Native powers should equal government's

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The constitution should include the recognition of First Nations as a distinct society, protect Native language and culture and give First Nations power over taxation, the Assembly of First Nations said.

In the final report from the assembly's First Nations Circle on the Constitution, released last week, the assembly said self-governing Native communities should have their own justice system and powers equal to the provincial and federal governments.

To the Source, is the end result of the assembly's parallel constitutional process. The panel that wrote the report visited 80 First Nation communities and based their findings on more than 1,500 written and spoken submissions.

Key recommendations include:

- recognition of the 53 Native languages as official languages equal to English and French.

- the appointment of qualified Native lawyers as judges, up to and including the Supreme Court level

- that treaty and self-government rights should apply equally to on-reserve and off- reserve Native people

- an immediate moratorium on provincial laws that violate or restrict treaty rights

- implementation of self-government in ways to be determined by individual First Nations

At a news conference in Ottawa Grand Chief Ovide Mercredi said the report takes some controversial positions but shows that Native leaders are in touch with their communities.

"This report only helps us provide to government that the Native leaders are not out of step with their people," he said. "We know what we are talking about and we do have the support of our own people"

Mercredi also defended some of the controversial positions, saying Ottawa only listens to Native leaders when they take hard lines.