Effective self-governance is critical to the survival, health and well-being of First Nations people. It is a central pillar in reconciliation and in the creation of a new nation-to-nation relationship with the Crown. It is crucial to the long-term governance of Canada.
Join us March 3, 2021 at noon ET for the first in a series of five one-hour webinars in 2021 exploring the themes behind Rebuilding First Nations Governance (RFNG) – a First Nations community-led, multi-partner SSHRC research project to find pathways out of the Indian Act and into exercising the inherent right of self-government.
This series will be of primary interest to First Nations leaders, administrators and citizens who want to learn about their inherent rights; how the Indian Act obstructs their ability to develop effective self-governance and take their rightful place as citizens within their own nations and within Canada; and the power that citizens have to transform the way their nation is governed.
These webinars will also be of interest to other levels of government and all those interested in learning more about the systemic issues behind present day challenges in Crown-First Nations relationships and are willing to explore and support alternatives for true reconciliation.
March 3, 2021: “A dream of our people for going on eight generations”
What is Rebuilding First Nations Governance all about? Research project co-leads Satsan (Herb George) of the Centre for First Nations Governance and Dr. Frances Abele, Carleton University will introduce the scope, structure and purpose of this SSHRC-funded project to support First Nations to achieve self-government and talk with First Nations partners about why being involved in this project is important to them.
Register for March 3 with IPAC at: https://bit.ly/3pNaJh4
BACKGROUND:
Rebuilding First Nations Governance (RFNG) is a national alliance of First Nation communities and Tribal Councils, academic researchers and public sector practitioners created to support First Nations leadership and rights holders that have made the decision to transition out from under the Indian Act to their own inherent rights governance. This six-year applied action research project is supported by a $2.5M SSHRC Partnership Grant.
Through a process of community-led research, reflection and action, the project aims to help communities replace the Indian Act with effective and legitimate First Nation governance based on the strategic direction of the community. The research emerges from the priorities identified by the rights holders – the people. It will help Nations reclaim Indigenous forms of decision-making and revitalize Indigenous governance practices.
Led by project co-founders Satsan (Centre for First Nations Governance), Frances Abele (Carleton University) and Catherine MacQuarrie, RFNG includes partnerships with six First Nations and two Tribal Councils, six Canadian universities, three non-governmental organizations including the Institute of Public Administration Canada (IPAC) and 35 academic researchers and practitioners.
The five-part webinar series scheduled over 2021 will explore the underlying themes of the project and the work with First Nations communities that are on the path to exercising their inherent right to self-government. The sessions are hosted by IPAC. The scheduled dates and topics are:
- March 3: “A dream of our people for going on eight generations”
- April 28: The five pillars of the Inherent Right to Self-Government
- June 23: The “ill-fitting boot” – the origin and content of the Indian Act
- September 22: It’s A “Full Box”. The Historical Struggle for Recognition of Aboriginal And Treaty Rights
- November 17: From theory to practice: Principles and Strategies for Implementing the Inherent Right to Self-government
Panelists for March 3 “A dream of our people for going on eight generations”
Satsan (Herb George), Project Co-Director
“Satsan (Herb George) is one of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs of the Frog Clan and a long-time Speaker for the Wet’suwet’en Nation. He has over 40 years of experience working towards recognition and respect for the inherent right to self-government in the courts, classrooms, and communities. Early in his career, Satsan was a key figure and strategist in the Delgamuukw-Gisdayway decision which ruled, for the first time, that Aboriginal Title and rights exist in law and are recognized and protected under section 35. Following the decision, Satsan went on to serve two terms as elected regional chief, representing BC at the Assembly of First Nations. He has lent his expertise to build educational programming around Aboriginal and Treaty rights and the inherent right to self-government in universities across Canada. In 2005, Satsan founded and became President of the National Centre for First Nations Governance (now the Centre for First Nations Governance). Today, Satsan is leading a collaboration between the Centre (where he continues to serve as Senior Associate), the Institute of Public Administration of Canada (IPAC) and Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration – the Transitional Governance Program. The Project provides strategic direction and directs applied research and analysis to support First Nations governments who are working to leave behind Indian Act administration.”
Frances Abele, Project Director
“Frances Abele is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Academic Director of the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, Fellow of the Centre for Governance and Public Management, and Research Fellow at the Institute for Research on Public Policy. She is adjunct professor in the doctoral program in Indigenous Studies at Trent University. Dr. Abele is a former director of the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton. During 1992-96, she was seconded to the research directorate at the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, where she was responsible for research and policy on the North and some of the Commission’s work on governance. A political scientist born in Alberta, Dr. Abele attended the University of Calgary, University of Toronto and York University. She has worked with Indigenous peoples all over Canada and in some parts of the circumpolar Arctic for most of her career. Her research has focused on northern economic and political development, Aboriginal self-government, policy and programs important to Aboriginal people living in cities, policy and program evaluation, qualitative research and citizen engagement. Besides her academic publications, Abele has published research reports with the National Centre for First Nations Governance, Canadian Policy Research Networks, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. She is currently a member of the editorial boards of two academic journals: Aboriginal Policy Studies, and Canadian Public Administration, and is spearheading two First Nations governance research initiatives.”
Edmund Bellegarde, Tribal Chief and CEO, File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council
Tribal Chief Edmund Bellegarde has served the File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council as the Tribal Chief & CEO since September 2006. In this leadership role he also serves as Chairperson of numerous boards at all levels in the community, region and internationally. Edmund is an accomplished business executive and Indigenous leader with experience in the retail banking and casino gaming industries to compliment his role in overseeing the wide scope of Tribal Council businesses, programs, and service delivery. He holds a diploma in administration from Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Casino Executive Education through University of Nevada-Reno, Executive Development Certificate from Queens School of Business, Banff Management School certificates as Internal Strategic Planning Facilitator, and in Aboriginal Negotiations and Dispute Resolution, co-founder of First Nations Professional Director program, and will complete his Master of Business Administration degree at Levene Graduate School of Business in Spring of 2021. In his role as leader of the Tribal Council he is focused on strengthening First Nations capacity through transformational governance founded on Indigenous languages and cultures, youth, economic and social development, education and health. Edmund is passionate about strengthening public policy frameworks through an Indigenous lens and believes in the intrinsic value of First Nations Peoples.
Midori Nicolson, Biologist and Fisheries Manager, Musgamagw Dzawada_’enux_w Tribal Council Fisheries Group
Midori Nicolson is Musgamagw Dzawada_’enux_w from Gwayi, Kingcome Inlet, a small coastal village in British Columbia, Canada. She is a Biologist and Fisheries Manager for the Musgamagw Dzawada_’enux_w Fisheries Group with over 20 years of expertise in policy, mapping and traditional ecological knowledge. She sits on her nation’s elected council as a second term councilor, working on the revitalization of traditional governance, as well as sitting on the board of the Stewardship Centre of BC. Early in her career she looked at food security issues, community gardening in Indigenous villages, and reestablishing a strong presence on the land, sitting on provincial government committees on Indigenous agriculture & traditional knowledge. She managed a multi-stakeholder stewardship group relating to fishing issues in the Broughton Archipelago, and worked as a Coastal Planner with DFO Oceans. Seeking collaborative solutions being one of her key goals, the focus of her work is to increase Indigenous capacity & stewardship practices regarding lands and aquatic resources, while recognizing the essential voice of women in stewardship & traditional governance structures.