Treaty 4 members sign governance agreement

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Chiefs from 30 First Nations across southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Manitoba took a little more home from the Treaty 4 gathering than the traditional five dollar bill, a handshake from a Mountie and a commemorative medallion.

They took home a plaque and a little piece of history. They signed an agreement-in-principle for Aboriginal self government, using Treaty 4 as a basis for its constitution. The covenant says the First Nations that signed Treaty 4 are sovereign nations with all the inherent rights under international law.

"This advances us to the next step, where start a ratification process amongst our First Nations for Treaty 4 governance," said Fort Qu'Appelle Tribal Council representative president Ron Crowe. "We have succumbed too much to the Indian Act. We have to move away from that. We have to come to our terms. Treaty 4 provides us with that basis. The proclamation is a reminder of our culture, our values, our tradition."

This makes the 1874 document, signed between chiefs and Canadian government representatives, a living document, he added. Thirty of the 34 member bands of Treaty 4 signed the agreement-in- principle.

"Those who didn't sign are looking for ratification from band members. We respect that," said Crowe. "It is necessary to have the backing of the bands' people when you venture into something like this. It is not an all-or-nothing process and we want to be flexible enough to allow First Nations to move at their own pace. Too many times the pace of change has been dictated to the bands. We're not going to repeat the same mistakes Indian Affairs or other governments have made in determining the shape of our destiny."

The signing ceremony was held just after speeches to open the National Treaty Forum, held by the Assembly of First Nations. The agreement-in-principle now goes back to the band members for further discussions and is to be ratified by all bands. Currently about 25,000 First Nations people across a 195,000 sq. km area in southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Manitoba live under terms of Treaty 4.