Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

Canadian indigenous peoples organization

Indigenous rights
Part of a series on

Rights
Ancestral domain Intellectual property Land rights Language Traditional knowledge Treaty rights Water and sanitation Protection
Governmental organizations
ACHPR AID Arctic Council BIA CIP CIRNAC DTA FUNAI INPI JAKOA NCIP NIAA MCHTA TPK UNPFII
NGOs and political groups
AFN Amazon Conservation Team Amazon Watch CAP COICA CONAECDA CONAIE Cultural Survival EZLN fPcN IPACC IPCB IWGIA Land Back NARF ONIC Survival International The Red Nation UNPO KAFFED more ...
Issues
Aboriginal titles Biopiracy Civilizing mission Climate change Discovery doctrine Discrimination Ecocide Genocide MMIW Indigenous decolonization Inhabited lands Indigenism Settler colonialism Truth commissions Uncontacted peoples
Legal representation
ILO 107 ILO 169 United Nations Declaration WIPO IGC
Countries
Argentina Australia Brazil Denmark Finland Malaysia Namibia New Zealand Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Suriname Venezuela
Category
v t e

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) (formerly the Native Council of Canada and briefly the Indigenous Peoples Assembly of Canada), founded in 1971, is a national Canadian aboriginal organization that represents Aboriginal peoples (Non-Status and Status Indians, Métis, and Southern Inuit) who live off Indian reserves in either urban or rural areas across Canada.^[1] As of 2011 more than 70% of Aboriginal people live off-reserve.

Its head office is located in the capital, Ottawa, Ontario. The congress works with its affiliate organizations on issues that affect the Aboriginal peoples of Canada who live off-reserve. Affiliates of the congress have their own constitutions with some being separately funded through the Métis and Non-Status Indian Relations Directorate of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. The Métis and Non-Status Indian Relations Directorate works primarily with Aboriginal political organizations who represent the interests of Métis and non-status Indians (MNSI) and other off-reserve Aboriginal organizations.

The congress administers the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy (ASETS), which links training to labour market demand. ASETS is designed to help Aboriginal people who live off-reserve prepare for and find high-demand jobs.

Significant events

After the collapse of the National Indian Council in 1968 the executives of provincial Metis and Non-Status Indian associations of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba met in December 1970 to found the Native Council of Canada. Its constitution was completed in February 1971 and the organization opened its offices in Ottawa not long afterwards.^[2] The organization had to balance the (often divergent) interests of Metis and Non-Status Indian organizations in order maintain its membership and secure core funding from the Canadian state.^[2]

In 1983 the Métis split from the Native Council of Canada, a pan-Aboriginal coalition, to form the Métis National Council as a Métis-specific representative group. The founding affiliates of the Métis National Council were the Métis Association of Alberta, the Association of Métis and Non-Status Indians of Saskatchewan, the Manitoba Metis Federation, the Louis Riel Métis Association of British Columbia, the Robinson-Superior Métis Association, and the Alberta Federation of the Métis Settlement Associations.^[3]^[4]

In 1993 the Native Council of Canada was reorganized and renamed as the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP).

On April 14, 2016 a landmark ruling by the Federal Court of Canada affirmed the position of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples that Métis and Non-status are Indians with rights under the Constitution.^[5]^[6] The Federal Court Action was launched in 1999 by Harry Daniels, Leah Gardner, and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples. This decision could have a significant effects on the relationship between the Government of Canada and the Aboriginal Peoples who live off-reserve.

The organization briefly (seven months in 2016) changed its name to the Indigenous Peoples Assembly of Canada. This was reversed in October 2016 after the national chief associated with the name change, Dwight Dorey, was defeated in a bid for reelection. Robert Bertrand won the election to national chief.

National Chief

List of National Chiefs:

Elmer St. Pierre (2020–Present)
Robert Bertrand (2016–2020)
Dwight Dorey (2015–2016), (Mi'kmaq from Nova Scotia; this was his second term)
Betty Ann Lavallée (2009–2015)
Patrick Brazeau (2006–2009)
Dwight Dorey (1999–2006)
Harry Daniels (1997–1999)
Jim Sinclair (1994–1996)
Ron George (1992–1994)
Dan Smith (1991–1992)
Viola Robinson (1990–1991)
Chris McCormick (National Spokesperson −1988-1990)
Smokey Bruyere (1981–1988)
Harry Daniels (1976–1981)
Gloria George (1975–1976)
Kermit Moore (1974–1975)
Tony Belcourt (1971–1974).

Affiliate organizations

Also known as provincial/territorial organizations (PTOs), the congress has affiliate Aboriginal organizations in Canada's respective provinces and territories who choose the congress to represent them at a national level. Each organization holds its own constitution and by-laws and some are individually funded through Government of Canada programs. In effect, these affiliates are the corporate members of the congress. Each affiliate organization also has a respective provincial chief and president who make up the Board of Directors of the congress. The congress' Annual General Assembly is attended by delegates from each provincial affiliate organizations to discuss policy, priorities, and issues facing Aboriginal peoples who live off-reserve.

