Nipissing First Nation chief calls on Nickel Belt MP to remove Indigenous claim from his resumé

The chief of Nipissing First Nation says there's a fine line between being proud of having an Indigenous ancestor and claiming to be Indigenous.

Chief Scott McLeod wants the federal Liberal Party to tell Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré not to identify himself as an Indigenous politician, as he did prior to the 2021 election, and not list him as such.

McLeod took to social media in the wake of news that the MP was being removed from the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) in a recent registry cleanup. 

Serré told CBC Indigenous although he is no longer with the Mattawa/North Bay Algonquin First Nation, he will continue to identify as Indigenous and Métis, but not Algonquin.

The AOO is tightening enrolment criteria, removing nearly 25 per cent of its electors as it presses to conclude a modern treaty with the Canadian and Ontario governments 

McLeod is spokesperson for the Chiefs of Ontario in its opposition to the Métis Nation of Ontario's self-government agreement.

Serré's continued self-identification as Métis is emblematic of a wider issue, he said.

"It highlights the problems that we as First Nations are facing with non-Indigenous people occupying spaces that are meant for Indigenous people," he said. 

Serré has said he is Indigenous based on his ancestral connection to an Algonquin woman born in the 1630s.

While McLeod said he's known Serré since they were young boys playing in minor hockey, he hadn't heard of his claims to be Indigenous until recently, but has discussed the matter with him.

"Ninety-five per cent of French Canadians in this area have an Indigenous ancestor somewhere down their family line, but you cannot point to that one single ancestor and claim to be Indigenous or somehow magically turn into a Métis person," said McLeod. 

But he added that Serré remains convinced.

Serré told CBC Indigenous reporter Brett Forester that he never benefited financially from his Algonquin membership, he was never in a conflict of interest and never leveraged his identity to obtain titles or promotion.

In response to an email from CBC seeking clarification on whether the Liberal Party would continue to list Serré as an Indigenous politician, a spokesperson referred to the earlier CBC story in which Serre said he'd continue to identify as Métis and Indigenous.

What constitutes benefit is more subtle than simple personal advancement and financial gain, said McLeod.

He admitted he doesn't know whether Serré used his claim to advance his career or not, but said it raises questions.

"I don't think it's appropriate to put that on your resumé, so to speak, as part of your electability in a position that he holds," said McLeod. "That's very, very misleading and very concerning."

He is calling on the Canadian government to ask Serré to stop identifying himself as Métis and Indigenous in the interests of truth of reconciliation and and for Canada to halt Bill C-53

"We didn't give [the Canadian government] any authority to make new Indians in our territories because that's exactly what the Canadian government thinks it has the power to do," he said.

"And we're getting very upset because, on one hand they're trying to legislate actual Indigenous people out of existence through the Indian Act and on the other hand they're handing out recognition to non-Indigenous people without doing any due diligence."

McLeod said it makes no sense at all to him.