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Aboriginals
made significant gains during this period, particularly with the
restoration of Indian status to all enfranchised
Aboriginals, women with lost status and the Métis,
in the 1982 Constitution
Act. The period was also one marked by strife, discontent
and much dissatisfaction. For instance, the Oka crisis pitted Mohawks
against police officers and the Canadian military during a tense
standoff over a land
claims issue near Montréal, Québec, during the
summer of 1990.
Despite major breakthroughs during the 1990s with the creation
of Nunavut Territory and British Columbia's
Nisaga'a Treaty, outstanding land claims
and rights issues still remain. Even those with self-government
face the challenges of ensuring they have the proper financial resources,
leadership and determination to be able to govern themselves within
the Canadian social and governmental framework.
Topics in this section:
Constitution Act, 1982
Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement
Act, 1984
Bill C-31, 1985
Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, 1987 - 1992
Oka Crisis, 1989
Nunavut Territory, 1999
Nisaga'a Treaty, 1996 - 2000
Constitution Act, 1982
Section 25 of the modern charter of rights and freedoms guaranteed
the rights and freedoms of all Aboriginals, Métis
and Inuit.
The basis for these rights and freedoms are:
Section 35 recognized and affirmed existing Aboriginal treaty
rights. It suggested that these treaties are open to interpretation
and further negotiation.
Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims
Settlement Act, 1984
Western Arctic Claims Settlement Act
This act was approved by Parliament in 1984 and was one
of the first major pieces of legislation to affect Aboriginals covered
by the 1982
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was meant to protect
the area's wildlife and Inuit culture, and give the Inuit people
of the Western Arctic control over their natural resources. This
act cannot be changed without the approval of the Inuit living here.
Bill C-31, 1985
This bill was introduced as an amendment to the Indian
Act. When passed in 1985, it officially provided Indian
Status to:
- The Métis
- All enfranchised Aboriginals living off reserve land
- All Aboriginal women who had lost their status by marrying
a non-Aboriginal man
The Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords,
1987 - 1992
The 1987 Meech Lake Accord was meant to gain the acceptance
of Québecers of the Canadian Constitution. However, many
Aboriginals were upset that the accord perpetuated a myth that there
were only two founding nations in Canada: the English and the French.
There was also a fear among Aboriginals that this accord would
hand more power over Aboriginal affairs to the provinces. This,
they feared, would reduce the services available to Aboriginal groups
and individuals, and limit any future Aboriginal land claims or
rights to self-government.
The Meech Lake Accord needed to be ratified by the provinces to
be enacted. However, an Aboriginal MLA
in Manitoba named Elijah
Harper was able to stall the provincial legislature in 1990.
By keeping the legislature from debating and giving assent to the
accord on deadline, it collapsed.
The 1992 Charlottetown Accord was also meant to gain the acceptance
of Québecers of the Canadian Constitution. This time, the
federal government listened to Aboriginal leaders. Under the Accord,
Aboriginals in Canada would receive:
- The inherent right to self-government
- The recognition of Aboriginal governments as a third order of
government, after the federal and provincial governments
- A definition of self-government that was related to Aboriginal
land, environment, language, and culture
- Senate
representation
This accord went to a public vote in a national referendum that
year, but was defeated.
The Oka Crisis, 1990
When municipal leaders in the village of Oka, Québec,
decided to allow construction of a golf course on the burial grounds
at a nearby reserve,
it angered the Mohawk nation living there. A militant faction of
the tribe immediately blocked off all roads leading into their reserve.
A Québec police officer was shot and killed when charging the barricades.
The Canadian Armed Forces were called in under the aid to civil
power provision in Part VI of the National Defence Act to
remove the barricades and quell the dispute by force.
The crisis helped to increase the awareness of the Canadian public
to the concerns of the Aboriginal peoples, and led to a long Royal
Commission on this issue. The Commission released a lengthy report
on its findings in 1996.
Nunavut Territory, 1993 - 1999
Nunavut
A new territory was created in the eastern Arctic in 1999
as a result of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement in 1993. The federal
government gave some of this land to the Inuit specifically
for living, hunting and controlling sub-surface resources. The government
is also now paying the territory almost $1.2 billion for the sole
purpose of retaining non-Inuit property during a 15-year period.
Nisaga'a Treaty, 1996 - 2000
This treaty was signed in 1996 between the British Columbian
government and the province's Nisaga'a
nation. It received royal assent in 2000 from the federal government,
despite opposition from the Reform
Party. It gave about $196 million to the tribe that is to be
paid over a 15-year period, plus communal self-government and control
of natural resources in their corner of northwestern British Columbia.
See also the Calder
Case.
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