The following is a list of the organizations that associate with CAP as of November 21, 2012:

Aboriginal Affairs Coalition of Saskatchewan^[7]
Alliance Autochtone du Quebec Inc^[8]
Federation of Newfoundland Indians (Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Band)^[9]
Labrador Métis Nation (Nunatukavut)^[10]
New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council^[11]
Native Council of Nova Scotia^[12]
Native Council of Prince Edward Island^[13]
Ontario Coalition of Aboriginal Peoples^[14]
United Native Nations Society (British Columbia)^[15]
North West Indigenous Society

References

^ "Congress of Aboriginal Peoples Affiliates". Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ ^a ^b Sawchuk, Joe (1998). The dynamics of native politics : the Alberta Metis experience. Saskatoon: Purich Pub. pp. 36–40. ISBN 9781895830552.
^ Barkwell, Lawrence. The History of the Manitoba Metis Federation. Winnipeg: Louis Riel Institute, 2018. ISBN 978-1-927531-19-8
^ What is MNC?, Métis National Council
^ "Federal Court grants rights to Métis, non-status Indians". CBC News. January 8, 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-19. Retrieved 2013-08-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "CAP Affiliate – Aboriginal Affairs Coalition of Saskatchewan Inc". Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ "Alliance autochtone du Québec". Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ "Federation of Newfoundland Indians". Archived from the original on 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ "Labrador Metis Nation". Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ "New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council". Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ "Native Council of Nova Scotia". Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ "Native Council of Prince Edward Island". Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ "Ontario Coalition of Aboriginal Peoples". Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ "United Native Nations Society". Archived from the original on 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2009-11-20.

^ 'Off-reserve natives to back Tories', Global National, January 14, 2006

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.

Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (Government of Canada)
CAP official website

v t e Métis people
Modern Governments	Métis Nation British Columbia Métis Nation of Alberta Métis Nation—Saskatchewan Métis Nation of Ontario Manitoba Métis Federation Northwest Territory Métis Nation Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Métis Settlements General Council (Alberta)
Historic Governments	Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia (1870) (Red River Colony) Council of St. Laurent (1873–1878) (Southbranch Settlement) Exovedate (1885) (Southbranch Settlement)
Organizations	Métis National Council (Canada-wide) North Slave Métis Alliance Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (Canada-wide) Alberta Métis Federation Vancouver Métis Community Association Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba
History	Indian trade Scottish Fur trade Marriage Pemmican War Pemmican Proclamation (1814) Battle of Seven Oaks (1816) The National Committee of the Métis (est. 1864) Red River Rebellion (1869–1870) North-West Rebellion (1885) Southbranch Settlement Half-Breed Tract Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation Powley ruling (2003) Daniels ruling (2016)
Society	Canadian Métis in Alberta US Métis Anglo-Métis Bois-Brûlés People Métis Population Betterment Act List of settlements in Alberta Metis Child and Family Services Society Gabriel Dumont Institute
Culture	Bungi Chinook Jargon Hivernants Métis French Michif Flag Métis fiddle Métis buffalo hunt Red River Jig

v t e National Indigenous organizations in Canada
Assembly of First Nations Congress of Aboriginal Peoples Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami Métis National Council Native Women's Association of Canada Pauktuutit Native Friendship Centre National Aboriginal Health Organization First Nations Bank of Canada Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada branch) Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador
International rights organizations Pan-Indianism Band government

v t e International Indigenous and minority rights
Rights	Ancestral domain Free, prior and informed consent Intellectual property Land rights Language Self-determination in Australia in Canada in the United States Traditional knowledge ecological medical Treaty rights in Australia in New Zealand
Governmental organizations	African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Arctic Council Bureau of Indian Affairs Council of Indigenous Peoples (Taiwan) Fundação Nacional do Índio Government of Bashkortostan Government of the Sakha Republic Government of Tatarstan Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (Mexico) National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (Philippines) Te Puni Kōkiri (New Zealand) United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Non-governmental and political organizations	Amazon Watch Assembly of First Nations Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador Congress of Aboriginal Peoples Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin Cultural Survival Indigenous Environmental Network Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs National Indigenous Organization of Colombia Native American Rights Fund Survival International Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Zapatista Army of National Liberation (more ...)
Issues	Civilizing mission Colonialism Internal colonialism Settler colonialism Cultural appropriation Sports mascots Redface Dakota Access Pipeline protests Discovery doctrine Fortress conservation Green grabbing Homeland Lands inhabited by indigenous peoples Bantustan Autonomous okrugs American Indian reservation Indian colony Indian reserve Ranchería Rancherie Russian republics Urban Indian reserve Manifest destiny Plastic shaman Rainbow Warriors Two-spirit
Legal representation	Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007
Historical cases	Chechen–Russian conflict Sri Lankan Civil War 2009 Peruvian political crisis Alta controversy Chiapas conflict Expulsion of the Chagossians High Arctic relocation Human rights in Tibet Indian removal Little Danes experiment Mapuche conflict Oka Crisis Residential schools Canada New Zealand South Africa United States Rubber boom San controversy Stolen Generations Persecution of Uyghurs in China
Indigenous rights • Minority rights