More than 220 chiefs, treaty negotiators, spectators and media members jammed into the Hyatt Regency's ballroom in downtown Vancouver on Dec. 11 to witness the formal Nuu-chah-nulth treaty offer exchange.

British Columbia's Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, David Zirnhelt, billed the government's offer as the largest in the province's treaty-making history, the event also marked the first time the province, First Nations and Canada have exchanged offers, rather than the province and Canada simply presenting their side of an offer.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, representatives from the federal government came to Nuu-chah-nulth territory to offer an apology from Canada for the horrors the Nuu-chah-nulth people experienced at government- and church-operated residential schools.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, representatives from the federal government came to Nuu-chah-nulth territory to offer an apology from Canada for the horrors the Nuu-chah-nulth people experienced at government- and church-operated residential schools.

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In what many observers believe is a signal that a power struggle for control of First Nations political leadership has begun, Matthew Coon Come, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, told the chiefs on Dec. 13 that he is not willing to maintain the status quo.

The AFN has been haunted by questions about its effectiveness for years. Critics claim the national chief is forced to try and be all things to all chiefs in order to keep his position, providing little real leadership and even less representation for grassroots people.

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In what many observers believe is a signal that a power struggle for control of First Nations political leadership has begun, Matthew Coon Come, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, told the chiefs on Dec. 13 that he is not willing to maintain the status quo.

The AFN has been haunted by questions about its effectiveness for years. Critics claim the national chief is forced to try and be all things to all chiefs in order to keep his position, providing little real leadership and even less representation for grassroots people.