About Sébastien Malette

Sébastien Malette is an Associate Professor at the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada). His work focuses on Aboriginal Law; in particular, on access to justice, Indigenous legal traditions, relational politics, and worldviews. He is part of the Muskrat French Métis Community, which regroups French Métis (Muskrat) families and descendants originating from the southern Great lakes/Midwest region/Old Illinois region.

Sébastien and his fellow authors were awarded this year’s prestigious Prix du Canada for their French title: Les Bois-Brûlés de l’Outaouais – Une étude ethnoculturelle des Métis de la Gatineau. The Prix du Canada is awarded each year to important new academic works in the social sciences. This seminal work has been translated into English as Bois-Brûlés: The Untold Story of the Métis of Western Québec through UBC Press. He has been a collaborator with the Canada Research Chair on Métis identity-based in St-Boniface (Manitoba) and is currently a member of the Carleton University Institute on the Ethics of Research with Indigenous Peoples. His work focuses on ostracized Métis or “mixed-Heritage” Indigenous communities, their histories and resilience—with a special focus on newly-crafted exclusionary narratives, policing of Indigenous identities, and the problem of lateral violence.