The long walk of Canadian native People toward the full ...classiques.uqac.ca/.../long_walk_of_Native_People.docx · Web viewThese dealt with questions of general interest, special

Marc-Adélard Tremblay † (1922-2014)et Jules Dufour † (1929-1997)

Professor emeritus Laval University Professor at University of Quebec at Chicoutimi

(2006)

The long walk of Canadian nativePeople toward the full conquest

of their rights, freedomand self-determination.

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The long walk of Canadian native People toward the full conquest ... (2006) 2


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Marc-Adélard Tremblay et Jules Dufour

The long walk of Canadian native People toward the full con-quest of their rights, freedom and self-determination.

Kuujjaq, Nunavik, Canada: IPSSAS Siminar 2006, From Monday, May 22 to Friday, June 2, 2006, 32 + 36 pp.

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Marc-Adélard Tremblayet Jules Dufour (2006)

The long walk of Canadian native Peopletoward the full conquest of their rights, freedom

and self-determination.

Kuujjaq, Nunavik, Canada: IPSSAS Siminar 2006, From Monday, May 22 to Friday, June 2, 2006, 32 + 36 pp.


Note pour la version numérique : La numérotation entre crochets [] correspond à la pagination, en début de page, de l'édition d'origine numérisée. JMT.

Par exemple, [1] correspond au début de la page 1 de l’édition papier numérisée.




Table of contents

Summary [ii]

THE LONG WALK OF CANADIAN ABORIGINAL PEOPLES TO - WARD THE FULL ACHIEVEMENT OF THEIR RIGHTS, FREE-

DOM AND SELF-DETERMINATION (1950-2005) [1]

I. General framework of reference [1]

II. The long walk of canadian aboriginal peoples toward self-determi-nation : analysis of thematic periods : 1950-2005 . [8]

1. First thematic period, 1950 - 1975 : new awareness of Native peoples related to their marginal political status, their poor liv-ing conditions compared to those of nownative canadians [8]

2. Second theme: the establishment of national native organiza-tions : 1970-1980 [11]

3. Third theme 1970-1990 : aboriginal peoples get involved in democratic moves at two distinct levels [14]

4. Fourth theme : the emergence of structuring factors. (1950-2005) [20]

5. Fifth theme : major social crises occur in canada which are re-lated to aboriginal issues. [23]

6. Sixth theme : 1985-2005 . The federal and provincial govern-ments made public their long-term aboriginal policy and de-


fined their action plans conceived to be better adapted to the realities of native peoples. [25]

7. Seventh theme 1990-2005 : the establishment by federal and provincial governments of guiding principles and main orienta-tions aiming at normalizing theur relationships with native peo-ples. [29]

General Conclusion [31]

Schéma synthèse des périodes

Bibliographie générale et références chronologiques [29]


[2]



SUMMARY

Retour à la table des matières

This long walk did not begin at the time of the arrival of the French or the English in Canada, a territory they occupied since immemorial time, but shortly after the middle of the twentieth century. At first, the First Nations perceived themselves as generous and welcoming neigh-bors, then further on as friends and allies of the one or the other ex-pecting to live harmoniously along side with them. But they disen-chanted after the Creation of the Canadian Confederation (1867) upon becoming aware later on that if they had been recognized as founding Peoples it had made little difference in their daily life. The loss of this illusion was accentuated at the time of the setting in place of the tute-lage system and the confinement on Reserves with the Indian Act of 1867. It was only shortly after the tabling of the Report of the Hawthorn-Tremblay Commission (1966-67), the Federal White Paper (1969) and its rejection by the Alberta Chiefs (1970) that Canadian Native Peoples have begun to put in place Native organizations in-vested with political power and have spread across the country a newly built up pattern of constitutive elements of their cultural iden-tity. The latter was being based on ancestral traditions rather than de-pending on values and behaviors of the dominant social class. This Amerindian awakening has been accompanied by a sharp attitude change at the Federal level and among some Canadian provinces. Such a new outlook has made possible the James Bay and Northern


Quebec Agreement (1975) - the negotiation of a Native lifeway, a First in Canada -, the Northeastern Quebec Agreement (1978), the in-serting into the Canadian Constitution of the acknowledgement of Na-tive rights and their Protection (1982), the establishment of the Royal Commission on Native Peoples (1992) and the setting in place from West to the East of a large number of Negotiating Tables dealing with Native Governance and the establishment of the Nunavut Territory (1999). A synthetic Table will be built to show the main achievements of the last fifty-five years. The Nunavik Inuit will be used as a case study and current dynamics will illustrate the ideological new facets among the non-Natives which have been at the onset of these new ori-entations. We will reconstruct the different stages which are likely to lead to the establishment of a public government with a wide degree of autonomy within a provincial framework.


[1]

The long walkof Canadian native Peopletoward the full conquestof their rights, freedomand self-determination.



[1]



IGENERAL FRAMEWORK

OF REFERENCE


Research work for this chapter was undertaken by the authors while they served as Commissioners on the Nunavik Commission (1999-2001) and later on as special advisors to the Federal negotiator-Nunavik (2002-2005) for the establishment of a public government in Nunavik which would have a large degree of autonomy within the Province of Quebec in the management of their own affairs. Enriched by such an exceptional experience, we wished to share our views and interpretations of what was going on with others who work on Abo-riginal groups or act, in an administrative capacity within govern-ments, Native organizations or private agencies. In order to reach the best degree of objectivity and scientific autonomy, we did not seek to get financial support from any granting agencies. However, we felt the necessity to get feedback and criticism from our colleagues on a pre-liminary version of a paper reflecting the major aspects of our find-ings and thoughts which was read at one of the sessions of the Cana-dian Anthropology Society Annual meetings in Halifax in 2003. The same paper was read at the spring meetings of GETIC at Laval Uni-versity. Peer reactions, while encouraging, brought us to review and make some changes in some of the thematic periods


These thematic periods were established to reflect, in the best pos-sible manner, the evolution of the process of Aboriginal relationships with governments and their agencies. This brought us to review the efforts made by Aboriginal Peoples to better organize themselves at the regional and national levels with the aim to brighten their public image, to express, more concretely, their needs, their expectations, to achieve greater strength and to seek the full recognition of their rights and of their capacity to take on the management of their own affairs. Such a research objective required a global theoretical perspective which would take into account a wide range of historical factors, the dynamisms which were at the heart of their transformations being ex-pressed by many Aboriginal achievements. According to our perspec-tive, those took place within the framework of a ((Long Walk)) begun by Aboriginals living in Canada, especially since the middle of the twentieth century. Their expressed goal was to get the full recognition of their land and ancestral rights as well as to achieve, with the help of a step by step strategy, self-determination.

While working on the Nunavik Commission, the authors felt that they shared comparable perspectives derived from field observations in different contexts. In Dufour's case, it was in acting as an expert to assess environmental and socioeconomic impacts of major industrial projects or organizational innovations in Aboriginal [2] areas, For in-stance, Dufour served as a commissioner on the Commission for the Environmental assessment of the Great Whale Hydroelectric Project (1992-1994), as an expert on the Commission for the environmental Assessment of the SM-3 Hydroelectric Project (1993) and on the Commission for the Environmental Assessment of the Manouane River waters diversion (2001). Tremblay, for his part, was the co-Di-rector of the First Canadian Indian Study Commission at the National level (1964-1967) and a member of the Canadian Polar Commission (1991-1997) working mainly in arctic areas. The authors' involvement in Native questions cumulate about seventy years of experience.

The 1950-2005 historical profile chosen had the advantage of pro-viding us a wide overview which permits the identification of major trends and their changing patterns over such a time period. For the sharpness of our analysis, however, we had to divide the profile in a number of thematic periods where events examined had a large degree of similarity and could be represented by a general concept which


characterized their main components in regard to initiatives taken by Natives or governments or yet by both jointly, reactions which fol-lowed and goals achieved. Therefore the elements covered within such thematic configurations would help us to understand better how the different stages of the « Long Walk » : who were the main pro-moters of initiatives, on what circumstances and by which mecha-nisms Aboriginal leaders' views have been shared by Native commu-nities ? What have been the stands on the part of non-Native leaders and communities ? Can we find out if these Aboriginal views have been accepted piecemeal or as a whole by Canadian successive gov-ernments and the public in general ? In other words, what have been the strategies and means used by both governments and Aboriginals to make sure that steps undertaken had the best degree of efficiency ?

Questions raised above have their importance in such a wide con-text. We observe here a power relationship and a communication process where positions are held by three main actors : a) govern-ments and their main agencies ; b) Aboriginal Peoples, their organiza-tions and their communities ; and c) non-Native people and their re-gional organizations which defend and promote their views and atti-tudes. These actors are members of three distinct communities. One of them (governments) supersedes the two others in that, in a democratic political structure, it has to arbitrate cases in dispute between citizens. Usually it does it having in mind « the common good » or « the supe-rior interests of all citizens ». When conflicts arise between govern-ments and Aboriginals, in the past at least, the arbitration was relayed to Courts. In past decades, however, issues at stake between govern-ments and Aboriginals were often solved through a negotiation process. Such a process, especially in the case of the Federal govern-ment and if no effort is made to create equality of opportunity, makes it hard to discuss Nation to Nation due to the fiduciary function of the Federal as representative of the Crown. Nonetheless, negotiation be-tween concerned parties is viewed as the only way to go to solve con-flicts and problems.

The distinction among initiative promoters is an important one in that it allows us to identify which of those three communities is at the origin of historical initiatives related [3] to the « Long Walk ». It could originate from Natives, from governments or yet it could be a joint venture. For each of the thematic period we look at various ini-


tiatives undertaken and results obtained either for Natives or govern-ments. When results are known are being known by non-Natives, they could agree with them, suggest correctives or, in some cases, they can speak out their disagreements in regard to certain aspect of initiatives taken or results obtained. Taking into account the multiple interactions between the three stakeholders, one sees the importance of the com-munication process. It is important to make sure that all concerned parties, at all stages of a given initiative hold a reliable and complete information. Whenever a well-meant and commendable initiative gets negative reactions on the part of concerned stakeholders, it is usually the result of an incomplete information or, in few cases, a skewed one.

A second feature of our theoretical perspective relates to the type of global analysis we wished to build. It is one that aims at providing a global image of Native initiatives without taking into account some analytic variables which would provide a more refined view of the anticipated analysis, However, such a decision would not prevent us from pointing to concrete results obtained even if we did not try to reconstruct all the relevant dynamisms of the chain at work in each case under analysis. Thus we came to spot major initiatives under-taken, either by Natives or by governments, which produced tangible results related to Native needs, socio-economic aspirations and rights. We recorded all this in an analytic chart which contains four separate elements : a) date at which the initiative took place, by whom it was promoted and for which political level it was relevant, Provincial or Federal ? ; b) Native Peoples concerned ; c) nature of the initiative, usually defined by objectives sought ; and d) concrete results achieved.

Given the complexity of sociohistorical and sociopolitical aspects at stake, the overall profile obtained was inadequate. We felt that it was important to split the fifty-fifth year time period into seven the-matic periods, Such a methodological strategy would greatly help to understand the progressive evolution of Native aims while overlook-ing specific strategies being implemented at different time periods, being aware that those being used by initiative promoters were viewed as the most promising ones, under given circumstances, to reach ob-jectives sought. We knew in advance that many changes occurred dur-ing the overall period concerned in regard to initiative promoters, problems at stake and non-Native attitudes toward Aboriginal chaims


and objectives. The historical period was divided according to seven themes. We shall identify the major components of each general theme being aware that some of them are relevant and extend over a number of years and as such could overlap with others.

[4]

The First Thematic Period : 1950-1975. New Awareness of Native Peoples Related to their Marginal Political Status Within Canada, their poor living conditions Compared to non-Native Canadians.

Such strong feelings coincided with the deposit of the Hawthorn-Tremblay Study Commission's Report (1966-1967) and the visit of Quebec Nunavik Communities by the Neville-Robitaille Study Com-mittee (1969-1970).

The Second Thematic Theme : 1970-1980. The Establishment of National Native Organizations.

The settling in place of these National Native organizations meant that from now on they were to structure and consolidate Native claims sent to governments and start actions aimed at the full recognition of their rights. Despite the fact that Native Political organizations faced legal obstacles on many occasions, their strength was recognized and their action at the National level had continuity and registered sizeable gains.

The Third Thematic Theme : 1970-1995. Native Peoples get in-volved in Democratic Moves at two Distinct Levels.

During that time period Natives developed a strategy whereby they act at two levels at the same time in order to widen their influence and get more substantial results. Natives sought Court judgments to solve major conflicts but also attempted at reaching political agreements with governments, in order to get the full recognition of their Ances-tral and Aboriginal rights.


The Fourth Thematic Theme : 1950-2005. The Emergence of Structuring Factors.

This theme is of a different nature from the preceding ones. Such a difference relates to the fact that some political, economic and social initiatives had such a great weight that they can be labeled « structur-ing factors » in regard to outcomes, that is Native positive progress.

Some of these were related to Quebec stands, others, to the country as a whole. At this stage, we shall identify the major ones and the ana-lytic commentaries will appear later on as we proceed to examine at greater length each of the seven themes.

A. The various Study and Consultative Commissions established to study Canadian Aboriginal issues : the reports of those Com-missions were highly positive in regard to Natives 'expectations and aspirations and also in regard to their rights and to their sta-tus within Canada. The Hawthorn-Tremblay Indian Commis-sion (1964-1967), The Neville-Robitaille Study Committer (1969-1970), The Erasmus-Dussault Royal Commission (1991-1996) and the Nunavik Commission (1999-2001.

