Whitecap Dakota First Nation signs historic treaty with Canada

Whitecap Dakota First Nation finally has its own treaty with Canada after a decade of negotiations and centuries of being unrecognized as Indigenous people of this country.

The First Nation in Saskatchewan says it's the first Dakota nation to sign a treaty in Canada.

"It's just a step at a time, but this is a very positive day for our ancestors, our people and our future generations," said Whitecap Dakota Chief Darcy Bear in an interview, minutes after he signed the document in Ottawa.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bear and others from the First Nation in Saskatchewan, signed the agreement with Crown-Indigenous Relations Minster Marc Miller. The document not only acknowledges and describes the First Nation's inherent right to self governance, but also formally recognizes the community as Indigenous people of Canada under the constitution.

That formal recognition is significant, Bear said, since Whitecap Dakota First Nation and other Dakota communities were historically viewed as Native Americans rather than British or Canadian. Many Dakota communities fought for the British stationed in what is now Canada during the War of 1812 against the United States, but still weren't recognized as Indigenous people of this country.

When treaties were signed in the 1800s in Saskatchewan, Whitecap's chief was there, but wasn't invited to sign. 

"When you're not being recognized in a country you helped create … it was totally wrong. We should have never been denied that right," he said.

"To us, it is reconciliation."

First agreement under new federal policy

Whitecap Dakota is the 27th Indigenous group to sign a self-government agreement with Canada. Those agreements represent 52 communities, according to a spokesperson for the Minster of Crown-Indigenous relations.

This is the first agreement to be signed under a new federal policy, which Miller announced in February. The collaborative modern treaty implementation policy was created to ensure Ottawa keeps its end of the bargain when it comes to new treaties.

"We sign these agreements, and then sometimes we go back to the way we behave before and don't give much thought into what these agreements represent, and how they can get properly implemented," Miller told CBC in an interview.

Miller noted that the policy can help remind federal staff "you do not engage with [First Nations] as if they were municipalities, but truly a position of equals."

The policy includes a commitment to create an independent oversight body to make sure the federal government is accountable to its promises. Miller said that's still in the works.

He also said there will be a meeting next week between Indigenous leaders and the Prime Minister to discuss modern treaties.

Self-governance parameters

The agreement makes Whitecap Dakota the first and only self-governing First Nation in Saskatchewan. The First Nation has been negotiating with Ottawa for self-governance since 2009. 

It already has autonomy in areas such as land management and membership, but this agreement now allows the community to move away from the Indian Act as much as it wants.

"We've always been working at getting out of the Indian Act. There are some parts you keep going, like Section 87 is about not paying provincial or federal income tax on reserve," said Bear.

He also mentioned status cards were important to his members, as well as reserve status overall.

"The rest will be eliminated," he said. "The Indian Act is very paternalistic."

The First Nation will also have different law-making powers, but all laws must work in tandem with provincial and federal ones. In case of a conflict, Indigenous laws protecting culture and language take priority.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code all still apply.

Initially, the community voted 92 per cent in favour of a self-governance agreement. Leaders went to Ottawa in the fall with the proposal, but during conversations, Bear said everyone agreed it should also be a treaty.

The community voted unanimously in late April to include the treaty aspect to the documentation.

Once the document goes through legislative processes, the community will officially become self governed as of Sept. 1.

Support and infrastructure for the transition

The historical reliance First Nations have on Canada because of legislation like the Indian Act can make it difficult for some communities to self-govern, according to Indigenous rights and constitutional lawyer David Khan.

"Canada and the Crowns have starved First Nations of resources and confined them to reserves for 150 years and have really pushed down their governance structures or replaced them with the Indian Act," he said.

"So it's just building up governance capacity, that governance structure, to be able to take on the roles and responsibilities the federal government has had thus far."

Bear describes his community as "modern," and says it has a robust infrastructure and staff that can handle the changes that come with self-governance, noting the nation already has its own rules for finances and electoral guidelines. 

"We have a lot of policies that we've developed over the years, and so we're ready. It's about time as Indigenous people we make our own decisions," Bear said. 

"It was an inherent right that the Creator gave us. We're just taking that back."