As Long as the Sun Shines…

AFN Blog Entry – March 7, 2008

This is going to be interesting.

In case you missed it, the AFN and Canada are convening a conference on Treaty Implementation which will be held this March 26-27 in Saskatoon.

The conference is the first time (ever) that First Nations and the Federal Crown have jointly hosted a conference to look at Treaty implementation.

We know that treaties and Treaty making are central to First Nations. Treaties get to the heart of our nation-to-nation relationship with Canada, confirming the fact that we are and always have been nations. But the federal government has tried to deny or ignore this reality for far too long. This conference will be an opportunity to kickstart the discussion on what the Treaties mean in the new millennium and how we can work to give life to the spirit and intent of the Treaties.

The overall objective of the conference is to bring together the Treaty Partners to discuss the parameters, issues, barriers and mutual benefits of a national Treaty implementation framework. This is a critically important opportunity for Treaty First Nations and the Crown to share their perspectives and understandings of Treaty and to jointly develop common principles to guide this relationship.

Keep checking here for more information as we get closer to the opening day. And we hope to see you there!