B. Court Judgments : On the whole they have been sensitive to Native claims as well as to the recognition and protection of their rights, The Courts have projected a [5] positive image of Aboriginal Peoples and explicitly made clear that Natives were defending a « Just Cause ».

C. The Federal government White Paper (1969) and the Native Red Book (1970) were at the onset of Native Peoples seeing the need to establish Native Organizations to defend their rights and to promote and reinforce Native traditions, particularly na-tive languages. Such planning was accompanied by a revitaliza-tion of Native cultural identity where the maintenance and the progress of Native languages were viewed as the most funda-mental cultural elements

D. The Malouf Judgment (1971) Judge Malouf from the Quebec Superior Court stopped the work on the hydroelectric sites in then New Quebec. He felt that, as things went on, the rights of Cree and inuit might be jeopardized. The Berger Report


adopted a similar viewpoint in the Northwest Territories in rela-tion to gaz-pipeline developments.

E. The Oka crisis (1990) and the rejection of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Agreements by Native Peoples represent other stands which meant that non-Natives (be they agents of eco-nomic developments in Native areas) had to respect their funda-mental and unalienable rights, These events and similar ones allowed for the reinforcement of Native rights recognized by the Canadian Courts in addition to confirming that Native Peo-ples were successful in the pursuit of their overall goals. As a result, self-determination and self-government were being seen as being within reach.

Fifth Thematic Theme : 1985-2005. Major Social Crises Occur in Canada which are Related to Native Issues

The main crises arising across the country made explicit once more that policies and programs by Canadian governments aiming at reduc-ing the economic, social and political uneasiness of Native Peoples living in Canada were outdated and required that they invent relevant Native policies, programs and specific initiatives,. When new policies and actions were put in place it led to remarkable outcomes such as political agreements, socio-economic settlements, so on and so forth.

The Erasmus-Dussault Report has to be considered as a major turn-ing point in the overall picture, It is the most exhaustive Report pro-duced on Aboriginal Affairs in Canada. It made it clear that sustain-able development of Native communities associated with full Native non-Native partnership were key factors in the development of harmo-nious Native non Native relationships. The Nisga's settlement and agreement in British Columbia along with ((The Peace of the Brave Oneso in Quebec Cree country have set empirical examples of the im-plementation of such a new philosophy. From our viewpoint, it repre-sents a successful government innovation and a majestuous entry into the twenty-first century.

The Sixth Thematic Theme : (1995-2005).


Following the Royal Commission's Report, he Canadian Govern-ment made public its long-term Indian Policy. Shortly afterwards Pro-vincial governments fully revised their own policies and strategies of interventions in regard to Canadian Native Main Issues.

[6]The Federal and Provincial governments both expressed their

strong will to meet the overall needs of Native Peoples and conceived relevant strategies and action plans to develop harmonious relation-ships with them. The Federal government made public its policy on 1997 and Provinces followed in its footsteps shortly thereafter.

We deal here with the Federal Action Plan in a schematic manner. Its design and strategy are based on guidelines of mutual respect, recognition, responsibility and partnership. It acknowledges past mis-takes and injustices and gores on afterwards to set the main objectives and programs to implement right away. The federal leading role set conditions for major changes in Aboriginal affairs across the country, The federal objectives are stated below :

1. to renew partnership with Aboriginal Peoples so as to build sus-tainable harmonious relationships ;

2. to support Aboriginal Peoples in their efforts to establish effi-cient and responsible governments ;

3. to confirm relationships based on Treaties ;4. to negotiate with the shared aim of finding equitable results in

regard to land claims ;5. to establish a new financial relationship with First Nations,

Inuit, Metis and non-status Indians which would lead to finan-cial agreements between governments and Native organizations which would be stable ;

6. to strengthen communities and their economies ;7. to enhance the health status of individuals and public security

of communities ;8. to invest financially on human resources ;9. to strengthen Native economic development.


Seventh Thematic Theme : (1985-2005).

The negotiation process is established to solve conflicts and social crises. The setting in place, on a permanent basis by governments, of the negotiating pattern and processes with Aboriginal Peoples. Such an initiative followed the partnership guidelines set by the Federal government in order to implement, when timing is appropriate and with an equitable spirit, the settlement of land claims and the setting in place of self-governments.

Preceding themes have clearly demonstrated that the deci-sion-making process related Native Peoples cannot follow a unilateral way taken either by the Federal or Provincial governments. It has to flow from Agreements following a bi-partite negotiation in the case of Natives living on a Federal territory or a tri-partite negotiation when it related to Natives living on a Provincial territory. Tribunals would still have a role to play when it has to do with the application of modalities of Native rights, such as fishing or hunting, for instance.

The imperative to negotiate does not stem from « an act of God » but from a political commitment culture that has its roots and develop-ment related to the Malouf judgment in the case of the James Bay hy-droelectric development project and the Berger judgment in the case of the construction of a gas-pipeline in the Northwest Territories, These two judgments clearly established the just foundations of Na-tive rights [7] related to the economic development on their traditional lands. Other judgments have built a jurisprudence related to the land and ancestral rights flowing from Treaties. These series of judgments led governments to set forth their official recognition policies in re-gard to Aboriginal rights. The Federal government did it at the time of the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982 which was fol-lowed by the Constitutional Conferences of Prime Ministers in 1983, 1985 and 1987 with Chiefs of Native Peoples.

Quebec has promulgated the recognition of Native rights through a Resolution passed by the National Assembly in 1985. It recognizes the Native rights of Aboriginal Peoples living on the territory. It rec-ognizes the ancestral rights of Native Peoples and the rights of Cree People and the Inuit written in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement of 1975 and those of Naskapis written in the Northeastern


Quebec Agreement of 1978. The National Assembly considers those and other agreements of the same kind established in the future as binding as treaties, The same Resolution invites the Provincial gov-ernment to continue to negotiate with Aboriginal Peoples with the ex-pectation to conclude with Native Nations, Native organizations or Native communities Agreements which would confirm the implemen-tation of

1) the right to self-determination ;2) the right of their culture, their language, their traditions ;3) the right to own and control their land ;4) the hunting, trapping and gathering rights and the right to par-

ticipate in the administration of fauna resources ;5) the right to participate in the Quebec economic development

and get due benefits.

Rights have obtained recognition from the Quebec government in 1985 : such a move on his part could be seen as innovative in many ways, On the other hand, the Federal government currently (2003) administers eighty negotiating tables. Many tables, in the past pro-duced highly productive results as shown schematically by earlier themes.


[8]



IITHE LONG WALK OF CANADIAN

ABORIGINAL PEOPLESTOWARD SELF-DETERMINATION:

ANALYSIS OF THEMATICPERIODS : 1950-2005.



[8]

1. FIRST THEMATIC PERIOD, 1950-1975:NEW AWARENESS OF NATIVE PEOPLES

RELATED TO THEIR MARGINAL POLITICALSTATUS, THEIR POOR LIVING CONDITIONS

COMPARED TO THOSEOF NOW-NATIVE CANADIANS


Such awareness on the part of Native Peoples mainly relate to their rights, to getting a political status which would provide to them greater autonomy and better socio-economic development for their communities.

The post-World War period in Canada (1945-1960) has been one marked by economic prosperity and major technological and institu-tional changes. The Federal government has set in place important social policies aimed at protecting Canadian people against the inher-ent life risks : ill-health (Health Insurance), Unemployment (Unem-ployment Insurance), poverty (Social assistance programs) can be used as specific examples. We could also refer to social policies and measure conceived to help families to deal with difficult periods of life. At the same period of time, Amerindians lived on Reserves under a tutelage regime established by the 1876 Indian Law. In principle, Indians were eligible to benefit from the various measures of social assistance. However, some of those measures could not apply to all aboriginal Peoples. Their low life expectancy, for instance, did not allow the vast majority of them to receive old age pensions. More-over, Native Peoples living in Canadian Arctic regions could benefit the Canadian Health Insurance many services when they were experi-encing a major illness setback as long as they accepted to be flown to the South and be hospitalized away from home and their close ones.


[9]As for the Unemployment insurance, a few of them held a paid

job : therefore just a small minority of them qualified to get it. As far as Aboriginal Peoples were concerned, such a social measure lost its universal character and had a minor impact on them. A number of eli-gible families could get social assistance. However, the money re-ceived did not take into account the high cost of living of families liv-ing in exocentric or remote environments and, as a result, the sums of money received partly covered the essential needs of family members.

The Hawthorn-Tremblay Study Commission was established in 1964 with the mandate to examine questions which seemed to be closely related to the fiduciary function of the Federal. The financial expenses of the Federal were growing according to the growth rate of the Aboriginal population and this did not grow unnoticed by the non-Native taxpayers. The liberal government in place feared that this might have a negative impact on voters. Members of Parliament were looking for alternatives. For instance, they were asking themselves if some of the constitutional powers of provinces in the fields of health, education, training and employment could not be transferred to Prov-inces. These financial queries were not explicitly mentioned in the formal mandate of the Commission. The mandate related to the social, educational and economic situation of Canadian Native Peoples. The general study objective, which was wide in scope, was divided up into four topics. The fist sector to be examined was related to technical training, unemployment and economic development. What could be done to attract industries to establish themselves in the North and pro-vide jobs to Natives in priority ? The second study sector was educa-tion : school achievement, school drop out, what means could be im-plemented to increase the educational levels of Natives ? in what kinds of schools should students be sent (boarding schools versus inte-grated public schools ?), what study programs ought to be conceived so as to better reflect northern environmental realities and Native value systems ? What measures should be implemented so as to attract competent teachers sensitized to Native issues ?

The third research objective related to Native leadership on Re-serves. The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development promoted the idea of chiefs to be elected by Reserve members even if they knew that on some Reserves coexisted the traditional inheritance


system of leadership, thus creating cleavages and splits within such Native communities. How Reserve Chiefs accomplished their man-date ? Were they abiding to administrative norms established by the Federal government ? What were local rules used to control ex-penses ? To whom were they answerable for public accounts ? What were election modalities for band councilmen and what kinds of mechanisms existed for decision-making ?

The fourth study question to be investigated dealt with the Cana-dian federalist system with the objective of finding ways and means to explore so as to be able to transfer in part or wholly public services given to Aboriginal Peoples ? What changes would have to be made to the Canadian Constitution and what kind of legal system would have to be devised to make feasible Federal-Provincial Agreements [10] whereby expenses made to provide Native services would be shared by both government levels ?

The Commission produced its two volumes Report, edited by Pro-fessor Harry Hawthorn in 1966-1967, The first volume had 404 pages. It contained ninety-one recommendations according to the following themes : (a) general interest : Recommendation 7 specified that Indi-ans ought to be recognized as special citizens who have additional rights (« Citizen Plus ») due to the fact that they were the true founders of the Canadian society, economic development, Fed-eral-provincial relationships, politics, well-being and local govern-ment. The second volume comprised two hundred and fifty-one pages and had a total of sixty recommendations. These dealt with questions of general interest, special education services, health, classroom books, communication patterns and public relations, joint agreements. public and religious schools, occupational training and employment services, and twenty-four additional school measures to be applied.

For reasons unknown yet to us, these recommendations had not been the object of serious studies on the part of concerned authorities and were shelved, However, even if those recommendations were not known extensively by Natives living in Canada, their leaders knew that studies made by the Commission were favorable to Native re-quests and led to recommending measures that were to bonify their status in the Canadian society, to better their living conditions through the creation of jobs and by allowing them to take on major responsi-bilities in the administration of their own affairs, The Report also


made explicit the rights to which they were entitled and suggested measures aimed at eliminating poverty and raising their well-being as well as the improvement of their socio-economic development. More-over, some measures suggested important changes in the school sys-tem in order to allow students to better their self-image through the kinds of study that they were undertaking and be better equipped to serve their communities or yet find work on the job market. In other words, Natives became conscious that governments were not prodding them the kinds of quality services given to non-Natives. They asked themselves how to proceed to get such a fundamental right recog-nized ?


[11]

2. SECOND THEME- THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONALNATIVE ORGANIZATIONS : 1970-1980


In order to give greater weight to their initiatives and better coordi-nate them, Native Peoples established National organizations whose mandate is to better defend their interests and get the full recognition of their fundamental rights from governments. The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement becomes the emblematic reference since it is the first modern agreement which has a wide bearing.

The historical aspects as well as the objectives sought by Native Peoples when they established their National organizations - con-ceived as representative and fully functional - come from a document written by the Assembly of First Nations available on a web site. The Assembly of First Nations : the story). The accent is exclusively put on organizations which work at the National level. We are aware that such organizations, in their footsteps influenced the establishment of regional ones as well as organizations representing different Native Nations.

The 1927 Law on Indians forbade the establishment by Natives of organizations of a political nature, Any attempt to disobey to such rule was readily repressed by the RCMP which confined recalcitrants. The Band Council system was established at that time. Through such a strategy authorities in function at that time prevented the legitimate Indian Traditional leadership patterns. The same law prohibited the use of Native languages and traditional religious practices. This legal disposition justifies authorities to punish and reprimand school chil-dren caught using Native languages in boarding schools. Potlatch, a widely spread Native custom was also prohibited and it is only in re-cent years that the Federal government recognized the legality of such a traditional activity. These prohibitions were integral parts of ideolo-gies stemming from ethnocentric perceptions, by authorities and ordi-


nary people as well, of the superiority of the English and French civi-lizations compared to Native culture patterns that justified legal proce-dures from governments in place against Natives.

