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First Nations Text

•The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) was formed when the 630 First Nations governments amalgamated into a single body. Through amalgamation the AFN moved away from a Regional Representative structure to an "Assembly" of First Nations Government Leaders.

The AFN represents the Status & Treaty Indians (First Nations) and does NOT represent the other 3 Aboriginal groups in Canada. These Aboriginal groups have "National Organizations" that represent them. The National organizations that represent the other Aboriginal groups are:

• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami- is the national representative of the "Inuit" http://www.itk.ca/page/about-itk • Métis Nation Council - representes the "Métis" Nation nationally and internationally. http://www.metisnation.ca/ • The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples - represents the "Non-Status Indians" interests nationally. http://www.abo-peoples.org/about/structure.html The question is "Why do the Aboriginal People have 4 separate National organizations to represent them?" The reason is the "Aboriginal groups" are different groups of peoples, who have different histories, different relationships with Canada and different issues and concerns.

(1) The "Inuit" hold title to 40% of Canada's land mass and primarily live in 3 self-governing territories Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador) and Inuvialuit (which remains apart of the Northwest Territories). As a result of resource extraction in their territories, they have revenue-sharing agreements with Canada. The Inuit are taxpaying citizens of Canada and receive their programs and services through their territorial governments. The Inuit are entitled to all currently recognized "Aboriginal Rights" (eg. land title, resource sharing agreements, Canada's obligation to consult etc.)

(2) The "Métis" were recognized as "Aboriginal" for the first time in the 1982 Constitution Act. They are taxpaying citizens of Canada and receive their programs and services through their provincial governments. They have no treaty rights or currently recognized Aboriginal rights. The "Indians" are divided into 2 distinct groups, the "Status and Treaty Indians" and the "Non-Status Indians"

(3) The "Non-Status Indians" also consist of 2 groups. The first group are the indigenous people who have societies with historical connections to their territories and communities. They hold title to their ancestral land and have no treaties/agreements to share their lands. Many within this group are negotiating with Canada for compensation for the exchange of land. Some within this group have entered into self-government agreements similar to that of the Inuit. Non-Status Indians are not governed by the legislation of the "Indian Act". Like the Inuit they are entitled to all currently recognized "Aboriginal Rights". . . . . The second group consists of the descendants of Status Indians who lost their "Status" for one reason or another, the Metis who have no connection to any Metis community and those who have a family story of indigenous ancestry. This group of people are not recognized as Aboriginal and have NO Aboriginal rights. Their inclusion as Non-Status Indians is purely political. The Non-Status Indians are taxpaying citizens of Canada and receive their programs and services through the provincial governments, with the exception of those Nations that provide services through self-government agreements.

4) The "Status and Treaty Indians" (First Nations) are the Aboriginal group represented by the "Assembly of First Nations" This is the ONLY group governed by the legislation of the "Indian Act" and are defined as "Indians and were NOT CITIZENS of Canada" under the "Act". This is the only group under the reserve system where by a land base was defined for each band and is held "In Trust" By Canada. This Aboriginal group signed historical treaties/agreements with Great Britain and Canada. The treaties defined the land base, monetary settlements and other sanctions (eg, hunting & fishing rights, etc) as compensation for agreeing to share their ancestral lands with Canada. The monetary settlements are "Held in Trust" by Canada. As a result Canada has a fiduciary responsibility as the "trustee" of their money. The money "Held in Trust" provides programs and services to this group as defined under the "Indian Act". As a result under certain situations (eg. live and work on the reserve) they are not subject to taxation. This is the only Aboriginal group who have both "Treaty and Aboriginal Rights".

In 1951 this Aboriginal group were "retro actively" declared citizens (to the 1940s), provided they met certain requirements. They could be citizens, although they were excluded from all benefits and rights of citizenship, including representation and the right to vote. In 1962, in preparation to legislatively extinguish the legal recognition of this group and Canada's responsibility as defined under the treaties and the Indian Act, they were granted the right to vote and along with that came the right to representation. (which was previously illegal)

The First Nations (Status and Treaty Indians) quickly organized and representative organizations were established (on a regional basis) across the country. The first issue that was dealt with was Canada's attempt to extinguish the legal recognition and rights of this group. (White Paper, 1969) They were successful in defeating Canada's attempt to extinguish their recognition and rights. (Citizen Plus, the "Red Paper")

Two pressing issues the fledgling First Nation's organizations had to addressed was "Child Welfare" and "Education". Major action was taken to influence legislation to stop the widespread removal and adoption of First Nations children off the reserves (60s scoop). The second was what could be termed the first (First Nation's) "National policy" and the policy came to be known as "Indian Control of Indian Education". Under this policy the First Nations worked to gain control of the management of their local schools and to establish post-secondary "culturally relevant" programs to train First Nations teachers and social workers to meet the needs of their people. Many other issues were also addressed, such as insuring access to programs and services available to other Canadians. (eg. health care, employment services, etc}.

An attempt was made to merge all regional "organizations" in hopes of achieving better management and eliminate duplication of effort. To this end, all 4 "Aboriginal groups" merged but, soon found the organization could not address the needs of such widely diverse groups. As each Aboriginal group explored the alternatives, Canada began the process to patriate the Constitution.

To ensure the First Nations would not be legislatively extinguished through the Constitutional process, the First Nations quickly restructured a strong "existing" regional organization to unite all First Nations Leadership, and the "Assembly of First Nations" was established in 1982, to address this concern.

Because the Status/Treaty Indians (First Nations) have only been apart of Canadian society for such a short time and have had to deal with such widespread issues. The Assembly of First Nations appears to the public as the governmental arm of the First Nations. But, like the other Aboriginal "Representative" Organizations, the Assembly of First Nation's role is to be an "advocate" on behalf of all First Nations and is their "Public/Political voice".

First Nations text NEW

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Indigenous peoples within Canada who are neither identified as Inuit nor Métis. The First Nations people are comprised of many different ethnic groups who have distinct cultures, languages, societal structures, territories, histories and distinct relationships with Canada.

First Nations is a term that identifies the governments and citizens of the Indigenous Nations who are the members of a political structure. The First Nations political structure was organized in the 1980s in a response to the federal government's plan to patriate Canada's constitution. The Assembly of First Nations was the political organization established to ensure the Indigenous peoples, who were neither Inuit or Métis, were represented in the Canadian constitutional talks.

As a display of unity, the reserve governments replaced the terms band and reserve in their community name with the term First Nation. During that time, many First Nations also reestablished their traditional Indigenous names of their communities. The implementation of the term First Nation and the return to the traditional Indigenous community names was a symbolic gesture of self determination. As sovereign people, they would decide who they were and how they would be identified.

In Canada The legal term "Indian" collectively describes all the Indigenous people who are not Inuit or Métis. There are three categories of Indians: Status Indians, Non-Status Indians and Treaty Indians. The Assembly of First Nations is the political organization established to represent the Status Indians. Although the Canadian government formally adopted the term First Nations, no legal definition of it exists. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Niineta (talk • contribs) 12:37, 22 September 2011 (UTC)