North Slave Métis Alliance

The North Slave Métis Alliance is a non-profit society that represents the indigenous rights-bearing Métis people of the Northwest Territories, who primarily exercise their indigenous rights north and east of Great Slave Lake. The NSMA’s mandate includes: The assertion, protection, and implementation of the indigenous rights of the North Slave Métis People; and the exercise of Métis responsibility to protect the environment and to promote and enhance Métis education, economic, social, and cultural development. The NSMA is vitally concerned with the protection, preservation, and sustainable use of its traditional lands and resources. With that in mind, the NSMA is committed to principles of economic sustainability, environmental stewardship, and self-determination in respect to its traditional lands and resources.

The North Slave Métis Alliance (NSMA) has been registered as a non-profit society in the Northwest Territories since 1996. The organization exists for the stated purpose of negotiating a regionally based comprehensive claim centred in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories. Prior to 1996, their members were represented in the 1975-1990 Dene-Métis Comprehensive Claim negotiation process by the Métis Nation of the Northwest Territories (MNNWT), which was formed in 1972 to represent all indigenous Métis in the Northwest Territories. This organisation was disbanded after the Final Agreement was rejected, and the pan-territorial process was abandoned in favor of the pursuit of regional claims. The North Slave Métis Alliance was endorsed by the MNNWT as the North Slave Métis regional land claim organisation before the MNNWT was disbanded. The alliance represents Métis in Yellowknife, Behchokǫ̀ (Rae-Edzo), Whatì, Gamèti (Rae Lakes), and Wekweeti (Snare Lake). The NSMA sponsors a number of local events, such as the annual Aboriginal Day celebration in downtown Yellowknife, which includes a parade, fish fry, and musical performances near city hall.

In 2013, the NSMA won its caribou harvest lawsuit against the government of the Northwest Territories in the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. The court found that the government of the Northwest Territories had an obligation to consult and accommodate the NSMA and failed in its obligation as a Crown actor. The court recognized that the members of the NSMA hold indigenous rights over their traditional lands. Provided by Wikipedia