That's a great question and something I have had to argue in front of the Supreme Court, which is not easy to do.
I think consultation is basically defined by the parties who are involved in consultation. I don't think you have to put in an overarching definition, saying “this is consultation” and deciding whether or not you have met that standard. If you're in a consultation.... I use the old adage of asking my wife whether I can go golfing: when I've been properly consulted and she has been properly consulted, I either get to go golfing or not.
I don't think we need to find a definition but rather implement the process of opening up consultation to indigenous artists to actually hear them. As you pointedly asked, how do you ever conceive of having 633 first nations develop any kind of a unified approach?
The fact that you go through the motion, however.... Don't forget that part of consultation is accommodation as well. I think that listening to those stories, those ideas of how this could be applied across the regions from Atlantic Canada to the western provinces is extremely important.
To answer your question, then, there is no definition of consultation, but the act of listening, the act of engaging in those discussions, is the consultation.