It is at the end of the First World War that The League of Indians in Canada was set up just about the same time as The League of Na-tions. Since the former league received weak support from Native groups having divergent interests, it disappeared from the political scene rather rapidly. It is only around the forties that a similar initia-tive was undertaken to establish what was called The North American Indian Brotherhood. But due again to little support from Native Peo-ples in Canada, opposition actions from Canadian governments, espe-cially in Saskatchewan, as well as administrative difficulties forced the NAIB to first split in regional organizations and then dissolve at the beginning of the fifties.

[12]During the following decade, Natives sought to coordinate and

unite their efforts aimed at common actions. The National Indian Council was created in 1961 to represent three of the four major Cana-dian Native organizations Treaty and Status Indians ; non-status Indi-ans and Métis, The Inuit were not a member of this pressure group. The objectives of the NIC was to create a shared goal and perspective of all Indians. Since that period of time, Indians have always been rep-resented in Ottawa by an official organization. But, as Aboriginal Peo-ples became better and better organized and that their initiatives be-came more and more diversified, the Council, through a mutual agree-ment, split in 1968 into two distinct entities. Treaty Indians and Status Indians formed The National Indian Brotherhood whereas non-status Indians and Métis became The Native Council of Canada.

In 1969, the Federal government made public its White Book. It advocated the closing of Reserves and the revocation of the Indian status. The National Indian Brotherhood expressed such a systematic opposition to the White Book that the Federal government had to withdraw it. All Indian successive Chiefs until 1982 were successful in building and maintaining a powerful pressure group dedicated to the defense of Native rights and to force the federal and provincial governments to redefine their policies and strategies in their relation-


ships with Aboriginal Peoples, especially after the rejection of the Meech Accord.

In 1972, the NIB submitted to the Federal government a memoran-dum claiming the full Native administration authority on policies re-lated to Indian schooling. The Minister in charge of Indian Affairs, Jean Chr6tien, gave his consent to such a request and considered it as the First Nations general philosophy on Native governance, Such a successful step carried a leading effect and allowed Natives to take on responsibilities relative to housing, health care and economic develop-ment.

In 1979 a delegation of three hundred status Indians and Band Chiefs went to London with the intent to stop the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. Such a fight abroad and at home shook the unity of the organization and brought in the open misgivings about the representativeness of the NIB became The Assembly of First Nations/L'Assemblée des Premières Nations. Such an Assembly be-came an organization representing the Chiefs of First Nations's gov-ernments. As a result, it did represent better the overall membership and acquired greater imputability among Native organizations.

The Chiefs of all four Aboriginal organizations participated to the Constitutional Conference of Prime Ministers held between 1983 and 1987. Such participation represented for them a major gain since they had been excluded from any formal debate on Constitutional matters related to Aboriginal rights and Treaty rights, Until such a period of time, Aboriginal Peoples had a low level of living, were more or less isolated from each other since they were dispersed all over the four corners of the Canadian territory. Furthermore, they became conscious of the diversity of their culture patterns and traditions, including their political views and perspectives. Technological developments in the field of transportation and means of communication allowed for [13] frequent exchanges among themselves in addition to giving them the opportunity to tell Canadians and people of the world that they were underprivileged Peoples. Moreover, it existed persistent prejudices against them in Canada and Canadian governments expressed a weak recognition of their fundamental rights. Interactions with governments allowed them to gain a better knowledge of the type of governance strategies and action patterns developed at both levels of Canadian governments. It required on their part sustained efforts to gain the rel-


evant and useful expertise in order to be successful in the type of ne-gotiations to be undertaken for the recognition of their rights written in the Canadian Constitution.

The 1983 Constitutional Conference made obvious the absence of the required solidarity among Native Peoples in regard to territorial claims, rights related to natural resources, rights to self-government, educational rights, so on and so forth. Some Provinces denied the ex-istence of inherent rights but were ready to take into account contin-gent Native rights. Such provincial stands were, at their face, unac-ceptable to the First Nations Assembly and the Conference ended without reaching an agreement on Aboriginal rights. However, such a Conference was helpful in having attendants accepting that territorial rights ought to get the same kind of Constitutional protection given to Treaty rights. In addition, Prime ministers agreed to hold three other Conferences to discuss Constitutional questions relevant for Native Peoples.

The 1984 and 1985 Conferences put a single matter on the Agenda : Self-government. Discussions led to an impasse among three Provinces (Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Newfoundland) and Natives were unable to get a consensus on such a fundamental issue. At the last Conference (1987) the Federal and Provincial governments refused to provide recognition to the fact that due to their history, Na-tives had acquired in the process an inherent right to self-governance. This lack of recognition, however, did not mean that the Assembly of First Nations and its leader George Eramus had completely failed its mission. The Chief and the Assembly of First Nations made explicit the major problems facing Nations and got support for their cause of eminent Canadian and World personalities. Furthermore, they got the other Aboriginal organizations to agree with them of the necessity to enshrine in the Constitution aboriginal and treaty rights even if those were not closely defined. At the same time, they express to govern-ment and Canadians alike their strong will to continue their efforts aimed at getting the whole of their claims get due recognition.

The Assembly of First Nations has been involved in other issues related to Native rights and economic development, such as the Meech Lake Agreement in 1987, the Charlottetown Agreement in 1992 as well as the Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Fur-thermore it steadily worked at getting the support of powerful interna-


tional and national lobbies with the aim of better informing the Cana-dian public to Native concerns about culture maintenance, their his-tory and educational needs and about acid rain, water and air pollution and threaten species. The main concern of the Assembly of First Na-tions is to be successful in getting concrete gestures of governments for Natives, not only in regard to their rights on natural resources and about the right of self-government, but also in the fields of human rights, of human [14] dignity and survival. The Assembly of First Na-tions (ATN) is a young organization which is fully aware of the many issues that has to be tackled in the years to come. But, taking into ac-count its past achievements and the kind of support it gets in its at-tempts to have Native rights fully respected, its futures looks full of promise.


[14]

3. THIRD THEME 1970-1990 :ABORIGINAL PEOPLES GET INVOLVED

IN DEMOCRATIC MOVESAT TWO DISTINCT LEVELS


ONE OF THOSE MOVES IS WITH GOVERNMENTS WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO CONVINCE THEM OF THE NECESSITY TO PROTECT THEIR RIGHTS THROUGH SPECIFIC AGREE-MENTS WHILE THE OTHER ONE IS FOR THE JUSTICE COURTS WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF GETTING A FULL RECOGNITIION OF THEIR ANCESTRAL AND ABORIGINAL RIGHTS.

Within the wider scope of the global claims process, Aboriginal Peoples in the 1970-1980 decade went to Court to have their rights recognized. At the same time, they [15] undertook a process whereby they made the international public opinion sensitive in regard to their claims and government response Thus, they brought to bear on gov-ernments and on the Canadian population alike an important pressure. It certainly helped to speed up the attention given by legal services and by legal governmental apparels to Aboriginal issues brought to them. The systematic resort by Natives to these legal systems took place in a risky context where the Federal, provincial and Territorial Native policies came in conflict with Native issues at stake. For in-stance, the Oka crisis, in 1990 or yet the Quebec sovereignty referen-dum in 1995 are exemplary cases.

In the following section, we will examine some of Native attempts at getting from the Courts due recognition of their rights in spelling out their nature and issues at stake, the kinds of processes involved, actors' initiatives, obtained results and their impact.


According to Quebec Natives Alliance the judgments which had a decisive impact on the recognition and protection of Native's rights are the following : Guérin (1984), Simon (1985), Sparrow (1990), Trilogy Vander Peet (1995), Côté and Adams, Pamajevon, Delga-muukw, Corbière and Lovelace.

(See : http://www.allianceautochtone.com/judgments.html. In this chapter we chose to look at the Sparrow, Sioui, Van der Peet and Del-gamuukw judgments.

The Sparrow Judgments (1990)

With this judgment, legislations which have an impact on the im-plementation of Native rights are going to remain valid if they justi-fied an interference with a recognized and confirmed right as spelled out in Section 35 (1) of the 1982 Constitution. The justification for infractions must have a valid legislative objective that has an impos-ing and substantial nature and will usually require a prior consultation with concerned people and a compensation for this infraction. Here the preponderance of laws which applied to the whole Canadian terri-tory is being recognized. However, laws will be applied for infractions which have a valid legislative objective that has an imposing substan-tial nature ; a consultation of concerned people will have to be carried and there might b e some compensation (Source: http://www.- lex-um.umontreal.ca/pub/1990rcs1075.html).

The Sioui Judgments (1990)

This judgment recognizes Native rights on faunic resources. The Canadian Supreme Court expressed a judgment in favor of the Sioui brothers in recognizing Huron rights to practice their customs and reli-gious rites on their ancestral lands as a result of a 1760 Treaty made between the Crown and the Huron Nation. Furthermore, the interpre-tation of Treaties must be flexible, realist and must reflect the intent of the parties involved. An extrinsic proof can be used to change Treaty wordings.


(Source: http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/cscscc/fr/pub/1990/vol1/1990rcs-1025.html).

[16]

The trilogy Judgments of Van der Peet (1995)

This Canadian Supreme Court Judgment gives the definition of an ancestral right protected by the Canadian Constitution. It refers to an activity which is an element of a Custom, of a practice or of a tradi-tion and which was an integral part of a distinct culture of the Native Peoples concerned before contacts with Europeans.

The preponderance to existing rights for the practice of tradi-tional, cultural and subsistence activities

The Van der Peet judgment has demonstrated that the existing an-cestral rights should have preponderance over laws ruling fisheries when it is a cultural, a traditional and a subsistence activity. So, in that cause, the question being raised was the following : Do existing an-cestral rights allow to sell fish for non-commercial purposes, fish caught according to a fishing subsistence permit of Indians ? Does this activity, under the circumstances, can be considered as one which flows from the exercise of an ancestral right ?

A favorable context to Aboriginal Peoples

The judgment has been written in the context where the State holds a fiduciary obligation for Native Peoples. As a result, clauses concern-ing Nativ Aboriginal Peoples must engender a generous and liberal interpretation. « The Judge in Chief LaForest, Sopinka, Gonthier, Cory, Iacobucci and Major : The analysis of the paragraph 35 (1), in regard to its object, must be made in the light of general principles applicable to the judicial relationships between the State and Native Peoples. The State holds a judiciary obligation in regard to Native


Peoples, a fiduciary obligation that carries as a consequence that clauses concerning Native Peoples must received a generous and lib-eral interpretation.

Doubts and ambiguities concerning the scope and the definition of rights concerned by par. 35 (1) must be resolved in favor of Native Peoples. One must not limit the analysis of the object of this clause to the reasons for which a pre-existing judicial doctrine has been given a constitutional status.

The ancestral rights were already existing and were recognized by the Common law : the paragraph 35 (1) has not established ancestral rights, but following the adoption of par. 35 (1), they could not be ex-tinguished. However, they could be regulated or violated in conform-ity with the justification enounced by R.C. Sparrow.

What is an ancestral right ?

The judgment provides a definition of an ancestral right. « It is an element of a custom, a practice or a tradition being the integral part of the distinct culture of a Native group who asserts the given right. A number of factors must be taken into consideration when [17] on ap-plies the criterion of « an integral part of a distinct culture ». The tri-bunal must take into account Natives' viewpoints, but such a point of view must be expressed in a manner which is consistent with the Canadian judicial and constitutional structure. Are considered ances-tral rights, customs, practices and traditions which ensure continuity with customs, practices and traditions existing before contacts with Europeans. It is not required to produce, relatively to community cus-toms, practices and traditions a conclusive proof existing before con-tacts with Europeans. As long as the proof used tends to demonstrate some of the community and of the Native society customs existed be-fore European contacts. The continuity concept is the mean which al-lows to avoid an interpretation of par. 35 (1) founded on the notion of « droits figés » (stable rights). It does not require a perfect continuity proof either between customs, practices and traditions of today and those which existed before contacts with Europeans. A given practice


which existed before the contact with Europeans could be taken up again after an interruption. »

The examination of customs, practices and traditions of the Abo-riginal group who asserts an ancestral right

« The tribunal which has to deal with a claim founded on the exis-tence of an ancestral right should deal specifically with the examina-tion of customs, practices and traditions of the Aboriginal group which claims the existence of such of a right. The claims of ancestral rights cannot be settled in a general manner. » It has to be a custom, a practice, or a tradition that has a particular importance for the Aborigi-nal group which claims such right : « the tribunal called upon to iden-tify customs, practices and traditions which constitute ancestral rights recognized and confirmed by par. 35 (1) has to be sure that the put forward custom, practice or tradition in a given case has a particular importance for the Aboriginal community which claims such right. It cannot be a custom, a practice or a tradition which is only accessory to another custom practice or tradition. Accessory customs, practices or traditions cannot be considered as ancestral rights since they are grafted to customs, practices and traditions which are not integral part of the culture. » Ancestral rights can be tied to reserves, lands having an aboriginal title or to lands which have an ancestral right.

Lands which hold an ancestral rights are lands to which are at-tached specific ancestral rights such as hunting rights for eating, social and ritual purposes. Ancestral rights can be attached to reserve lands, to those which hold an aboriginal title and to those which hold an an-cestral right. Reserve land are earmarked by the Federal government for the exclusive use of Indians. Aboriginal lands, founded on the Common Law are those which belong to Natives and which they can occupy and use as they please, under the reserve of the fact that it is Her Majesty who, without appeal, holds its title. The Aboriginal title exists when all the ancestral rights are sufficiently important to com-mand the sui genesis recognition for occupation or use a lauded prop-erty. An Aboriginal title can also be founded on a Treaty. Finally,


lands which hold an ancestral right are lands which can only have at-tached specific ancestral rights, for instance, hunting right for eating, social and ritual purposes, because the occupation and the use by the concerned Aboriginal groups are too limited and, as a result, do not [18] respect the criterion applicable for a Common Law recognition of an Aboriginal title. The classification of a land of a given type is not unalterable. Moreover, a land could hold more than one title.

