You have to understand that the differences between first nations, Inuit and Métis within the federal context are astoundingly difficult to understand. There are very few people in this country, even in the legal profession, who could articulate the way in which each of the three indigenous peoples of this country interact with the Crown, or interact with provinces and territories.
We didn't make up this complexity. Often it was based on the natural resources of the particular area, the provincial or territorial governments of the time, or the federal government at the time when they needed something from our lands. It's needlessly complex. It's not of our own creation, and to push back against this, we must say that in the Constitution there are three indigenous peoples: first nations, Inuit and Métis.
For us, the way we interact with the federal government is through modern treaties, land claim agreements. They are the connection between us and the Crown. For many indigenous people in this country, it's the Indian Act. We don't fall under the Indian Act. Different legislation and different rules apply to different segments of the indigenous population in this country, and therefore, having a pan-indigenous approach often excludes or minimizes the experience of certain groups of indigenous peoples in this country.
For decades, the Inuit heard about indigenous or aboriginal investments from the federal government, through budgets or through other areas, that didn't ever go to Inuit communities. There's an easy way that the federal government can talk about aboriginal or indigenous peoples while still excluding certain first nations, Inuit or Métis interests within that.
A way to push back against that is to forcibly state that these are the three indigenous peoples under the Constitution in this country and to use that terminology. That allows for the next level of conversation to happen: Why is there a difference? What is the difference? How do we appreciate and then respond to that difference? Just having the name Inuit within this piece of legislation would be a tremendous win for the Inuit in this country.
We still struggle for a basic understanding of who we are. I think most Canadians know that there are Inuit in this country. Perhaps they refer to us with a different term, but they know that we live in the Arctic, that we're symbolic and that we're good artists, probably, but very few Canadians know anything more than that. We have to reinforce over time that we are part of the indigenous community in this country but we are not first nations, and we are not Métis, and we have a very different relationship with the federal government.
We are one step closer to all of those realities when you pull “indigenous” out and you replace it with “first nations, Inuit and Métis”.