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The Supreme Court of Canada’s Powley decision is often depicted exclusively as a legal finality. Although this decision offers a long expected precision as to the Constitution’s intentions in Section 35 and legal definition of the Métis, it can also be conceived of as simply a socio-legal chapter of a book on the Canadian Métis identity and territory. As I shall argue here, the Powley decision provides a historical and contemporary definition of “Métis communities” that is both specific and broad. On the one hand, the decision establishes criteria which are somewhat specific but may compromise, if narrowly interpreted, the legal recognition of many Métis communities across the country. On the other hand, there are many “grey areas” in the decision, that is elements that remain vaguely defined and leave room to interpretation. Relying on the Métis experience of their history, identity and territory, I discuss what is at stake with regards to the specific criteria, and I propose a generous interpretation of the “grey areas.” The notions of “margin”, “limit” and “borders” as well as the different dimensions of the Métis identity and territorial “horizons” compose this paper’s theoretical and conceptual framework.
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