The 1982 Constitutional Law protects Aboriginal interests which flow from the historical occupation and use by Native Peoples of their ancestral lands, in recognizing and confirming « the existing rights » - ancestral or issued from Treaties - of Canadian Aboriginal Peoples.

« Before 1982, the doctrine of ancestral rights was only founded on Common Law and therefore ancestral rights could be extinguished by Treaty, Conquest and through a judicial process since they depended on the good will of the Sovereign ». Henceforth, par. 35 (1) of the 1982 Constitutional Law protects Aboriginal interests derived from the historical occupation and use by Natives of their ancestral lands, recognizing and confirming « existing rights » - ancestral or flowing from Treaties - of Canadian Aboriginal Peoples ».

A Subsistence activity and not a Commercial activity

The defense of Mrs Van der Peet rests on the argument that she sold fish for subsistence purpose. It was not a lucrative activity of a large commercial enterprise. Aborigines can sell fish caught by them if they can demonstrate that they have traditionally used fisheries to provide for needs which are filled through trade.

Taking into account the context, we are going now to deal with the question which is at the heart of the current appeal. Do Natives have a constitutional right to fish for commercial purposes according to par. 35 (1) of the 1982 Constitutional Law ? The answer is positive inas-much as concerned Natives can demonstrate that they traditionally used fisheries to provide for needs which are satisfied through trade.


THE DELGAMUUKW JUDGMENT

The judgment bears on the acceptance, in principle -but not docu-mented and analyzed - of requests claimed by an Indian Band, not ad-ministered through the Indian Law, but representing many dwellings and/or Nations.

The Parliament holds the absolute authority, as it is enacted by the s.91 (24) to regularize, as well as to receive the surrender of Aborigi-nal rights and titles. Moreover, any question related to s. 35 (1) is also a part of s. 91 (24).

The « heart of Indianess » embodies the s. 35 (1). The Indian Law, as it is expressed through oral tradition, shall be used as a tool to de-termine the exercise of rights and titles.

It is the first recognition by the Supreme Court of the interests not managed through bands : traditional groups, many dwellings so on and so forth. Power limits are defined when land rules and use are at stake. Thus the judgment also bears on the [19] implication of Provin-cial laws affecting the s. 35. Key factors are brought to bear for non-status Indians and Wis.

CONCLUSION

The four judgments recognize and confirm the following ele-ments :

• Legislations promulgated and applied by governments which affect the exercise of Aboriginal rights will maintain their valid-ity, if they justify an interference with a recognized and con-firmed right as enacted by s. 35 ;

• Canada recognizes Aboriginal rights on faunic resources or their rights to practice their customs and their religious rites on ancestral lands and this, according to a Treaty signed in 1760 between the Crown and the Huron Nation (the Sioui Judgment).


• The fiduciary bond is based upon the concept of Aboriginal title and of the inalienability of Indian interests, with the exception of the Crown. The inalienability status is there to facilitate the Crown representation for Aboriginal interests in their negotia-tions with a third party (that is, to prevent someone from taking unfair advantage of Indians).

This brief summary of results gained through the four judgments illustrates how the judicial approach has permitted to define and sharpen the nature of existing ancestral rights and of the aboriginal title, to contribute to the recognition of these rights and to show that they ought to be founded on culture patterns, customs and traditional of Aboriginal Peoples. They also made clear that the Canadian Supreme Court, in the dealings associated with causes being submit-ted, had a favorable prejudice for Aboriginal Peoples, while protecting Crown interest, or, in other words, making sure to establish harmo-nious relationships between the majority of non-Natives and Native Peoples. All of these aspects had to share a large conformity with the spirit and the recommendations of the Report of the Royal Commis-sion on Aboriginal Peoples.

These judgments also illustrate the perseverance of Aboriginal Peoples in seeing that their rights are recognized since most judg-ments from the Provincial Courts dealing with the existence, the recognition and the true exercise of their ancestral rights have been appealed and sent to the Supreme Court. Then, the judgments of our country's highest tribunal allowed to remove uncertainties and to settle once for all Aboriginal rights. The judgments provided to Aboriginal Peoples a wider security in the exercise of their activities on their lands and on their traditional territories.


[20]

4. FOURTH THEME :THE EMERGENCE OF STRUCTURING

FACTORS. (1950-2005)


The emergence of five « structuring factors » consolidated the at-tainment of sought objectives by Aboriginal Peoples, made possible the achievement of some fundamental aspirations, that is, rights recognition, socio-economic and cultural developments as well as the self-determination right. The existence of these five structuring fac-tors, themselves associated with other important initiatives, enter-tained among Aboriginal Peoples a vision of the future in spite of con-straints and irritating elements which delayed its concrete existence.

This theme is somewhat different from others in that it almost per-vade the whole period and it identifies significant events which had a strong positive impact on Aboriginal Peopless' objectives. These fac-tors or events could be initiatives from governments or from Native Peoples themselves. We labeled them structuring because they had a leading effect on the overall picture of Aboriginal gains. They allowed for the consolidation of formerly acquired rights or yet they confirmed the fact that Aboriginal initiatives defend a just cause whose attain-ment looks more and more achievable. Since these actions and events occurred over a wide time period, one should not be surprised to find that they also appear under other themes, being at the heart of the gestalt which by itself could define this whole time period. For in-stance, the 1969 White Book planned by the Federal government might be used as an ((ideal type))of a sociological perspective. It was the statutory status of the Indian fiduciary which deceived Aboriginals across the country in such a way that the White Book engendered a unanimous disapproval and disenchantment. The formal riposte came from the Alberta Chiefs in the form of the ((Red Book)). Such initia-tive got some of its inspiration from the Hawthorn-Tremblay Com-mission's Report (Citizen Plus). The Chiefs advocated that the content of the White Book negated recognized Treaty rights and, as such,


should be vigorously denounced by all Natives Aboriginal reaction occurred across the country in such a strenghtful way that the Federal government had to put it aside.

The 1973 Malouf judgment emanating from the Superior Court of Quebec recognized that the Cree and the Inuit had rights on the terri-tory where hydro-electric developments were to take place and such rights, he felt, under current circumstances, they run the risk of not being respected. Therefore, he ordered the suspension of all work be-ing carried on such a site. This judgment paved the way to negotia-tions between concerned parties and led in 1975 to the signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement and, in 1978, to the Northeastern Quebec Agreement with the Naskapis.

The « Oka crisis », the rejection of Meech Lake Political Accord as well as the Charlottetown one are other events which allowed Natives to proclaim with steadfast energy the necessity to protect their un-alienable fundamental rights. By doing so, they made it explicit to governments and Canadians alike their struggles were [21] not for pleasure but were a strong will to pursue steadily their collective ideals. Government stands on the occasion of these crises aimed more as extinguishing fires rather than thinking about long-term well-thought off proposals. Contrarily, negotiations which began then fore-shadowed other more important ones which were then associated with global land claims or yet economic developments. The 2001 Agree-ment of the Brave Ones signed by Quebec and the Cree or the Sanar-rutik Agreement signed by Quebec and the Nunavik Inuit. were both conceived from a long-term perspective. It showed partners' will to sustain common efforts and to share the wealth produced by develop-ment activities on territories where Aboriginals held fundamental rights. The recent « Common Approach » of Innus of the North Shore of the St Lawrence River, with the Federal and Quebec governments, is another case where a long-term perspective was applied by con-cerned governments. It is likely to produce spectacular changes in the relationships between Aboriginal Peoples and governments even if, for the time being, this Common Approach raises negative reactions on the part of non-Native groups who feel that, with such a proposal, they are dispossessed of a territory on which they lived for a long pe-riod of time.


It is during this long period of time that Aboriginal Peoples across Canada began to act in concert while giving particular attention to re-gional cultural differences. Such a policy, while facing a number of difficulties or yet gaining strength on account of successful gains re-lated to their rights, produced a renewal of Aboriginal cultural identity essentially rooted on traditional culture patterns with the objective of avoiding the loss of essential elements required for the survival of their cultures.

The revitalization of Aboriginal Identity is based, so to speak, on a number of sociopolitical conditions. Among many others, one of them is the punctual actions of the different Aboriginal organizations (Na-tional and regional) which were in operation at different periods of time. All of them held as one of their major priority the defense of their rights and the promotion of shared concerns of the membership. The main structuring factor, as we mentioned earlier, was the publica-tion of the White Book and the Native answer by Alberta Chiefs. The White Book advocated the disappearance of Indian reserves and the revocation of the Indian status since the latter was seen by the non-Native population as an undue privilege. Both ideas were in contradic-tion with the Hawthorn-Tremblay Report. One of its recommendation stated that governments should provide to Native population a special citizen status : « Citizen Plus » said the Report. The Commission felt that Aboriginal Peoples living in Canada were the First founding Peo-ples whom through their adaptive capacities and acquired skills in their new environment humanized the Canadian territory long before the coming of Europeans.

A second factor which re-oriented and strengthened Aboriginal cultural identity was the fact that, based on the early experiences on the Canadian territory, they were able to manage their own affairs, survive and grow numerically in importance. We refer here to the strong will of Aboriginal leaders throughout the country to get rid, once for ever, of their tutelage status imposed to them after the Con-quest period [22] by Great Britain. The objective envisioned is to take charge of the implementation of their common goals and of the man-agement of their traditional institutions. The tutelage system is being felt as an oppressive weight which has produced in the past many wrongs. Fortunately, they say, it had not been successful in assimilat-ing them. They recognize, however, that the Eurocanadian value sys-


tem has loosened their own through many interrelationships where such system acted as the normative rule for Aboriginal people.

A third element rests on new positive identification principles. Here are some key constitutive elements : (a) a re-valorized collective self-image ; (b) a way of life which gets its main inspiration from tra-ditional aboriginal customs while taking advantage of the monetary aspects of the work market ; (c) a clearer definition of what Aborigi-nal Peoples want to become after contemporary governments had fully recognize their aboriginal and ancestral rights which are key fac-tors for self-government ; (d) a fourth element provides a content to the preceding one in defining the main components of such a project dealing with a collective re-definition of themselves.

It is likely that such a collective re-definition of themselves will be composed of a constellation of interdependent factors. We acknowl-edge that such redefinition is a function to be carried by Aboriginal people themselves. Here we feel that, for our own analytic framework, it is appropriate to specify some of them in order for us to better grasp the scope, the magnitude and the high value of this cultural identity resetting by themselves. However, we will not provide a qualitative analysis of each of the constitutive elements mentioned : (a) the re-in-terpretation of Aboriginal Peoples' history based on traditional knowl-edge and life-long experiences of their members ; (b) the careful lis-tening and interpreting of elders' knowledge with the aim of integrat-ing and assimilating knowledge and know-how that are in the process of being forgotten. In addition such a task will take advantage of their wisdom related to the collective healing process of individuals and families who have been hurt and traumatized by past abuses of the tutelage system ; (c) the learning of Aboriginal languages to ensure their maintenance and progress ; (d) a re-valorization of traditional hunting and fishing trades as well as of survival techniques, especially among the youth ; (e) a strengthening of the belonginess sentiment and that of being proud of one's cultural origin ; (f) the reappropriation of elements of Aboriginal heritage which are in foreign hands as well as the protection of contemporary heritage ; (g) the recovery of Native lands which are in the hands of Canadian governments, industrial cor-porations and social institutions.

Such re-affirmation of Aboriginal cultural identity, at the individ-ual and collective levels, constitute and intradirected social develop-


ment blueprint, respectful of their respective culture traditions. It is, so to speak, an essential prerequisite to the re-definition of themselves by themselves collectively. It would be an insufficient theoretical design if Aboriginal people cannot generate massive participation or yet if, having in hand a prospective blueprint, they do not devise concrete mechanism for its implementation. Furthermore, once they are suc-cessful on the cultural identity front, there are three other fronts which have to be tackled. Firstly, we refer to successful agreements with [23] governments in regard to land and ancestral rights. Another one relates to a type of leadership whereas function holders fully master the different tools of industrial societies. Finally, Aboriginal should get rid of negative social representations of themselves which are most of the time projected on themselves from the outside in a mir-ror-like fashion.


[23]

5. FIFTH THEME :MAJOR SOCIAL CRISES OCCUR IN CANADA

WHICH ARE RELATEDTO ABORIGINAL ISSUES.


Major social crises occur in some Canadian regions which are re-lated to Aboriginal issues. Most of these are the result of Aboriginal Peoples' unsatisfactions related to particular situations which accentu-ate their marginality and restrain their progress. Aboriginal Peoples then take those occasions to remind governments their obligations and their agreements. On the same occasion, they insist that governments conceive economic and social policies and programs which would be better adapted to their living conditions in the light of the recommen-dations of the Erasmus-Dussault Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

The Erasmus-Dussault Report is undoubtedly the most exhaustive Report ever produced on Aboriginal Peoples living in Canada. It re-quired on the Commission's part consultation of many concerned groups, contemporary and historical studies carried by University re-searchers but also by Aboriginal researchers who could provide to Commissioners the type of quality information which would help them to better understand not only traditional life patterns but also difficult living conditions and life experiences, mostly in eccentric environments where resources were limited in kind. Historical cir-cumstances - that we cannot change - occurred which made Aborigi-nal people a minority group set in a subordinate situation through the tutelage system which has been maintained up to now and has left be-hind all kinds of luckiness sequellae, The Royal Commission was justly established to become better informed about aboriginal living conditions and to recommend to the Federal government solutions which would become acceptable to Natives and non-Natives alike.


