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Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn Atleo made headline news when he suggested it was time to get rid of the Indian Act.
During the AFN assembly July 20-22 in Winnipeg, Man., Atleo posed the question “Is it time to boldly suggest within two to five years, the Indian Act will no longer be part of our lives?”
Atleo spoke of what the Indian Act system does provide. It provides the highest suicide rates, the highest incarceration rates in the country, the lowest education rates and the lowest income rates, he said.
So rather than have a department that governs First Nation lives, Atleo suggested the federal government could set up a ministry of First Nations-Crown relations, as well as a treaty rights tribunal. In this manner, items promised in centuries old treaties would be delivered such as health care and land, he said.
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