Struggle of Aboriginals in Canada

“We owe the aboriginal peoples a debt that is four centuries old. It is their turn to become full partners in developing an even greater Canada. And the reconciliation required may be less a matter of legal texts than of attitudes of the heart.”

- Roméo LeBlanc

Aboriginal people are called the people from “First Nations” in Canada who have rich historical, cultural and spiritual traditions. However, many of these traditions were altered or even taken away upon the arrival of British and French settlers in Canada. Since then, forcing colonial culture and values on Aboriginal societies, the dispossession of Aboriginal lands and the seclusion of Aboriginals from modern amenities created a sequence of social, physical and spiritual devastation of their culture. Effect of these is quite noticeable even today. This is mainly because the Federal Government is not taking enough responsibility for providing proper support to Aboriginals with growing problems in the reserves. The Government of Canada recognizes the inherent right of self-government as an existing Aboriginal right under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 (AANDC). It recognizes that the inherent right may find expression in treaties, and in the context of the Crown's relationship with treaty First Nations. Recognition of the inherent right is based on the view that the Aboriginal peoples of Canada have the right to govern themselves in relation to matters that are internal to their communities, integral to their unique cultures, identities, traditions, languages and institutions, and with respect to their special relationship to their land and their resources. But recent projects initiated by Federal Government through Bill C-45 and violation of treaty 9 give complete opposite picture of how Aboriginals are being treated. Although it seems that many