The Report, especially in its summary version, received wide com-mentaries through media broadcasting, the many meetings held by the Commission in different Canadian regions as well as colloquia and conferences during which registered participants were invited to ex-press their critical views on the Report.

The Royal Commission advocated, needless to say, a long-term Native Policy in regard to their status within Canada as distinct Na-tions, an implementation and full respect of their rights and the setting in place of political, economic and social conditions which would lead to a full collective brighten up according to ways to be defined by each Nation. We are not here in presence of a spontaneous or intuitive vision, On the contrary, we are talking about a political re-engeneer-ing. Such planning has been thought about for a long period of time by Aboriginal Peoples themselves. It [24] will require, on the Cana-dian society's part, a major social re-organization. Canada, more than ever before in its history, is at the cross-roads as far are concerned the political status of Aboriginal Peoples living on the Canadian territory. The status quo is unacceptable ; its strategies and its practices have been dysfunctional, socially devastating and oftenly severely criti-cized by Native Peoples.

The empirical observations of the Report demonstrate the unfavor-able living conditions of Aboriginal people living in Canada : weak life expectancy, low socioeconomic status, high morbidity and mortal-ity rates and poor sanitary conditions, low levels of schooling, inter-generational gap, high levels of unemployment, high prevalence of social problems and deteriorating environmental conditions. All of these, and others as well, require clear answers and full involvement of all those who hold responsibilities in the various administrative structures dealing directly or indirectly with Natives. The Canadian society cannot reject globally the Erasmus-Dussault recommendations nor push them aside under the pretext that they are disturbing, request financial investments which surpass available financial resources and bring us on roads that we ignore where they lead us, especially in re-gard to a type of Aboriginal governance which looks like a third level of government.

Let us sum up the basic principles spelled out by the Commission to bring about a new and wished rapprochement between Natives and non-Natives and especially Nations to Nations relationships. A mutual


recognition principle is relevant here since Aboriginal people hold the status of the ((First occupant)) of our country, are the main guardian of Native lands and hold rights and responsibilities associated with such a major function. The Nation to Nation relationship implies the absence of dominance of one group over the other, the respect « of the status and particular rights being held by Aboriginal Peoples as well as the culture and the unique heritage of which each Aboriginal per-son is a depository ». An additional aspect is relative to the equitable sharing of received and granted advantages according to criteria stem-ming from social justice. A last element refers to the responsibility which is at the core of a respectful relationship : there are new behav-ioral rules defining partners' rights and obligations in dealing with each other.

The implementation of these principles might face major ambush if, at the start, one does not clear existing ambiguities. The Royal Commission was aware of such a requirement. As a result, it recom-mends that negotiations must remain the only acceptable way to reach necessary compromises. We feel that there are two central concepts which have to set the tone to future negotiations between Natives and non-Natives : social ethic and transcultural sensitivity (Tremblay 1995 ?). The first one is well documented in the Royal Commission's Report. It is related to the improvement of Native living conditions. The second one has not received the same attention. Whatever is the case, the Report has clearly documented the deplorable living condi-tions of Aboriginal people all over the Canadian territory. Aboriginal levels of living could be improved, especially if concerned authorities make concerted and innovative efforts with other partners to share with them the wealth of natural resources which exist not only on Treaty or Common agreements obligations. This would not be enough ; other [25] planned actions are required such as the follow-ing : financial aid for economic development, the improvement of the quality and the quantity of services to which they are entitled as are all other Canadians, and greater autonomy in the administration of their affairs. In general, the Canadian population has felt that such efforts are urgent. It is ready to support initiatives that non-Native leaders are going to make in the best interest of all Canadians. Population support means that recommendations of the Royal Commission will not be shelved as were those of the Hawthorn-Tremblay Report. Today, the


Federal government is leading the way and Provincial governments model their Aboriginal initiatives after those of the Central govern-ment and conform themselves to deadlines that are mutually accept-able when they are both involved in agreements and settlements with Aboriginal Peoples...


[25]

6. SIXTH THEME : 1985-2005.THE FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL

GOVERNMENTS MADE PUBLIC THEIRLONG-TERM ABORIGINAL POLICY

AND DEFINED THEIR ACTION PLANSCONCEIVED TO BE BETTER ADAPTED

TO THE REALITIES OF NATIVE PEOPLES.


These policies and action plans are conceived to better serve the concrete needs of Aboriginal Peoples and to re-establish harmonious relations with them based on understanding, partnership and to imple-ment quantity and quality services which are comparable to those re-ceived by non-Natives. Many government initiatives which conform to these objectives are identified and are characterized by one major main feature

Following the deposit in 1996 of the Erasmus-Dussault Report, the Canadian and Provincial governments undertook a depth revision of Aboriginal policies. First, they re-affirmed their will to provide due responses to Aboriginal fundamental needs and designed a general strategy and action plans conceived to harmonize non-Native govern-ments-Aboriginal governments relationships. The Federal government made public its policy in 1997 and Provinces did the same shortly thereafter. The following section examines the Canadian action plan, its fundamental objectives and concrete initiatives to be set in place so as to match to the best way possible the conceived guidelines.

The Federal Aboriginal Action Plan was conceived to improve the relationships of the Federal government with Aboriginal Peoples. Such blueprint was based on mutual respect and recognition principles as well as on principles of responsibility and sharing as those were defined in the Royal Commission's Report. It can be considered as a


drawing which implies new guidelines for the Canadian Aboriginal Policy. « Rassembler nos Forces » equally pays attention to the past and to the future. It begins with a Declaration of Reconciliation which acknowledges past errors and injustices made to Aboriginal people and move on to speak about new views where Natives and non-Na-tives share common goals. It then explains four major objectives and measures to be put in place right away :

[26]

1. To renew partnership deals with sustainable significant changes which have to accompany the government's relationships with Aboriginal Peoples

2. To reinforce powers to be held by Aboriginal Peoples aimed at sustaining their efforts to establish efficient and responsible governments ;

3. To establish a new financial relationship means the conclusion of financial agreements with governments and Aboriginal Orga-nizations that are going to be stable, foreseeable, responsible and support self-sufficiency ;

4. To reinforce communities and economies and support individu-als aims at improving the health level and increase public secu-rity, at helping investments in human resources and at reinforc-ing Aboriginal economic development.

The Action Plan constitutes a framework in which there are new partnerships with First Nations, Inuit, Métis and non-status Indians set in place. This is a first step which would lead to have better work rela-tionships between the Federal government and Aboriginal Peoples. The blueprint attempts to sketch with them programs that would fit better fit their needs. The partnerships envisioned should include Abo-riginal people and their organizations, the Government of Canada, other levels of governments and the private sector. As a matter of fact, it includes all Canadians.

In the Reconciliation Declaration, Canada wishes to eliminate neg-ative influences that some historical decisions continue to have on the


Canadian society. It rather suggests « to learn from past experiences and to find mechanisms to eliminate the negative influences that his-torical decisions continue to have on our contemporary society ». They then underscore that First Nations Peoples, Inuit, M6tis have occupy the Canadian territory for millennium and developed close relationships with Mother Earth, organized their societies and estab-lished governments that allowed them to live in harmony with it and give value to resources in a sustainable manner. « These vibrant and full of diversity Nations had, since immemorial times, adapted ways of life anchored in fundamental values which related to their relation-ship with the Creator, the environment and their mutual relationships, the role of elders as a living memory of their ancestors and of their responsibilities as guardians of lands, waters and resources of their Native Land ».

The Renewal Declaration rests on the Royal Commission's Report. The objectives are to rebuild Aboriginal Nations, to establish govern-ment to government relationship between Canada and Aboriginal Peo-ples and to adopt concrete measures to increase Aboriginal levels of living. In brief, there is the need to build a partnership based on the principles of respect, of mutual recognition, of responsibility and shar-ing. Aboriginal Peoples and non-Natives from now on must work to-gether, in an harmonious spirit to model a new vision of their relation-ship and to make this tenet a reality ... As far as Canada is concerned, the partnership viewpoint translates itself by the celebration of our diversity as well as by the sharing of common objectives. The fore-seen partnership should allow to establish efficient work relationships with Aboriginal communities and organizations. More than all, it should make feasible that all levels of government, the private sector and individuals work with Aboriginal Peoples for the discovery of concrete [27] means to fulfill their needs, Our common objective ought to reinforce collectivities, Aboriginal economies and help to overcome obstacles which slowed past progress. (http://www.ainc-in-ac.qc.ca/gs/chg_f.html).

The search for new solutions meant the necessity to determine in a clear way powers, the rendition of accounts obligations and the re-spective responsibilities of each of the parties concerned. It equally meant the urgency to acknowledge ancestral customs, including their function in power management, to celebrate Native heritage, cultures


and the fundamental role of Native languages in their maintenance, to help Native institutions to acquire the required skills to hold new re-sponsibilities and to work for the setting in place of mechanisms to establish responsible and sustainable Native governments and auxil-iary institutions. The exercise of Native power strengthening would have to rely on relationships founded on Treaties, when required. From such viewpoint it would be necessary to elaborate, in matters related to self-government, efficient, legitimate and responsible agree-ments which have the relevant strength to create possibilities to achieve self-government and which can operate in a coordinated fash-ion with other governments.

The Canadian government will support social change among Na-tive Peoples by giving priority to health and public safety, in investing in training and economic development. These initiatives are going to be planned in partnerships with Natives, their collectivities, their gov-ernments.

A specific approach will be defined in order to renew relationships with Northern Natives. Important progress has already been achieved in the area of territorial claims and of new schemes for power transfer, especially with the establishment on the first of April 1999 of the new Nunavut Territory.

The principle of renewed partnership will only become operational within the context of a reconciliation between Canada and Native Peo-ples ... There is the necessity that « past wounds go to a long purga-tory ». That is why « Rassembler nos forces » begins with the Decla-ration of reconciliation in which the Canadian government officially recognizes the injustices suffered by Natives in the past and, in this regard, expresses its regrets)). (http://www.ainc-inac.qc.ca/qs/chg_f.htlm)

« he renewed partnership sets forth that Natives must fully partici-pate to the policy building process and to the program delivery which relates to their life and communities, Thus, such a common view will permit to better define priority measures to be chosen. Federal institu-tions are re-structured with the objective of delivering programs and services inspired by the new relationship to be put in place with Na-tives. Such a renewed partnership will attempt to respect and pro-motes cultures, heritage, Native languages, owing to the establishment


of programs set to preserve, protect, teach their languages and ensure their survival for the benefit of future generations » (http://www.ainc-inac.cic.ca./qs/chg_f.html).

[28]Canada will give great importance to the promotion of Native

rights and values in the implementation of its foreign policy within United Nations. Canada has committed itself to conceive a Declara-tion which reflects the unique place of Aboriginal Peoples in the en-tire World and whose universal scope, which advocates and defends Native rights ; which fights against discrimination and which orients, in a concise and convincing manner the establishment of harmonious relationships between Native Peoples and the State in which they live. This same perspective is used in the implementation process of the Convention of biological diversity.

Canada will give a considerable importance in its foreign policy to issues related to the North. It will invite Northern People to participate to the definition and implementation of Canadian objectives concern-ing the circumpolar world. The appointment of Natives as permanent member of the Arctic Council is a testimony of the Canadian partner-ship will with Northern inhabitants. Let us recall, it is being said, that « the Arctic Council is an intergouvernemental organism which groups eight Arctic countries. Its mandate is to promote cooperation and concerted action on sustainable development and environmental protection ». (http://www.ainc-inac.qc.ca.gs.chg_f.htlm)


[29]

7. SEVENTH THEME 1990-2005 :THE ESTABLISHMENT BY FEDERALAND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS

OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND MAINORIENTATIONS AIMING AT NORMALIZING

THEUR RELATIONSHIPSWITH NATIVE PEOPLES.


Guiding principles established by Canadian Governments for Na-tive Peoples were intended to specify negotiation rules, to bring about required actions leading to the full recognition of land and aboriginal rights as well as to better define parameters at the basis of self-govern-ment of the setting in place of responsible governments.

Many government initiatives coupled with Native reactions bring in the open adjustments which allow for the setting in place of joint activities on the part of some Native Peoples and governments which insert themselves in a long-time necessary steps promoting rights recognition and the achievement of greater political autonomy,

It has been seen throughout former developments : important deci-sion-making mechanisms implying the existence of Native Peoples or their social and economic development cannot be set in place unilater-ally by the Natives' fiduciary or Provincial governments. Contrarily to what was the case at earlier times when Court judgments prevail to impose to governments how to settle issues and conflicts with Na-tives. Today the solution of such disputes must result from mutual agreements following bipartite negotiation patterns when a Federal territory is involved - as it was the case for Nunavut - and a tripartite one when a provincial territory is a case at issue. Moreover, such change in attitude from the governments' part was not a fortuitous one. For the negotiation principle in due form, had been in the past a composite element of the political culture which took form after major


Court judgments such as the Malouf one related to the hydroelectric development in the James Bay area, or yet the Berger one in the case of the building of a gas pipeline along the Mckenzie River in the Northwest Territories. Other similar judgments, described earlier, have also contributed to the birth of this political culture related to ancestral and land rights. Governments themselves went as far as pro-moting their own political policy related to the recognition of Native rights. The federal government has done it at the time of the repatria-tion of the Canadian Constitution in 1982. Then it was followed by the Constitutional Conferences of Prime Ministers with Native Chiefs, in 1983, 1984, and 1987.

