Two northwestern British Columbia native groups have made unprecedented moves to break free from decades of economic dependency.
The Nisga'a First Nation has passed a historic law allowing its citizens to own their own property, in New Aiyansh, northwest of Terrace, B.C. Meanwhile, the Gitxsan First Nation has proposed an alternative to treaty negotiations by shedding its Indian status.
After years of consultations with Nisga'a communities in the Nass Valley and in Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., and Terrace, the Nisga'a have passed the Nisga'a Landholding Transition Act.
It is the first time in Canada that an aboriginal group has approved legislation to allow for private property rights.
Under the legislation, and starting sometime in the spring, citizens will have the opportunity to own their own homes. A Nisga'a citizen who obtains title to a property under the legislation will be able to mortgage that property as security for a loan, or to transfer, bequeath, lease or sell the property to anyone, according to the Nisga'a Lisims government.
"This is a significant step toward true self government. It is a process for increasing economic prosperity for our people," said Nelson Leeson, president of the Nisga'a Nation, in a statement on the Nisga'a Lisims government website.
"It is important for us to be able to find ways of building capacity for our people so that they can stand on their own."
The Nisga'a Nation is home to about 6,400 citizens. New Aiyansh is the largest of the communities of the Nisga'a First Nation, just north of Terrace, about 550 kilometres northwest of Prince George.
The Gitxsan First Nation, also located in northwestern B.C., is petitioning Ottawa to remove its Indian status, with the result being that its citizens become taxpaying Canadians.
The Gitxsan's alternative governance model proposes abandoning the Gitxsan's Indian status in exchange for a share of resources from their traditional land.
Not all Gitxsan agree with the plan.
Some hereditary chiefs say Gitxsan treaty negotiators have been moving forward with the proposal without consent from the chiefs. They have launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court against the plan. The suit seeks an injunction preventing any treaty negotiations until a judgment can be rendered.
No trial date has been set to hear the suit.
Proponents of the move have met with George Abbott, B.C.'s minister of aboriginal relations and reconciliation, and are set to meet with federal Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl in December to discuss the new model.
Chief Elmer Derrick, a negotiator for the Gitxsan Treaty Society, said change is sorely needed within the Gitxsan territory. "The situation we find ourselves in is not working. There's not much employment. The housing conditions are pretty bad. The education situation is not that good and a lot people are on welfare," Mr. Derrick said. "Our young people are telling us that they can't eat Gitxsan title and they can't eat Gitxsan rights. So we need to find a way to get out of poverty."
When the new governance model became public earlier this month, Marjorie McRae said her phone started ringing constantly. "People were panicked," said Ms. McRae, the elected chief of the Gitanmaax Indian Band, which is a plaintiff in the suit. Going to court over the matter, she said, was a last resort. "We don't have any other options," she said.
Even if the government approves their new model of governance, a vote among the Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs will take place, Mr. Derrick said.
But Ms. McRae is concerned about a group of 60 or so chiefs making a decision for a community of 13,000 people.