After a decade of legal wrangling, Metis Nation-Saskatchewan leaders met with Premier Brad Wall's government Thursday to begin negotiating what could become a breakthrough in harvesting rights.

The formal talks come after Metis in the province won more than five illegal hunting cases in court, said Brian Kembel, CEO of the Metis Nation.

"We have always had the rights. It is just the province hasn't recognized those rights," he said.

"The Metis people used to follow the buffalo. While there are no more buffalo roaming the Prairies, the principle is the same. They follow the food to hunt. It is part of the culture and part of the heritage."

It's hoped an interim agreement can be reached by the fall.

The Metis argument is being considered in the two other Prairie provinces as well. In Alberta, Metis are expected to square off with the government in court in a test case next year. Manitoba, meanwhile, is waiting for a decision on an illegal hunting case before deciding on whether to fight any more in court.

At issue is how each province has chosen to comply with a 2003 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that said Metis have the aboriginal right to hunt and fish for food.

Some of the main snags are what constitutes a Metis community, which Metis have historical ties to an area and where Metis can exercise such harvesting rights.

Metis leaders contend that no matter where their people live - be it in a highrise apartment, in a city, or a cabin deep in the woods - they should be able to hunt and fish for subsistence on Crown land. The provinces, however, want to put some geographical restrictions on harvesting.

Saskatchewan initially tried to limit Metis hunting and fishing rights to the northern half of the province, but then lost a series of court cases in different regions. They culminated with the Don Belhumeur case last fall that found that Metis have harvesting rights in the south.

Roger Brown of Saskatchewan Environment said the province now accepts it can no longer restrict Metis harvesting to the north. The challenge now is how to recognize harvesting rights in a consistent way across the province.

"The north-south thing is not on anymore. The question becomes what is the Metis community that people attach themselves to to recognize their right," he said.

"The definition of community has always been the thorn. Alberta has found that; Manitoba has. It is getting an agreement on how we can define the Metis community."

Saskatchewan estimates there are about 50,000 to 60,000 Metis in the province, he said. The Metis put the number at more than 100,000.

Alberta had a negotiated harvesting rights agreement with its estimated 85,000 Metis but scrapped it last summer after a judge ruled that part of it was unenforceable.

The province then brought in new rules that restrict Metis hunting to areas near eight settlements and 17 communities north of Edmonton. Since then, Metis have been charged for hunting outside the designated areas.

The provincial court appointed a judge earlier this spring to oversee the resulting charges, which are expected to be combined into a test case that will be heard next May, probably in Lethbridge or Calgary, said Jason Madden, a lawyer for the Metis Nation of Alberta.

"The government's idea that there are no Metis south of Edmonton is wrong in history, it is wrong in fact and is wrong in law," said Madden. He noted that extended families of Metis hunters historically followed buffalo herds back and forth from the Cypress Hills in southeastern Alberta to the Qu'Appelle Valley in southern Saskatchewan and the Turtle Mountain area of southern Manitoba.

Ontario has an interim harvesting agreement with its Metis community. Under that deal, Metis are allowed to hunt and fish within a broadly defined region around their traditional home area.

With Saskatchewan now sitting down for talks with its Metis, there is hope another province can reach a deal that is acceptable to all.

"The time is right. The will is there," Brown said. "We are optimistic."