Indigenous Sovereignty & Self-Government

To understand what is meant by Indigenous sovereignty it is necessary to go back to first contact. When Europeans arrived on Turtle Island there existed vibrant communities each with their own systems of governance and strategic alliances with neighbouring groups of people. Turtle Island was not one nation, but rather the land of many nations. When treaties were later made, these were understood by Indigenous people to be agreements between their Nation and the Crown. Treaties were seen as one sovereign nation and another coming to an agreement on the sharing of land and resources. A treaty agreement was never a giving away of all decision-making, but rather coming together in the spirit of the circle to come to a common understanding. Never in that understanding was total control given over to the Canadian Government.

Presently, a process of establishing self-government for sovereign Indigenous nations is underway and has been achieved in some parts of Canada. See this Government of Canada website on Self-government. Some key aspects considered in self-government negotiations include, but are not limited to: governing structures, funding, jurisdiction over laws, and program and service delivery.