Court Cases

To the members of the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council, self-government begins- but does not end- with control over our land. Government means jurisdiction over our renewable and non-renewable resources, education, health and social services, public order and the shape and composition of our political institutions. While some of our plans may sound far-reaching to some people, they should not be regarding as a threat. We do not want to recreate a world that has vanished. We do not want to turn back the clock. Far from it. We welcome the challenge to see our culture grow and change in directions that we have chosen for ourselves. We do not want to become the objects of sentimentality. Nor do we want our culture to be preserved in amber for the amusement or even the edification of others. What we do want, what we demand, is nothing more than control over our own lives and destiny! That control is called “Self Government.”

Asserting one’s right has recently become more complex and cannot be taken for granted. Presently our Aboriginal communities (Mi’kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy) have been charged for exercising their rights.

Over the last ten years court decisions have been passed down in reference to certain aspects on treaties. The end result is aboriginal identity and treaty components being more cautiously defined.

Is not an easy assertion? In fact there are many obstacles that lie in the path of the modern Aboriginal. One such obstacle for the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council, is nonrecognition of our Peace and Friendship Treaty rights by different levels of governments.

The following links are only some of the important court cases in reference to assertion of Aboriginal Treaty Rights.

R V Marshall