Onion Lake Cree Nation wants First Nations to lead Indian Act reform

Onion Lake Cree Nation says it will speak for itself if Ottawa decides to overhaul the Indian Act. The Treaty Six Nation in Saskatchewan doesn't want the government or Indigenous umbrella organizations leading the process. At this week's First Minister's meeting, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he's open to changing or abolishing the legislation. What's that going to look like for me and our Treaty 6 territory? Onion Lake's chief predicts long and complicated negotiations if reform moves ahead. You're talking, you know, 400 and some nations across Canada. So let's... How's that going to look like within each territory? The Indian Act has governed the lives of First Nations people for the last 150 years. The law dismantled traditional forms of governance, outlawed cultural ceremonies and traditional clothing and dancing. While parts of the Act have changed over the years, it remains the overarching legal document for First Nations. Chief questions how changing the act will affect protected reserve lands and tax exemptions protected by the legislation. It's going to take years before if anything that we, you know, that we, as some have mentioned, do away with the Indian Act, that's not going to. We definitely need to have some careful conversations and considerations with what that will look like for our people. One Regina professor and long-time advisor to First Nations says the Indian Act has done a lot of damage over the years and any attempt to reform or repeal the Act must be led by First Nations. Right now, it's a matter of selecting experts who can speak to this and guide it. And it's got to be First Nations folks. Because we're just repeating history, because the Indian Act was designed without us. Carney says he has asked his ministers to work with First Nations to, quote, chart a path together. If Chief is right, traveling that path toward reform could take a long time. Jeremy Warren, CBC News, Saskatoon.