Whitecap Dakota First Nation signs historic treaty with Canada

Whitecap Dakota First Nation finally has its own treaty with Canada after a decade of negotiations and centuries of being unrecognized as Indigenous people of this country.

The First Nation in Saskatchewan says it's the first Dakota nation to sign a treaty in Canada.

"It's just a step at a time, but this is a very positive day for our ancestors, our people and our future generations," said Whitecap Dakota Chief Darcy Bear in an interview, minutes after he signed the document in Ottawa.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bear and others from the First Nation in Saskatchewan, signed the agreement with Crown-Indigenous Relations Minster Marc Miller. The document not only acknowledges and describes the First Nation's inherent right to self governance, but also formally recognizes the community as Indigenous people of Canada under the constitution.

That formal recognition is significant, Bear said, since Whitecap Dakota First Nation and other Dakota communities were historically viewed as Native Americans rather than British or Canadian. Many Dakota communities fought for the British stationed in what is now Canada during the War of 1812 against the United States, but still weren't recognized as Indigenous people of this country.

When treaties were signed in the 1800s in Saskatchewan, Whitecap's chief was there, but wasn't invited to sign. The First Nation has been unceded until Tuesday.

"When you're not being recognized in a country you helped create … it was totally wrong. We should have never been denied that right," he said.

"To us, it is reconciliation."

Whitecap Dakota is the 27th Indigenous group to sign a self-government agreement with Canada. Those agreements represent 52 communities, according to a spokesperson for the Minster of Crown-Indigenous relations.

This is the first agreement to be signed under a new federal policy, which Miller announced in February. The collaborative modern treaty implementation policy was created to ensure Ottawa keeps its end of the bargain when it comes to new treaties.

"We sign these agreements, and then sometimes we go back to the way we behave before and don't give much thought into what these agreements represent, and how they can get properly implemented," Miller told CBC in an interview.

Miller noted that the policy can help remind federal staff "you do not engage with [First Nations] as if they were municipalities, but truly a position of equals."

The policy includes a commitment to create an independent oversight body to make sure the federal government is accountable to its promises. Miller said that's still in the works.

He also said there will be a meeting next week between Indigenous leaders and the Prime Minister to discuss modern treaties.