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Aboriginal Self-governance
The push for sovereign powers within a united Canada

For many aboriginal Canadians, the right to self-government is the principle solution to most of the issues faced by aboriginal peoples. The capacity to take control of their own people and solve their own problems is not only liberating, but also prudent. While many Canadians balk at the distant policy makers in Ottawa, centralized administration borders on absurd when experienced on the reserves.

Many counter that it is not possible to have two levels of citizenship in a unified country; in effect, that citizenship is an exclusive relationship with the state. But, both the European Union and devolution in the United Kingdom (i.e. Scotland has its own Parliament, and Wales has a new legislative Assembly) are examples of new non-exclusive political formations. But, in an already federalized state such as Canada, it is important to consider how many authority levels are possible before Canada itself becomes meaningless.

Modern Aboriginal Governance: A Brief History

• 1951: Revisions to the Indian Act signalled a tempered willingness to allow native bands more control over their affairs. Consultation frameworks were established and Band spending powers were expanded. However, it was not until 1958 that any band was allowed to entirely control their funds. Today, native bands control over 80% of the government’s budget for Indian and Inuit Affairs.
• 1960: Aboriginal Canadians were allowed to vote in federal elections without losing their status under the Indian Act.
• 1968: Quebec was the last province to grant provincial voting power to aboriginal people.
• 1969: A government White Paper proposed the repeal of the Indian Act, removing the distinction between status and non-status Indians. This move sparked so much controversy that it was dropped in 1971. The Indian Act, the Constitution, and various treaties determine the legal status of Aboriginal individuals.
• Land claims settlement has become a new priority for federal and provincial governments. The James Bay Agreement set the precedent for land claims, and the Cree-Naskapi Act of Quebec, in 1984, became Canada’s first legislation for Aboriginal self-government.
• The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement created the territory of Nunavut in 1999. Nunavut comprises one-fifth of Canada’s land area and replaces Inuit aboriginal titles with a number of self-governing powers. For more, see mapleleafweb.com’s Nunavut: The Story of Canada’s Inuit People.
• Areas of Contention: There are many areas of contention with regard to land claims settlements. The Oka standoff in 1990, to stop the development of a golf course on ancestral burial grounds is a high profile example, as is the decades long Lubicon land dispute in northern Alberta (a contest over natural resource extraction on the ancestral land of the Lubicon Cree).

Negotiation

There is uncertainty about how to negotiate many of the land claims agreements. Some leaders argue that they should be negotiated with band chiefs from coast to coast, working in unison. Others take a regional approach, such as the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, working at a provincial level.

The goals of self-determination and renewal of communal identity are challenging ones for Aboriginal peoples and for Canada. But redressing a history of oppression, cultural domination, and impoverishment has become one of the most pressing issues in contemporary Canadian society.

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The Future for Canada’s Aboriginal People