The Relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples: Where Are We?

• Author: Naiomi Metallic
• Pages: 423-446



TheRelationshipbetween

CanadaandIndigenousPeoples

WHE R E A R E WE

Naiomi Metallic*

A. INTRODUCTION

Owingi nlarge partto theTruth andReconciliation Commission Final

Reportwearehavi ngmoredisc ussionstodayaboutIndigenou sissues

includinge stablishing a nationtonationrelat ionshipa ndrecog nizing

andimplementing inher entrights and Indigenous lawsThese are not

newsubjectssome peoplehavebeen discussing themfor manyyearsIt

doesseemhowevertherearemorepeoplejoiningtheconversationtoday

This isa positivedevelopmentThere are manyquestionsthat arise in

thesed ialoguessuch as Whatdoes reconciliation meanW hatdoes a

nationtonation relationship look like Howdo we make meani ngful

changeinthenextyearsofthiscountryInhavingthesediscussions

itisimportantforallofustoappreciatewhereweareatthismomentin

ournationshistoryi nterms ofthe relationship betweent heCanadia n

stateandIndigenouspeoplesIamarmbelieverthatknowingwhere

 ChancellorsChairi nAborigina lLawandPolicyandAssist antProfessorSchul ich

SchoolofLawDalhousieUniversity

 TruthandReconciliat ionCommissionofCa nadaHonouring the Truth, Reconciling

fortheFutureSummaryoftheFinalReporto fTruthandReconciliationCommissionof

CanadaWinnipegTheCom missionTRCFinalReport

 Igenerallyuseth etermIndigenouspe oplestorefertoallpeopleswhode scend

fromtheorigi nalinhabit antsofthesela ndsasthisist hetermgain ingprominenc e

internationa llytorefertorstpeoples Itissynonymouswitht hetermAboriginal

peopleswhichwastheter minologyusedbyRep ortoftheRoyalCommis sion

NM

younowarea ndwhereyouhavebe enisext remelyhelpfuli nguring

outhowtogetto yourdestination Thereforemysmall contributionto

this collection is to aempt to take stock of where we have been and

wherewe are in the hopesof facilitati ngbeer dialogue on wherewe

shouldbegoing

B. IN THE ERA OF RENEWAL AND

RENEGOTIATION

According to the  Report of the Royal Commission on Aborig

inalPeoplesRCAPweare currently inthe eraofRenewal andRe

negotiationInitscomprehensivereviewof therelationshipbetween

AboriginalpeopleandtheCanadia ngovernmentRCAPaemptedto

describe the changes i n this relationship by organi zing eras of time

bymajorthemes Foureraswere identiedTherst eracalled Sep

arateWorldsreferencedthepre contactperiodwhen forthousands

ofyearsIndigenouspeoplesl ivedonthis continentas ftyto seventy

distinct nations wit h their own traditions cultures lang uagesa nd

legal systems For their part Europeans lived on their own conti n

entmadeup of dierentnations with their own traditionsc ultures

languages andlega lsystemsFollowingcontactRCAPcharacter izes

thenexttwohundredyearsastheeraofNationtoNationrelations

fromtomidsThiscancomeasasurprisetosomepeople

whomayhavebelievedthatuponarrivalEuropeansimmediatelyset

upona course of aempting to conquerthe Indigenous peoples of

these landsOnthecontrarythethemesanimatingthisperiodin

onAboriginalPeoplesRCAPi nseebelownoteandisalsothetermus ed

insoftheConstitutionActanddenedtoincludetheInd ianInuitand

MétispeoplesofCan adasThetermFirstNationsisnowcommonlyuse d

insteadofIndia nhoweverthelaertermisstilli nusegiventheco ntinued

existenceoftheIn dian ActWhenreferringtoRCAPort heConstitution ActIuse

AboriginalandIndigenousp eoplesinterchan geably

 SeeRoyalCommissiono nAboriginalPeoplesR eport of the Royal Commission on

Aboriginal Peoplesvol OawaTheCommission chRCAPReport

 Ibidvolch

 AsnotedbyChiefJustic eMcLachlinfortheSupr emeCourtofCanadai nHaida

Nation v British Columbia (Minister of Forests)SCCatparaPutsimply

CanadasAboriginalpeopleswer eherewhenEuropean scameandwerenever

conqueredManybandsre conciledthei rclaimswit hthesovereigntyoft heCrown

throughnegotiat edtreatiesOt hersnotablyinBritishColu mbiahaveyettodoso

ThehonouroftheCrow nrequirest hattheserightsb edeterminedre cognizeda nd

respected