Aboriginal Government
A government which represents and serves an Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal Peoples
The descendants of the original peoples of Canada. Section 35 (2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 defines the Aboriginal peoples of Canada as Indians, Inuit and Metis.
Aboriginal Right
A right of an Aboriginal people stemming from the use of certain areas in the period before European settlement, aboriginal rights are subject to interpretation and judgement by the courts but, as a minimum, include the right to hunt and fish and follow the traditions of an Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people, the federal government, the GNWT and some provincial governments consider self-government to be an Aboriginal right.
Aboriginal Title
The terms "Aboriginal rights" and "Aboriginal title" are sometimes used interchangeably. Recent court decisions suggest that Aboriginal title means the right to occupy and use a certain area of land, and is a type of Aboriginal right. Aboriginal customs, practices and traditions are another type of Aboriginal right that can be distinguished from Aboriginal title.
Agreement-in-Principle (AIP)
An Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) is the second stage in the negotiation process. AIP negotiations are often the longest stage in the negotiation process, as parties address and attempt to resolve the broad range of subject matters set out in the Framework Agreement. The AIP generally contains all of the major elements of the Final Agreement. The AIP is not legally enforceable.
Collective Rights
Rights based on membership in a distinct group of people. These may include language rights, education rights based on religious affiliation, and Aboriginal and Treaty rights.
Crown
The Queen is the formal head of the government in Canada. For this reason, the government is often called "the Crown". For the same reason, agreements with the government are called agreements with "Her Majesty".
Dene (Deh-nay)
Dene refers to Aboriginal peoples of the Mackenzie valley, from Inuvik and Aklavik southwards. Dene groups in the NWT include the Gwich'in, Sahtu Dene, Tlicho, Chipewyan, North Slavey and South Slavey. Dene speak languages that are distinct from one group to another, but which belong to the same general language family.
Framework Agreement
The first stage of negotiation, the groups involved agree on issues to be discussed, how they will be discussed, and on deadlines for reaching an Agreement-in-Principle.
Implementation Plan
An implementation plan is a document that is negotiated and re-negotiated by the parties to a land claims and/or self-government agreement during the negotiations of a final agreement. It is an integral appendix to a final agreement because it identifies what must be done to put the agreement into effect, who will be responsible for which implementation activity, as well as when and how these activities will be undertaken.
Indian
Section 91 (24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, gives the federal government responsibility for "Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians". The Indian Act was passed by Parliament under this constitutional authority.
Individual Rights
Rights held by every person as an individual. In Canada, these include rights stated in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as those stated in other federal, provincial, or territorial laws, such as the NWT's Fair Practices Act.
Land Claim Agreement
An agreement between an Aboriginal people and the Crown to settle Aboriginal rights in a geographic area. Land claim agreements deal with things like the rights of governments and Aboriginal people to land and resources, wildlife management and cash compensation. Land claim agreements may also deal with self-government.
Metis
Historically, people of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal origins mainly located in the prairie provinces and the NWT. Metis belong to a distinct group and are defined in the constitution as one of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada.
Public Government
A government which represents and serves all residents in an area. The federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments are all "public governments".
Self-Government
The regulation by an Aboriginal people of its own affairs through an Aboriginal government.
Self-Government Agreement
A formal agreement between an Aboriginal people and the federal, provincial or territorial governments that deals with things like the powers of an Aboriginal government and its relationship to public governments.
Treaty
A formal agreement between an Aboriginal people and the Crown. Under Section 35 (3) of the Constitution Act, 1982 "treaties" include recent land claim agreements like the Inuvialuit Final Agreement as well as older agreements like Treaties 8 and 11.
Treaty Land Entitlement
A term used by the federal government for the entitlement or right of an Aboriginal people to have certain lands set aside for them on the basis of a treaty such as Treaties 8 and 11.
Treaty Right
A right recognized in or granted by a treaty. Treaty rights may include verbal (unwritten) promises made when the treaty was negotiated.