From our standpoint, we are negotiating our way back into Canada. Under the Indian Act , this is a virtual impossibility. This bureaucratic, failed system is costing us dearly. In the absence of treaty settlements, this cost will continue, while aboriginal people remain separate from other British Columbians in a century-old, discredited cycle of enforced dependency. In short, we will remain a society divided.
Treaties are a way to say goodbye to separation, division and inequality.
The Nisga'a Treaty gives the Nisga'a land, resources and their own municipal-style government. These are not ends in themselves, but rather the means by which the Nisga'a can build a stronger, more self-reliant community, all within the framework of the Canadian Constitution , the Charter of Rights and Freedoms , the Criminal Code and all federal and BC laws of general application. The Indian Act will no longer apply. The Nisga'a government will be comparable to a municipal government, with some extra powers relating to public services, cultural affairs and resource management. Non-Nisga'a can own private property within the boundaries of Nisga'a lands.