The inherent right to self government means recognition that the right has existed for as long as Aboriginal peoples have occupied their lands and was never surrendered to Canada.

Elijah Harper, Member of Parliament
Former Grand Chief, Manitoba Indian Assembly,
June 21, 1990.

Overview

Prior to contact, Aboriginal peoples were independent, autonomous, self-governing nations. Due to their tremendous diversity, Aboriginal peoples developed diverse political structures. In Canada, there are four levels of government, municipal, provincial, national and Aboriginal. In Canada's early history, the belief by most newcomers was that the original inhabitants would eventually disappear. In 1876, The Indian Act was established to assimilate the original peoples of the continent into Canadian social, economic, and political structures. Traditional Indian governments and practices were viewed as obstacles to assimilation.

For Aboriginal people in Canada the right to self-government is an existing Aboriginal right, recognized and affirmed under section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982.

To date, few Indian nations have negotiated self-government agreements. The Cree-Naskapi Act (1984) in Quebec and The Sechelt Indian Band Government Act (1986) in British Columbia are regional and band-specific pieces of self-government legislation. There continue to be ambiguities relating to implementation of The Cree-Naskapi Act and questions about the constitutional status of The Sechelt Act.

The Constitution Act of 1982 not only recognized and affirmed existing Aboriginal and treaty rights, it also contained provision for a special constitutional conference to discuss matters that directly affect the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, including the identification and definition of the rights of those peoples to be included in the Constitution of Canada. The series of First Ministers' Conferences, held from 1983 to 1987, ended with a failure to entrench rights to self-government.

The Meech Lake Accord was intended to recognize Quebec as a distinct society. However, it failed to recognize Aboriginal peoples. When Elijah Harper applied legislative rules to prevent the accord from being put to a vote by Manitoba politicians, it collapsed.

The Charlottetown Accord, agreed to by representatives from the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, and four Aboriginal political groups, was rejected in a national vote.

In spite of the absence of explicit constitutional recognition for self-government, Aboriginal people maintain their inherent right to self-government. Aboriginal people are continually working to regain self-determination in order to accomplish social, political, economic, and cultural goals they set for themselves .

Foundational Objectives
The foundational objectives are to guide student achievement in three areas:

Knowledge

Understand the nature of traditional governments and decision-making processes . (CCT)

National President