In April of this year, five Anishinabek Nations made history with the virtual signing of the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement together with the Government of Canada. It is the first self-government agreement of its kind in Ontario, marking an important step away from the Indian Act for the signatory Anishinabek First Nations.
Following decades of negotiations, the Agreement “recognizes Anishinabek control over governance and the law-making powers of the signatory First Nations in key areas.”
On Saturday, the virtual signing of this historic self-government document was commemorated with an in-person ceremony with the Chiefs, along with the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations. The ceremony took place at the Anishinabek Nation Head Office in Nipissing First Nation on the very day the agreement was to be enacted.
Under the agreement, certain provisions of the Indian Act that deal with governance will no longer apply to the signatory First Nations: “They will pass their own laws on how they select their Chiefs and Councils; determine who their citizens are without interference from external governments; create laws dedicated to the restoration and preservation of their language and culture, and manage their First Nation government operations.”
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe told those gathered that this Agreement will “build on the work of the Anishinabek Nations and support them in achieving their inspiring vision of a better future for their communities.“
Niganobe added, “It is incredibly exciting today. A lot of effort and a lot of people put their time into it. This represents another important step forward to renew relationships, close socio-economic gaps and promote greater prosperity for today, and for future generations.”
It was an emotional day for Gimaa Kwe Rhonda Williams-Lovett of Moose Deer Point First Nation, located just south of Parry Sound.
“It is a beautiful day to know that our self-governance agreement goes into effect,” said a proud Williams-Lovett, who said hers was the first community to sign their agreement. “I was near tears today just because it is a moment that has been a long time coming.”
There is still work ahead as the five First Nations move out from under the Indian Act and begin the transition to self-government.
“The work has already begun on behalf of our community. I’m pretty proud of the legacy that we’re going to be leaving behind. Maybe I won’t see everything in this lifetime, but on behalf of the little people I left behind in Moose Deer Point, this is for them,” said Williams-Lovett. “It is a feeling that can’t be described, because when you live under the Indian Act for that many years, and you get to this point where you know you’re doing it for your citizens, you’re doing it for the tiny humans, they’re going to have their own say, that’s what makes it worthwhile.”
Chief Irene Kells of Zhiibaahaasing First Nation said she could feel the excitement, with change coming.
“We knew in our hearts and in our spirit that there was something more out there for us. We felt it, maybe even talked about it, just knew there was more to us than us being governed by the government,” Kells stated.
Chief Lloyd Myke of the Magnetawan First Nation said it was a historic day for his community.
“We take a look at this day as a day of change, and a day to step forward for all our five communities that are taking that step. It takes a lot to do that,” said Myke, reflecting on the past leadership who worked on this file for decades. “I’m excited for all our communities because the work that we’re going to be doing is historic, we’re leading the way. It is a good time for our community. I’m looking forward to the work that we’re going to be doing and the laws that we are going to create and being supreme laws. These are our inherent rights and our laws that we are going to be creating, how we’re going to govern ourselves and to take that path forward in a good direction.”
There are other First Nations waiting in the wings to follow suit. “Every First Nation community in the Anishinabek Nation has the opportunity to opt into this agreement,” said Myke. “We were the first five, so we’re leading the way.”
Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations called it a positive day for the Anishinabek Nation and the communities that signed on.
“There’s a lot of work to do but it’s really getting out of a document that has plagued the history of this country. This is a tangled knot that you can’t cut with one fell swoop, there is a real process of disentangling it,” said Miller. “It requires building confidence with communities, with leadership. It has taken them far too long, decades to get to this place. There’s a lot of people that aren’t here today that we are honouring, that fought through their lifetime to see this day, but they didn’t necessarily do it for themselves but for the future generations.”
Miller called the day an opportunity to reflect on “positive things,” such as the "inherent right of self-governance over your own people. And these are the way we document our relationships, and the ways we move forward in a relationship that has often been marked with distrust. A guy like me in Ottawa plays a role in this, but the biggest role played and the biggest hardship has been born by communities across the country who were in a similar position and just want to get out from under a racist document.”
Miller expects more communities to sign on as they gain confidence in the mechanism that they signed and passed through parliament. “So, I’m optimistic.”
Patrick Madahbee, the Commissioner on Governance for the Anishinabek Nation spoke about moving forward.
“We haven’t come this far, to only go this far, because very quickly child well-being will be part of this governance process. Very quickly health will be part of this process. Then we’ll be looking at, perhaps, justice, whatever economic issues, whatever comes down the pipe that the citizens direct.”
Madahbee said getting down to the community level is where you hear the reality from a community perspective about how they see things getting done.
“Even support people like us don’t know their communities as well as they do. Nobody from the federal or provincial governments knows those communities as well as they do, they have all the answers right there in their communities.”
With that, Madahbee offered his congratulations. “So, I’m very excited about this. It’s a long time coming and I really applaud the good work that has gone on with our federal partners, and especially the work at the community level.”
