Backgrounder: Whitecap Dakota First Nation Governance Agreement-in-Principle Signing Ceremony

Significance of the Agreement-in-Principle

On April 27, 2017, Canada and the Whitecap Dakota First Nation (WDFN) signed a Governance Agreement-in-Principle. The Governance Agreement-in-Principle is the second of four steps along the path to self-governance. It lays out a new governance structure for Whitecap Dakota First Nation that will replace the Indian Act, responding to the fact that under the Indian Act, First Nations have had only limited control over their own affairs. The WDFN Agreement-in-Principle, developed after extensive consultation with the community, outlines how WDFN governance will be structured, and what law-making powers it will have. In short, it ensures that WDFN itself has the power and the jurisdiction to make its own decisions on matters affecting the community. The Agreement-in-Principle strengthens WDFN’s ability to promote and protect its own culture, language, and history, and continue to develop its economic successes. It provides a strong basis for renewed nation-to-nation relationships.

What does the Agreement-in-Principle contain?

The Agreement-in-Principle consists of 31 chapters, each dealing with a specific aspect of WDFN governance. The main components relate to WDFN laws, fiscal relations, the implementation of the agreement, and WDFN’s relationships and responsibilities with its members and other governments. Some key areas in which WDFN will have law-making powers under a final self-government agreement include:
 
Membership
Lands and Resources
Language and Culture
Economic Development
Environment
Taxation
Public Works
Health
Education
Public Order and Peace 

While self-government will remove most of the Indian Act for the First Nation, eligible Whitecap members will continue to be recognized and treated as status Indians under the Act. Self-government will not create, abolish or modify any existing Aboriginal or treaty rights of WDFN. First Nation laws will function in harmony with federal and provincial laws, providing consistency across jurisdictions.

Path to self-governance

The road to self-governance consists of four key stages: 1) Framework Agreement 2) Agreement-in-Principle 3) Final Agreement 4) Implementation. The Agreement-in-Principle is an important step in this process, as it lays out the elements that will form the Final Agreement.  Work on the Final Agreement will include settling on fiscal arrangements that support sustainable self-governance.  Signing the Agreement-in-Principle means that the parties commit to working towards the Final Agreement together, with a target date of 2020 to bring the Final Agreement to a community vote.

Following approval of the Final Agreement by WDFN members, the next step would be to pass federal legislation recognizing the Agreement and giving it the force of law. The parties will then agree on a date for the Final Agreement to come into effect and work together to implement it. As well, Whitecap is taking this opportunity to update its own Constitution, which establishes rules for fundamental matters, including membership rules, election processes, and members’ rights of appeal and redress in relation to decisions that affect their interests.

The signing of the Agreement-in-Principle builds on previous work that WDFN has undertaken to move out from under the Indian Act. WDFN created its own land code in 2004 and is currently under the federal government’s First Nation Land Management Act. This has eliminated 25% of provisions from the Indian Act for Whitecap and has given the Whitecap government control over the management of Whitecap’s land and resources. Whitecap has also developed its own Membership and Election Codes to replace the Indian Act requirements. The Agreement-in-Principle is the next phase in Whitecap’s work to foster control over their own community interests, and will allow them to build on their successes thus far.