The Quebec Province has promulgated a similar recognition of Na-tive rights when it passed a 1983 National Assembly Resolution. It provided a recognition of ancestral rights of Aboriginal Nations and « rights endorsed in the James Bay and Northeastern Quebec Agree-ments » The National Assembly « considered that these Agreements and Agreements of the same nature have a Treaty value ». The same Resolution « urges the government to pursue negotiations with Native Nations » with the [30] objective « to conclude agreements with Na-tions which made such a request or with communities that are part of them, in order to make sure the implementation of (a) «a self-govern-ment right ; (b) right of their culture, their language, their traditions ; (c) right to own and manage lands ; (d) hunting, trapping, gathering rights in addition to the right to participate to the management of fauna resources ; (e) the right to participate to Quebec development and get due benefits ». Such a resolution undoubtedly is at the onset of the Agreement of the Brave Ones with Quebec Cree (2001) and of the economic development (Sanarrutik) with Inuit (2002)

As it was said earlier, the Federal government has established many negotiation Tables across the Canadian territory. The most im-portant ones, we feel, are those which flow from the Global Land Claims Policy which spans over a twenty-five years period if we take into account The James Bay and the Northern Quebec Agreement (1975) and the Northeastern Quebec Agreement with the Naskapis in 1978. Other global land claims have been settled in recent years. It is the final Agreement of Inuvialuit (NVVT), the Dene and Metis Agree-ments (NWT), the Gwich'in Agreement (NWT), the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NWT), the Nisga'a final Agreement (BC), the


Framework Agreement with the Council of Yukon Indians (YIC) Other negotiations are on their way with the Dogrib, the Dene of Treaty 8, the Attikamekw and Innus, the Makivik Society in regard to Nunavut Off Shore Islands and Labrador Off-Shore Islands, the Cree concerning Nunavut Off-Shore Islands, the Algonkians of Eastern On-tario, Labrador Inuit and the Newfoundland and Labrador Innus.

The Canadian Native Negotiation Policy is clear and Canadian governments are involved in an interactive democratic process which aims to decree on rights but also on their implementation modalities within the Canadian territory. The implementation modalities negotia-tion is the first process to put in place at Native Peoples' request. When these are successful, then governments ratify agreements reached. In the case of important disputes or strong disagreements be-tween governments and Natives in regard to specific modalities it is evidently possible to go to Courts to reach a legal settlement reached.


[31]



GENERAL CONCLUSION


Even though « The Long Walk » of Natives living in Canada has been well started, kept up and accompanied by steadfast progress, much remains to be achieved by Natives and done by Canadian gov-ernments. In order for Natives to obtain full and complete respect of ancestral and land rights and to get self-government many other steps have to be undertaken by both Natives and governments. It is not our role to define the strategies to invent and implement. Every day we hear in the Press about obstacles of all kinds which curtail new progress and distract the main actors to pursue their walk and discus-sions on a road which yielded many returns in the past. It seems to us that from now on both partners ought to set their objectives on indis-sociable objective and issues that are as much related to concerned governments as they are to Native Peoples themselves.

The leading role taken by the Federal government since many decades as a northern country acting with the view to grant and sus-tain the implementation of Native rights on its territory is associated with innovative projects not yet fully achieved. The full success of its efforts, at the beginning of this new Millennium, rests on a conjunc-ture that has three facets : any situation (conflicting or cooperative which involves governments and Natives) must be examined in the light of well-known government guiding principles agreed upon by


Native Peoples ; implementation of projects according to agreed upon concrete imperatives and a well-informed general population. We will explain the full meaning of these in following paragraphs.

The first facet relates to the field of principles. The Canadian gov-ernment will have to get sure there is an irreproachable management of important questions related to sustainable development and to the achievement of social equity in environments most of the time far away from great urban centers, Such a principle has to conciliate the requirements of economic development related to the improvement of Native levels of living with those of resource protection in a fragile environment. In other word, the question is to make sure that the pro-motion of Native industries and the creation of industrial trades are going to take into account workers' training needs and in avoiding to increase environmental risks flowing either from over exploitation of resources or yet from the establishment of pollution sources. On the other hand, how to allow governmental social and community initia-tives for Natives to become comparable in [32] quantity and quality to those which are available to other country inhabitants, especially when it relates to health, social services, education, employment, housing and economic development and must respect Native funda-mental values and their world view ? This questioning should not pre-vent Natives from benefitting modern assets while they are striving to gain their full financial autonomy.

The second facet flows from the logic of right implementation and of imperatives tied to it. We estimate that those imperatives amount to four main ones which have an equal bearing on representatives of Na-tive Organizations and government decision makers :

- A political awareness of both partners who make decisions to be fully at the service of citizens ;

- The active participation of Native citizens at all levels in order to make them part of the decision-taking process and transform a top-down pyramidal operation into one solidly anchored at its base ;


- The full awareness that policies flowing from such a blue-print are part of a systematic perspective and as such initiatives taken in an activity sector are going to engender counterpart reactions in other interdependent sectors ;

- Concerted strategies to achieve important collective objectives must flow from a wide majority agreement from partners and become part of a configuration of elements where feedbacks from users could be registered and allow for required adjust-ments all the way along the implementation process.

The third facet is tied to the Long Walk itself. This long walk is going to continue in the right direction inasmuch as non-Native Cana-dians will have a better knowledge of Native living conditions and will develop an awareness of the interest and necessity to live harmo-niously with Natives and cooperate with them. Such a process is likely to develop according to the spirit of the World Conventions signed and ratified in the last decade. These Conventions attempt at better conciliating the prerequisites of economic development with those of the maintenance and the sustainable use of natural resources which could be affected by such a process while respecting rights and funda-mental liberties.


[1]

THE LONG WALK OF CANADIAN NATIVE PEOPLETOWARD THE FULL CONQUEST OF THEIR RIGHTS,

FREEDOM AND SELF-DETERMINATION(1960-2003)

SCHÉMA-SYNTHÈSE DES PÉRIODES

FIRST PERIOD (1950-1970)


Native Peoples become conscious of their Poor Life Conditions and of their am-biguous relationship in regard to their rights with the rest of Canada. This under-standing coincided with the deposit of the Hawthorn-Tremblay Commission's Report and the visit of Quebec Inuit communities by the Neville-Robitaille Study Committee

# Aboriginal Initiatives ; * Government Initiatives ; #* Joint Initiatives

DATE PEOPLES INITIATIVES RESULTS

#1960 Inuit Awareness of the poor life conditions of Inuit communities

Establishment of a Fed-eral-Quebec bipartite Committee to plan in-terventions

* 1963 Crees and Inuit Establish basic services to Inuit and Cree com-munities

Creation of the General Branch of New-Quebec

*1964 All Amerindian communities

The study of economic, educational social and constitutional status of contemporary Indians

Setting the Hawthorn-Tremblay Study Com-mission

[2]

*1967 All Native Indi-ans living on the Canadian Terri-tory

The betterment of Life conditions of Canadian Indians. The setting of measures aiming at in-

Deposit of the report of the Hawthorn-Tremblay Commission



creasing the natives' responsibilities and rec-ommendations for the transfer of greater re-sponsibilities to the Provinces

*1969 All Native Indi-ans living on the Canadian Terri-tory

The extinction of Indi-ans status and abolition of the Indian Law

The Federal White Book on the Status of Indians and the Indian Act

*1969 Inuit A study committee con-sults Inuit of Northen Quebec on proposals of a joint Federal-Quebec committee

Joint Federal-Quebec committee of Neville-Robitaille

*1969 All Native Indi-ans living on the Quebec Terri-tory

The defense of the Abo-riginal rights of Quebec Indians

The establishment of the Quebec Indians As-sociations (QIA)

#1969 All amerindian Peoples

Steps to make the Que-bec government recog-nize the Territorial rights of Indians

A brief was sent to the Quebec government on Indian territorial rights related to land, forest, fauna, lakes, rivers and territorial waters

*1969 All amerindian Peoples

The acknowledgment and enforcement of native Peoples' rights

the voting right of Indi-ans Native Peoples at the Provincial elections

[3]

*1970 All amerindian Peoples

The Alberta Indian chiefs publish a Red Book which rejects the Federal White Book and its perspectives on In-dian affairs

The Federal Govern-ment withdraws its White Book



*1970 Inuit to get greater powers in the administration of their own affairs and ensure that they receive all the services to which all Canadians are enti-tled

The Neville-Robitaille Peport confirms Inuit expectations and needs

*1970 Quebec Indians Quebec Indians requires that the Quebec Gov-ernment states Clearly its funtions related to aboriginal affairs

The setting in place in Quebec of a commis-sion of Indian affairs (CNAI)

*1970 All amerindian peoples

The claim and defense of Aboriginal rights

The setting in place of Nation organizations to re-orient Native identity and fight for Native rights

[4]

MAIN FEATURES OF THE FIRST PERIOD (1950-1070)

1. In 1967 the Hawthorn-Tremblay Commission reports on

a) The poor economic development of Indian Communities ;

b) The weak educational results despite increased educational services ;

c) The ambiguities of Indian leadership on « Reserves » ;

d) The challenges related to the transfer of some federal fiduciary responsi-bilities to the Provinces.

2. In 1970 the Neville-Robitaille Study Committee reports on

a) The expression of Inuit needs ;

b) The kinds of services required to fulfill their full needs.

3. In 1969 the Quebec Indian Association is created with the aim of seeing that their rights are enforced by governments.

4. In 1970 the Federal Government withdraws the « White Book » as a re-sult of Native Peoples' reactions to its publication.


[5]

References

CANADA. 1995. Les Inuit du Canada. Ottawa, Inuit Tapirisat du Canada (ITC) et ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada. 32 p.

CANADA. 1996. People to People, Nation to Nation. À l'aube d'un rap-prochement. Points saillants du Rapport de la Commission royale sur les peuples autochtones. Ottawa, ministère des Approvisionnements et services Canada. 150 p.

CANADA. 1997. Rassembler nos forces. Le plan d'action du Canada pour les questions autochtones. Ottawa, ministère des Travaux publics et Services gou-vernementaux. 42 p.

CANADA. 2001. Population indienne et inuite au Québec. 2001. Ottawa, Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada. Février 2001.

CANADA 2002. Comprehensive Claims Policy and Status of Claims. Ottawa, Ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada. 21 p.

DUFOUR, J. 1993. Les revendications territoriales des peuples autochtones au Québec. Cahiers de géographie du Québec. Numéro spécial. Vol. 37, no 101, septembre 1992, pp. 263-290.

DUFOUR, J. 2001. Les Inuits du Québec auront leur gouvernement au-tonome. In. : Québec 2002. Annuaire politique, social, économique et culturel du Québec. Montréal, Fides, pp. 350-357.

DUFOUR, J. et M.-A. Tremblay. 2001. La commission du Nunavik. Une ex-périence unique et extraordinaire. Ministère canadien des Affaires indiennes et du Nord. Septembre 2001. 15 p. avec annexes.

QUÉBEC. 1991. Les autochtones et le Québec. Le chemin parcouru. Québec, Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones. 40 p.

QUÉBEC. 1998. Partenariat, développement, actions. Affaires autochtones. Orientations du Gouvernement du Québec. Québec, Secrétariat aux affaires au-tochtones. 40 p.

QUÉBEC. 1998. Relations du Québec avec les Autochtones. Résultats tangi-bles. Québec, Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones. Mars 1998. 8 p.

QUÉBEC. 2002. Québécois et Innus sur un même territoire. De voisins à partenaires. Synthèse de la proposition d'entente de principe avec les innus. Québec, S.A.A. 11 p.


TREMBLAY, Marc-A. 1982. « Études amérindiennes au Québec, 1960-1981 : État des travaux et principales tendances », Culture, vol. 2, no. 1, 1982 : 83-106

[6]

TREMBLAY, Marc-A. et C. Lévesque. 1993. Savoirs en sciences sociales sur les Peuples autochtones nordiques 1960-1990, Laboratoire d'anthropologie, Québec : Université Laval, 1993, 50 p.

TREMBLAY, Marc-A et C. Lévesque, 1997. Quebec Social Science and Canadian Indigenous Peoples : An overview of Research Trends, 1960-1990, Polaris Paper no. 11, Ottawa : Canadian Polar Commission, 1997, 50 p.

TULUGAK, H., J. Adams, J. Dufour, G. Duhaime, D. Gaumont et M.-A. Tremblay. 2001. Amiqqaaluta Partageons - Tracer la vole vers un gouvernement pour le Nunavik. Rapport de la Commission du Nunavik mars 2001. 66 pages.

