Characteristics of a Nation-to-Nation Relationship

Over the course of the past 30 years – from Section 35 negotiations, through the Royal Commission, to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission – Indigenous leadership has articulated the many aspects of what the nation-to-nation relationship means. [...] In June 2017 the Assembly of First Nations and Canada signed an MOU defining joint priorities between the parties, including establishing a process to, among other things, to facilitate relationship building; to support the renewal of the Nation-to-Nation relationship between Canada and First Nations on the basis that the First Nations are holders of Treaty rights, inherent rights, title, jurisdic [...] David Zimmer, Ontario Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation noted that of 104 of the 133 First Nations in Ontario he has visited, governance is always on the agenda with discussions centering around questions such as, ‘How is the local First Nation going to interact with the province and the federal government?’ and ‘How will First Nations collectively interact with the province?’ Mi [...] During the 1700s, the Mississauga and the Ojibwe began trading with the English and the French. [...] The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommendations all bring us back to the understanding of the relationship in the Treaty of Niagara.