone doesn't make someoneMtis, but a group must also have "developed their own customs, and recognizable group identity separate from their Indian or Inuit and European forebears."

In 2016, 23,315 NovaScotiansidentified asMtisin the census. The number of people who identified asMtisin the Atlantic provinces rose 124 per cent between 2006 and 2016, Statistics Canada found.

Dumont saidsome people only recently started admitting they wereMtisbecause they feared discrimination and others are trying to reconnect or discover their culture.

She said she researches the genealogy of each applicant before they become a registered member of her group.

Cormier was never askedfor evidence he qualified for the Indigenous artist award, she said.

"I could've confirmed to them church records and civic records that shows every generation," she said. "It's a fairly serious matter that goes way, way beyond Maxim Cormier."

The awards will be handed out in May in Halifax.

• Who belongs in Canada's newest and possibly largest First Nation?