Sites internet :

Ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada : http://www.ainc-in-ac.qc.ca/pr/aqr/index_f.html#Ententes sur l'autonomie gouvernementale

Comprehensive Claims Policy and Status of Claims : http://www.ainc-inac-qc.ca/ps/clm/brieff_e.html


[6bis]

SECOND PERIOD (1970-1980)


The setting in place of Native Organizations in order to structure and consolidate Native claims sent to Governments and make sure that their rights are fully rec-ognized



#1971 Inuit The claim and defense of aboriginal rights in New Quebec (Nunavik)

Creation of the North-ern Quebec Inuit Asso-ciation (NQIA)

*1972 All Native Peo-ples

The seeking of greater authority over educa-tional matters by Native Peoples - A request of the National Indian Brotherhood

The then Indian Minis-ter of Indian Affairs (Jean Chrétien) agrees on such a request and considers that it is part of First Nation philoso-phy on governance

[7]

*1973 All Native Peo-ples

To define the relation-ships between Quebec territory and Native Peoples

Creation of a Study Commission on Quebec territorial integrity (The Dorion Commission)

* 1973 All Native Peo-ples Living on the Canadian Territory

To make the Canadian Government recognize the territorial rights of Native Peoples

Adoption by the Cana-dian Government of the first policy related to territorial claims of Na-tive Peoples

#*1973 All Native Peo-ples living on Canadian terri-

To get the Canadian Government recognize the Aboriginal rights of

The Supreme Court of Canada confirms the existence of Native ter-



tory Native Peoples ritorial rights in Canada (The Calder Judgment)

*1973 Cree and Inuit To get Governments recognize the territorial rights of Aboriginal Peoples

The Quebec Superior Court says in its judg-ment that the Cree and Inuit have rights on the territory that Canada leased to Quebec with the frontier extension Laws of 1898 and 1912

*#1975 Cree and Inuit To sign an Agreement recognizing the funda-mental rights of Aborig-inal Peoples

The signing of the James Bay and North-ern Quebec Agreement over a territory of 1,165, 286 km2

*#1978 Naskapis To sign an Agreement recognizing the funda-mental rights of Aborig-inal Peoples

The signing of the North-East Quebec Agreement defining a Naskapi territory

* 1978 All aboriginal Peoples

To provide relevant services adapted to the specific needs of Abo-riginal Peoples

The creation of a Secre-tariat of Government activities in Indian and Inuit environments (SAGMAI)

#*1978 Inuit As a result of the James Bay and Northern Que-bec Agreement, the Provision of services related to Nunavik Inuit rights

The setting in place of the Kativik Regional Government, the Re-gional Board of Health and Social Services, the Kativik School Board and of Katutjinik (eco-nomic development)

#1978 All Quebec abo-riginal Peoples

To bring the Quebec Government to recog-nize the fundamental rights of Aboriginal Peoples

The holding in Quebec of the first official meet-ing of representatives of all Quebec Aboriginal Peoples



[8]

*1979 300 Indian Chiefs and Indi-ans living in Reserves

Went to London to pre-vent the repatriation of the Canadian constitu-tion (unsuccessfully) - Such a move had not been approved by all Native organizations

It brought to the atten-tion of Indian chiefs the necessity of restructur-ing their National orga-nization to make it more representative. In 1982 the National Indian Brotherhood became the Assembly of First Na-tions

MAIN FEATURES OF THE SECOND PERIOD (1970-1980)

1) The creation of the Northern Quebec Inuit Association (NOIA) in 1971 in order to claim and defend Native rights

2) The Calder Judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1973 confirms the existence of Native territorial rights

3) The signing of the James Bay and Northern Quebec agreement in 1975 and the Quebec North-East agreement with the Naskapis in 1978

4) The holding in Quebec National Assembly in 1978 of the first official meeting of representatives of all Quebec Aboriginal Peoples

5) The process of reorganizing the National Native organization which be-came in 1982 the Assembly of First Nations


[9]

pour accélérer le développement du Nunavik

entre le gouvernement du Québec et les Inuits du Nunavik d'une durée de 25 ans

#*2002 Inuits Processus de création d'un gouvernement au-tonome

Préparation d'une En-tente cadre pour les négociations

#*2002 Innus Harmonisation des rela-tions entre les Innus de Mamuitun et de Nu-tashkuan et les gou-vernements du Québec et du Canada

Signature d'une Entente de principe d'ordre général entre les Pre-mières Nations de Ma-muitun et de Nu-tashkuan et le Gou-vernement du Québec et le Gouvernement du Canada

#*2003 Innus Harmonisation des rela-tions entre les Innus de Mamuitun et de Nu-tashkuan et les gou-vernements du Québec et du Canada

Tenue d'une Commis-sion parlementaire pour l'examen de l'Entente de principe intervenue en-tre les Premières Na-tions de Marnuitun et de Nutashkuan et le Gou-vernement du Québec et le Gouvernement du Canada

#*2003 Inuits Processus de création d'un gouvernement au-tonome

Négociations pour la création d'une Assem-blée élue (UQARVI-MARIK), d'un Exécutif et de comités perma-nents (Phase 1)


Sources :

CANADA. 1995. Les Inuit du Canada. Ottawa, Inuit Tapirisat du Canada (ITC) et ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada. 32 pages.

CANADA. 1996. People to People, Nation to Nation. À l'aube d'un rap-prochemenL Points saillants du Rapport de la Commission royale sur les peuples autochtones. Ottawa, ministère des Approvisionnements et services Canada. 150 pages.

CANADA. 1997. Rassembler nos forces. Le plan d'action du Canada pour les questions autochtones. Ottawa, ministère des Travaux publics et Services gou-vernementaux. 42 pages.

[10]CANADA. 2001. Population indienne et inuite au Québec. 2001. Ottawa,

Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada. Février 2001.

DUFOUR, J. 2001. Les Inuils du Québec auront leur gouvernement au-tonome. In. : Québec 2002. Annuaire politique, social, économique et culturel du Québec. Montréal, Fides, pp. 350-357.

DUFOUR, J. et M.-A. Tremblay. 2001. La commission du Nunavik. Une ex-périence unique et extraordînaire. Ministère canadien des Affaires indiennes et du Nord. Septembre 2001. 15 pages avec annexes.

QUÉBEC. 1991. Les autochtones et le Québec Le chemin parcouru. Québec, Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones. 40 pages.

QUÉBEC. 1998. Partenariat, développemen4 actions. Affaires autochtones. Orientations du Gouvernement du Québec. Québec, Secrétariat aux affaires au-tochtones. 40 pages.

QUÉBEC. 1998. Relations du Québec avec les Autochtones. Résultats tangi-bles. Québec, Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones. Mars 1998. 8 pages.

QUÉBEC. 2002. Québécois et Innus sur un même territoire. De voisins à partenaires. Synthèse de la proposition d'entente de principe avec les Innus. Québec, S.A.A. 11 pages.


TREMBLAY, Marc-A. et C. Lévesque. 1993. Savoirs en sciences sociales sur les Peuples autochtones nordiques 1960-1990, Laboratoire d'anthropologie, Québec, Université Laval, 1993, 50 p.


TREMBLAY, Marc-A et C. Lévesque, 1997. Quebec Social Science and Canadian Indigenous Peoples : An overview of Research Trends, 1960-1990, Polaris Paper no. 11, Ottawa : Canadian Polar Commission, 1997, 50 p.

TULUGAK, H., J. Adams, J. Dufour, G. Duhaime, D. Gaumont et M.-A. Tremblay. 2001. Amiqqaaluta Partageons - Tracer la voie vers un gouvernement pour le Nunavik. Rapport de la Commission du Nunavik, mars 2001. 66 pages.


[11]

THIRD PERIOD (1970 up 1995) overlapping with other periods


Native Peoples seek law judgments but also agreements with governments in order to get full recognition of their rights (ancestral and aboriginal)



# 1982 All Native Peo-ples living on the Canadian territory

To get the entrenchment in the Canadian Consti-tution of the recognition of Aboriginal rights and the protection of those rights

The Constitutional Law. It recognizes and pro-tects the rights of Abo-riginal Peoples. The 25 Article protects the free-dom of Aboriginal Peo-ples -whereas Article 35 deals in a specific way of existing rights (an-cestral or resulting from Treaties), recognizes them and confirms them

#1982(30/11)

All Native Peo-ples living on the Quebec ter-ritory

A move to get the recognition of funda-mental rights of Aborig-inal Peoples

A Common Front of Quebec Aboriginal Peo-ple identifies a series of principles which ought to set the kinds of rela-tionships between the Quebec government and Aboriginal Peoples

[12]

*1983(09/02)

Native Peoples living on the Quebec territory

A definition of a Que-bec policy on Aborigi-nal issues

The Adoption by the Council of Ministers of fifteen principles which set the foundation of the



Quebec Policy

*1984 Crees and Naskapis

Increasing of powers of these two Nations on a number of different fields such as financial administration, the use of land, so on so forth

The Adoption of a Law on Crees and Naskapis

*#1984 Inuvialuit Settlement of territorial claims/the creation of a Fund for social and eco-nomic development/ Recognition of rights on Fauna/ Development of socio-economic initia-tives/ Participation to fauna and environment Administration

The Signing of a Final Agreement / A territory of 91,000 km2

*1985(20/03)

Native Peoples living on the Quebec territory

Recognition by Quebec of ancestral rights of Aboriginal Peoples

The Adoption by the Quebec National As-sembly of a motion re-lated to the recognition, in principle, of Aborigi-nal rights

*1985(28/06)

Native Peoples living on the Canadian terri-tory

The Application of the Canadian Charter of rights and freedom by the Canadian Govern-ment to Aboriginal Peo-ples

The Adoption of Law C-31 aiming at concili-ating the Indian Act with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

*1986 All Native Peo-ples living on the Quebec ter-ritory

A betterment of Quebec Aboriginal Peoples rela-tionships

Appointment of a dele-gate minister for Abo-riginal affairs

[13]

*#1988 Attikameks and Montagnais

The conclusion of a memorandum of under-

A framework Agree-ment between At-



standing on the ances-tral Territories of these Native Peoples

tikamek-Montagnese Council (CAM) and the Quebec Government is signed on the territorial claims of the At-tikameks and Montag-nais

*1990 All Native Peo-ples on the Que-bec territory

A betterment of Que-bec-Aboriginal Peoples relationships

Appointment of a full-time minister for Abo-riginal Affairs

#*1990 Hurons-Wendat Seeking the recognition of Native rights on fauna resources

A Judgment by the Supreme Court of Canada recognizing to the Sioui brothers the Huron rights to carry traditional customs and religious rites on their ancestral lands since it flows from the 1760 Treaty between the Crown and the Huron Nation

*1991 Native Peoples living on the Quebec territory

The need to get a clear-cut policy in regard to Native affairs

The Council of Quebec Ministers accepts the principle of building a broad policy related to Native affairs

*1992 Native Peoples living on the Canadian terri-tory

The respect and protec-tion of fundamental rights of Aboriginal Peoples

The establishment of a Royal commission on Aboriginal Peoples (Erasmus Dussault)

*1993 Natives Peoples living on the Quebec territory

The promotions of rights and fundamental freedoms of Aboriginal Peoples

Formal recognition by Quebec National As-sembly of the year 1993 as the International year of Aboriginal Popula-tions (Order in Council 1829-92)



#*1993 Champagne and Aishihik Native Peoples

Self-Determination Final agreement of the First Nations of Cham-pagne and Aishihik with the Federal Government

#*1993 Tlingits of Tes-lin Native Peo-ples

Self-Determination Final agreement be-tween the council of Tlingits of Teslin with the Federal Government

[14]

#*1993 Nacho, NyakNative Peoples

Self-Determination Agreement of the First Nation of Nyak with Federal Government

#*1993 Sahtu and Metis Settlement of territorial claims

Final agreement with the Federal Government - Territory of 250 278 km2


[15]

MAIN FEATURES OF THE THIRD PERIOD (1970-1995)

1. a) The entrenchment in the repatriated Canadian Constitution of 1982 of the fundamental rights of the Aboriginal Peoples ;

b) It Is by far the most Important and Innovative constitutional gesture on the part of the Canadian government ;

2. a) The adoption In 1983 by the council of Minister of the Quebec National Assembly of a set of 15 basic principles which serve as foundation for Quebec Policy for Aboriginal Peoples ;

b) This Is to be followed In 1985 by a motion recognizing, In principle, Aboriginal rights ;

3. Numerous agreements the Federal and Quebec governments with Aborig-inal Peoples over the period which ends with the deposit of the Erasmus-Dussault Report ;

4. During the same period there exists a number of Court judgments not covered In the current presentation that are also essential to understand the pro-gressive move of the « long walk of Native Peoples » towards self-Determina-tion ;

a) The most Important of these court judgments, as Identified by Native Peoples themselves are the following : Calder 1973 ; Supreme Court : Huron-Wendat of 1990 ; Sparrow, 1990 ; Van der Poet, 1995 ; Delgamuukw,1995 ;

b) The judgments of those court cases Illustrate the extraordinary patience of Aboriginal In their democratic efforts to seek full fundamental rights. The judg-ments by the Supreme Court, on the other hand, has allowed to eliminate uncer-tainties In regard to these Native rights and paved the way to negotiation and reconciliation between Native Peoples and Canadian Peoples delegating their powers to representative Institutions.


[16]

FOURTH PERIOD (1960-2003)


This period is different from the others in that it identifies some political, eco-nomic and social events whose outcomes become structuring factors for Native efforts to achieve self-determination over a period of time. Some of these events are related to Quebec stands but other relate to the country as a whole.

1. The various Reports of Commissions established to study Aboriginal is-sues in Canada were highly positive in regard to Native Peoples expecta-tions and aspirations in regard to their rights and to their status within Canada. (the Hawthorn-Tremblay Commission (1964-1967) ; the Neville-Robitaille Study Committee (1969-1970) ; the Erasmus-Dussault Commis-sion (1991-1996) ; the Nunavik Commission (1999-2001) to which we will refer later on.

2. The Court judgments as a whole have been sensitive to Native claims as well as to the recognition and protection of their rights. The courts have projected a positive image of Aboriginal Peoples and explicitly stressed the fact that Natives defend a « just cause »

3. The White Book (1969) and the Red Book (1970) were at the onset of Native Peoples who felt the need to establish Native organizations to de-fend their rights and promote Native traditions. This was [17] accompa-nied by a revitalization of Native identity where the preservation of Native languages was one of the fundamental elements.

4. The Malouf judgment (Quebec Superior Court) which stopped the work on the hydroelectric sites in Northern Quebec since he felt that, as it went, the rights of the Cree and Inuit might be jeopardized The Berger Report adopted a similar viewpoint in the Northwest Territories in relation to gaz-pipe developments.

5. The Oka crisis (in 1990) and the rejection of the Lake Meech and Charlot-tetown accords by Native4, were other events which meant that non-Na-tives had to respect their fundamental and inalienable rights.


