Yukon's self-governing First Nations pleased after meeting with Trudeau

Yukon Indigenous leaders are calling Wednesday's meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's self-governing First Nations a success.

The Modern Treaty and Self-governing First Nations Forum in Ottawa brought together leaders from across Canada, to talk about some of the challenges in implementing their self-government agreements.

Most Yukon First Nations — 11 of 14 — have negotiated land claims and self-government agreements, and several Yukon leaders went to Ottawa for the forum.

Trondëk Hwëch'in Chief Roberta Joseph says federal policies are sometimes at odds with self-government agreements, and that can give rise to legal disputes.

She says Wednesday's meeting was about finding ways to avoid problems, partly by reminding Ottawa that self-governing First Nations are not subject to the Indian Act, and require a different relationship. 

"Although there are only 26 modern day treaties and self-governing First Nations, we cover almost half the land in Canada," she said.

"We strongly feel that our treaties need to have more attention paid to [them], because of the large scale of land that we are responsible for."

'A self-governing world'

Peter Johnston, Grand Chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations, said it was a successful meeting and that Trudeau's commitment to do it annually was "historic".  

"I think the opportunity to kind of tell our story, from a self-government perspective from the Yukon, was important," he said.

"At the end of the day, there's obviously inequities between Indian Act and self-governance. So the reality going forward is going to be a self-governing world, right? And that's what we have to help stress."

In a statement on Wednesday, Trudeau called modern treaties and self-government agreements, "reconciliation in action."

"We know that our national journey to reconciliation requires systemic changes that recognize the right to advance self-determination and self-government," the statement reads.