Treaties are important agreements between First Nations and the federal and provincial governments of Canada. The intention of treaties began as a way to form alliances and peaceful agreements between early settlers and the nations original to Turtle Island. Over time, the Robinson, Douglas, numbered treaties, and in more recent years modern treaties, have been used to set out provisions for self-government agreements (NRCAN 2024). They play an important role in determining the rights of Indigenous people and they continue to provide the foundation for which the nation-to-nation relationships are built upon.
Indigenous rights, or Aboriginal rights according to historical documentation, are inherent rights that Indigenous peoples had prior to settler treaty agreements.
Indigenous rights play a crucial role in ascertaining self-determination, governance, Aboriginal title (ownership over lands), and the means to take up lands for hunting, fishing, trapping, and other harvesting activities that Indigenous nations partake in throughout Canada (NRCAN 2021).
Upon colonization, the earliest acknowledgment of Aboriginal rights can be found in the Royal Proclamation of 1763, a statement that has served as a basis for recognizing and protecting First Nation rights.
Since then, Aboriginal and treaty rights were affirmed and acknowledged in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, an oath constitutionally protecting Aboriginal and treaty rights. At this time, Indigenous rights are generally defined by customs, traditions, or practices.
Momentum in establishing just rights in Canada, starts to pick up when the Canadian government advocated for the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2016. This international human rights tool would eventually influence Canadian law, receiving Royal Assent in June of 2021, as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights if Indigenous Peoples Act. While the law commits governments to “protect, promote and uphold the Indigenous rights of peoples in Canada”, the complimentary Action Plan details 181 measures that aim to:
For many, Anishinaabe Land Protocols are a way to ensure meaningful engagement and participation between an affiliated nation, the government and/or party, while also fulfilling the inherent duty to care and protect rights and land. As each nation is unique in their history, so are their customs and traditions. These protocols are a tool that define the Indigenous law unique to the area and highlighting the terms for which partnerships should move forward with a given nation. As a step towards acknowledging self-determination and self-governance, working partners and governments need to acknowledge these protocols in advance of proposed activities. For more information on our partner nation’s protocols, feel free to contact us!
Check out the following links for examples of land protocols used throughout our partner nations:
While environmental monitoring is an important tool that we can use to better understand the condition of our environment, there are other available resources we can use to be better land users. By working together to care for the land we can ensure the land will be there for generations to come.