ALL THESE EVENTS AND MANY OTHER SIMILAR ONES ALLOWED FOR THE STRENGHTENING OF NATIVE RIGHTS RECOGNIZED BY THE COURTS IN ADDITION TO CONFIRMING THAT NATIVES WERE SUC-CESSFUL IN THE PURSUIT OF THEIR OVERALL GOALS. AS A RESULT SELF-DETERMINATION WAS SEEN AS BEING WITHIN REACH.


[18]

FIFTH PERIOD : 1995 ONWARD


The existence of different crisis throughout Canada and the awareness on the part of non-Natives, especially after the deposit of the Erasmus-Dussault Report, of the urgency to invent relevant policies and programs to reduce the economic, political and social uneasiness on the part of Aboriginal Peoples.



*1996 All Native Peo-ples living on the Canadian territory

An exhaustive redefini-tion of relationships between Canada and Aboriginal Peoples

The Deposit of the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Aborig-inal Peoples which set negotiation processes as the only mechanism for establishing harmonious relationships with Abo-riginal Peoples

#*1997 Little Salmon/Carmarcks

Self-determination Final agreement of the First Nation of Little Salmon/Carmarcks

[19]

#*1997 First Nation Selkirk

Self-determination Final agreement of the First Nation Selkirk

*1997 All Aboriginal Peoples living on The Cana-dian territory

Redefinition of relation-ships between Canada and Aboriginal Peoples. The Federal follows a successful path

The New Canadian Ac-tion Plan for Aboriginal Affairs

#*1998 Trondēk Hwēch Self-determination Final agreement with



the Trondēk Hwēch People

#*1998 Nisga's Settlement of territorial claims and self-determi-nation

Final agreement related to a territory of 2 000 km2

*1998 All Aboriginal Peoples living on the Quebec territory

Harmonization of rela-tionships between the Quebec Government and Aboriginal Peoples

Full outline of guiding principles endorsed by the Quebec Government on Aboriginal affairs

#*1999 Quebec Inuit Settlement of territorial claims - The establish-ment of an Assembly and of a Government which would have a large degree of auton-omy within a Province

The Signing of a Politi-cal Accord aimed at establishing a new form of Government in Nunavik. The setting up of the Nunavik Com-mission, a process en-dorsed by Makivik Cor-poration, the Federal and Quebec Govern-ments

#*2001 Quebec Inuit Setting the process to establish an Assembly and a Government in Nunavik with wide de-gree of autonomy within a Province

The Deposit of the Final Report of the Nunavik Commission

#*2002 Cree nation Negotiating an Agree-ment for economic, social and community oriented Development of the James Bay Re-gion

Historical Agreement between Quebec Na-tional Assembly and the Cree Nation called « The Peace of the Braves ones » (3.5 MM$ over a period of 50 years)

[20]

#*2002 Quebec Inuit Partnership between The signing of a part-



Quebec and the Nunavik Inuit to speed up Nunavik Develop-ment

nership Agreement be-tween the Government of Quebec and the Nunavik Inuit for a pe-riod of 25 years

#*2002 Quebec Inuit The Process of creation of an autonomous gov-ernment is defined

The writing up of a Framework agreement suitable for the negotia-tion process (setting the Agenda)

#*2002 Quebec lnnus The process of harmo-nization of relationships between the Innus of Mamuitun and of Nu-tashkuan and the Que-bec and Canadian Gov-ernments

Agreement in Principle of a general Nature be-tween Mamuitun and Natashkuan First Na-tions and the Quebec and Canadian Govern-ments

#*2002 Tlicho Self-determination Final Agreement of the Thicho with the Federal Government

#*2003 Quebec Innus Harmonization of rela-tionships between the Mamuitun and Natashkuan Innus and the Quebec and Federal Governments

The Holding of a Parlia-mentary Commission for the examination of the Agreement in prin-ciple signed between the First Nations of Ma-muitun and Natashkuan and the Quebec and Federal Governments

#*2003 Quebec Inuit Setting an adequate process for the creation of an Autonomous Gov-ernment

Negotiations between the three partners (Makivik Corporation, Federal and Quebec) with the aim of creating an elected Assembly (WARVIMARIK), an Executive (a Govern-ment) and permanent



Committees (The Phase I of the overall process)

[21]

Main features

1. The main crisis across the country made Canadians aware that govern-ments and canadian people alike had to change their outlook, interventions and relationships in regard to Aboriginal Peoples and affairs. When it occurred, it led to remarkable outcomes (Agreements, Settlements, so on...).

2. The Erasmus-Dussault Report has to be considered as a major turning point in the overall picture. It is the most exhaustive Report produced on Aborig-inal Affairs which made it clear that sustainable development of Native commu-nities associated with partnership were the key to developing harmonious rela-tionships with them.

3. The Nisga's settlement and agreement in British Columbia and the « Peace of the Braves ones » in Quebec Cree Country have set empirical exam-ples of the implementation of such new philosophy. They represent a majestuous entry into the twenty-first century.


[22]

References

CANADA. 1995. Les Inuit du Canada. Ottawa, Inuit Tapirisat du Canada (ITC) et ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada. 32 p.

CANADA. 1996. People to People, Nation to Nation. À l'aube d'un rap-prochement. Points saillants du Rapport de la Commission royale sur les peuples autochtones. Ottawa, ministère des Approvisionnements et services Canada. 150 p.

CANADA. 1997. Rassembler nos forces. Le plan d'action du Canada pour les questions autochtones. Ottawa, ministère des Travaux publics et Services gou-vernementaux. 42 p.

CANADA. 2001. Population indienne et inuite au Québec. 2001. Ottawa, Travaux publics et Services gouvernementaux Canada. Février 2001.

CANADA 2002. Comprehensive Claims Policy and Status of Claims. Ottawa, Ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada. 21 p.

DUFOUR, J. 1993. Les revendications territoriales des peuples autochtones au Québec. Cahiers de géographie du Québec. Numéro spécial. Vol. 37, no 101, septembre 1992, pp. 263-290.

DUFOUR, J. 2001. Las Inuits du Québec auront leur gouvernement au-tonome. In. : Québec 2002. Annuaire politique, social, économique et culturel du Québec. Montréal, Fides, pp. 350-357.

DUFOUR, J. et M.-A. Tremblay. 2001. La commission du Nunavik. Une ex-périence unique et extraordinaire. Ministère canadien des Affaires indiennes et du Nord. Septembre 2001. 15 p. avec annexes.

QUÉBEC. 1991. Les autochtones et le Québec. Le chemin parcouru. Québec, Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones. 40 p.

QUÉBEC. 1998. Partenariat, développement, actions. Affaires autochtones. Orientations du Gouvernement du Québec. Québec, Secrétahat aux affaires au-tochtones. 40 p.

QUÉBEC. 1998. Relations du Québec avec les Autochtones. Résultats tangi-bles. Québec, Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones. Mars 1998. 8 p.

QUÉBEC. 2002. Québécois et Innus sur un même territoire. De voisins à partenaires. Synthèse de la proposition d'entente de principe avec les Innus. Québec, S.A.A. 11 p.



[23]

TREMBLAY, Marc-A. et C. Lévesque. 1993. Savoirs en sciences sociales sur tes Peuples autochtones nordiques 1960-1990, Laboratoire d'anthropologie, Québec : Université Laval, 1993, 50 p.

TREMBLAY, Marc-A et C. Lévesque, 1997. Quebec Social Science and Canadian Indigenous Peoples : An overview of Research Trends, 1960-1990, Po-laris Paper no. 11, Ottawa : Canadian Polar Commission, 1997, 50 p.

TULUGAK, H., J. Adams, J. Dufour, G. Duhaime, D. Gaumont et M.-A. Tremblay. 2001. Amiqqaaluta Partageons - Tracer la vole vers un gouvernement pour le Nunavik. Rapport de la Commission du Nunavik mars 2001. 66 pages.

Sites intemet :

Ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada : http://www.ainc-in-ac.qc.calprlagr/index_f.html#Ententes sur l'autonomie gouvernementale

Comprehensive Claims Policy and Status of Claims : http://www.ainc-in-ac.qc.ca/ps/clm/bdeff_e.html


[24]

SIXTH PERIOD (1985-2003)


Following the Erasmus-Dussault Report, the Canadian government and Provin-cial governments revised completely their policies and strategies of interventions in regard to aboriginal affairs. They both expressed their strong will to meet the overall needs of Aboriginal Nations and conceived relevant strategies and action plans to develop harmonious relationships with them. The Federal made public its policy in 1997 and Provinces followed in its footsteps shortly thereafter.

In this presentation we will deal only, in a schematic manner, with the Federal Action Plan. This strategy is based on the guidelines of mutual respect, recogni-tion, responsibility and partnership,. It recognized pas mistakes and injustices but goes on afterwards to set the main objectives and actions to implement right away :

[25]

1. To renew partnerships with Aboriginal Peoples so as to build harmonious relationships ;

2. To support Aboriginal Peoples in their efforts to create efficient and re-sponsible governments ;

3. To confirm relationships based on Treaties ;

4. To negotiate with the shared aim of finding equitable results to territorial claims ;

5. To establish a new financial relationship with First Nations which would lead to financial agreements between governments and Native organiza-tions which would be stable, foreseeable, responsible and lead to self-de-termination ;

6. To strengthen communities and their economies ;

7. To enhance the health status of individuals and public security of commu-nities ;

8. To invest financially on human resources ;

9. To strengthen Native economic development ;


SUCH AN ACTION PLAN IS CONCEIVED TO FOSTER RENEWED PARTNERSHIP WITH FIRST NATIONS, THE INUIT, METIS AND NON-STATUS INDIANS


[26]

SEVENTH PERIOD 1990-2003


The setting in place on a permanent basis by governments of the negotiating pat-tern and process with Aboriginal Peoples following the partnership guidelines set by the Federal in order to settle, when timing is appropriate but with an equitable spirit, the settlement of territorial claims and the implementation of self-gover-nance.

It has been clearly demonstrated by preceding periods. The decision making process related to aboriginal affairs cannot be taken in a unilateral way either by the Federal or the Provincial governments. It should flow from agreements achieved following bi-partite negotiations in the case of Peoples living in a Fed-eral territory or tri-partite negotiations when it relates to Native Peoples living in a provincial territory. Tribunals would still have a role to play when it has to do with the application modalities of Native rights, such as fishing and hunting rights for instance. The imperative to negotiate did not come « as an act of God » but from a political [27] culture that has its roots and developed following the Malouf judgment in the case of the James Bay hydroelectric development project and the Berger judgment related to the construction of a gas-pipe in the Northwest terri-tory. Those judgments clearly established the just foundations of Native rights related to the economic development on their traditional lands. Other judgments have built a jurisprudence in regard to territorial and ancestral rights or rights flowing from Treaties. This led governments, to set forth their office recognition policies in regard to aboriginal rights. The Federal first did it at the time of the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982 which was followed by the Con-stitutional Conferences of the Prime Minister, in 1983, 1985 and 1987 with chiefs of Aboriginal Peoples.

The Quebec Province has promulgated the recognition of Native rights through a Resolution passed by the National Assembly in 1985. It recognizes the Native rights of the Aboriginal Peoples living on its territory. I recognizes the ancestral rights of these Nations and the rights between written in the James Bay and North-East agreements. The National Assembly considers these agreements and other agreements of the same kind established in the future as binding as Treaties. The same Resolution invites the Provincial government to continue to negotiate with Aboriginal Peoples with the expectation to conclude with Native Nations, Native organizations or Native communities, agreements which would confirm the implementation of


a) the right to self-determination ;

b) the right of their culture, their language, their traditions ;

c) the right to own and control their land ;

d) the hunting, trapping and gathering rights and the tight to participate in the administration of fauna resources ;

e) the right to participate in the economic development of Quebec and get due benefits.

Such a stand was innovative in many ways.

[28]The Federal Government has at the present time 80 Negotiating Tables. Past

ones have produced highly positive results as we have shown for earlier periods. Those will be discussed in the written version of our presentation.


[29]

Conclusion

Although it has made substantial progress in the recent decades… the Long Way of Native Peoples in Canada toward the complete and full respect of aborig-inal. ancestral and territorial rights and definitive self-determination., must now orient itself on objectives and undissociable issues. Those are as much associated to concerned governments as they are to the Aboriginal Peoples themselves.

The leading role played by the Federal government since 1982 has to con-tinue since they are so many innovative initiatives undertaken., but not to be achieved. There are three prerequisites which must be dealt with for these efforts to be successful : one has to do with principles to be respected ; another relates to the implementation of projected initiatives according to basic imperatives ; and the third one requires that the general population be fully and well informed.

[30]

The first prerequisite flows from guiding principles which have been stated by both levels of government. All of them cannot be repeated here, but let us under-score some of the most important ones :

Sustainable development, social equity, to increase the levels of living along with environmental protection, to reach better equity in relation to the quality and quantity of services offered to southern citizens, especially in the fields of educa-tion and health, the respect of Native values and traditions, joint economic venture with Aboriginal Peoples, so on and so forth.

The second prerequisite relates to implementation and its underlying princi-ples. It applies as much to Native communities as to governments. There are four of them :

1. A political consciousness to be entirely at the source of citizens ;

2. The active participation of Aboriginal Peoples to the decision-making process

3. Such a model is holistic and actions at one level carry consequences at all the others ; and

4. Strategies to achieve major collective undertakings must flow from the will of a large majority of citizens.


[31]

The third prerequisite applies to the « Long March itself ». The full achieve-ment of such a major change in the Canadian society needs the support of all Canadians who have to be well informed and become conscious of the many ad-vantages to be gained in supporting Native Peoples toward self-determination.


[29]



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