Indigenous Political Organizations and Advocacy
Indigenous Political Organizations and Advocacy
Native Studies 30 | Unit 2, Lesson 10 | Indigenous Political Organizations and Advocacy
Native Studies 30 | Unit 2, Lesson 10 | Indigenous Political Organizations and Advocacy
I can explain what the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) are and what role each plays in advocating for Indigenous peoples. I can describe at least one way that Indigenous political organizing has led to a change in policy or legislation in Canada.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) is the political organization that represents First Nations across Saskatchewan. Its roots go back to 1946, when Chiefs and leaders met in Fort Qu'Appelle and formed the Union of Saskatchewan Indians to advocate for treaty rights. That organization became the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians in 1958, and in April 1982, 69 Saskatchewan Chiefs gathered to reorganize it into the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, with a formal structure that still exists today: Chiefs-in-Assembly as the governing body, a Senate, an Elders' Council, and an executive that carries out the direction Chiefs set. In May 2016, the Chiefs-in-Assembly voted to rename the organization the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, keeping the FSIN acronym but making clear that member nations are sovereign, not subjects of federal control. Today FSIN represents 74 First Nations across Saskatchewan, including the communities of the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council, and has been led since 2015 by Chief Bobby Cameron of Witchekan Lake First Nation.
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) does at the national level what FSIN does in Saskatchewan. It formed in 1982 out of the National Indian Brotherhood, an organization founded in 1970 that struggled to represent First Nations across such a large and diverse country. The AFN's first National Chief, David Ahenakew of Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, was elected in 1982 in Penticton, British Columbia. The AFN is made up of Chiefs from First Nations across Canada, supported by ten regional chiefs, including one for Saskatchewan who works directly with FSIN. It advocates nationally on treaty rights, education, health, and child welfare, but it does not govern reserves or replace band councils. Its power comes from bringing First Nations together to speak with one voice to the federal government. The current National Chief is Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak of Pinaymootang First Nation, Manitoba, elected in December 2023.
FSIN's advocacy produced a lasting institution in 1989, when FSIN and the Government of Canada agreed to create the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, an independent body to research and make recommendations on treaty land entitlement and treaty education in Saskatchewan. The office's mandate has been renewed and expanded repeatedly since, and it still operates today, more than 35 years later. It exists because FSIN Chiefs pushed the federal government to create a permanent, independent structure for treaty issues, rather than leaving them to be handled case by case inside a government department with no obligation to First Nations.
Perry Bellegarde, from Little Black Bear First Nation in the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council, served as Chief of FSIN before becoming National Chief of the AFN from 2014 to 2021. During his time as National Chief, Bellegarde pushed hard on one issue in particular: the number of First Nations children in the child welfare system. Researcher Dr. Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society has documented that at points in recent decades, there have been three times as many First Nations children in government care as there were children in residential schools at their peak. In 2019, Bellegarde signed an agreement with the federal government that led to Bill C-92, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. The law affirmed that First Nations have the jurisdiction to create and run their own child and family services, rather than having those services controlled entirely by provincial governments. Bill C-92 did not fix every problem in the child welfare system, but it marked a real, legal shift in who holds authority over Indigenous children, and it happened because of sustained political advocacy, not because Ottawa decided on its own to change the law.
FSIN and AFN show that Indigenous political organizing is not symbolic. From the Office of the Treaty Commissioner to Bill C-92, their advocacy has produced real outcomes in Canadian law, built by First Nations leaders, including leaders from the Qu'Appelle Valley, who worked the political system to win back jurisdiction that colonial policy had taken away.
FSIN (1982, renamed 2016) and AFN (1982) are political organizations built and led by First Nations people to advocate for their own rights. Their advocacy produces real legal change, from the 1989 Office of the Treaty Commissioner to Bill C-92 in 2019, which gave First Nations jurisdiction over their own child and family services.
FSIN: The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, the political organization representing 74 First Nations across Saskatchewan.
AFN: The Assembly of First Nations, the national political organization representing First Nations across Canada.
advocacy: Public support for a cause or policy change, carried out through organizing, negotiation, and political pressure.
self-determination: The right of a people to govern themselves and make their own decisions about their future.
jurisdiction: The legal authority to make decisions and pass laws over a specific area, such as child welfare or education.
Chiefs-in-Assembly: The governing body of FSIN, made up of the Chiefs of its 74 member First Nations.
Office of the Treaty Commissioner: An independent office created in 1989 to research and advise on treaty land entitlement and treaty education in Saskatchewan.
"Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN).” Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, University of Regina. https://esask.uregina.ca/entry/federation\_of\_saskatchewan\_indian\_nations\_fsin.html
“Our History.” Assembly of First Nations. https://afn.ca/about-us/our-history/
“Assembly of First Nations.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/assembly-of-first-nations
“Perry Bellegarde.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/perry-bellegarde
“'We cannot let these children down': Ottawa unveils Indigenous child welfare overhaul.” CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/indigenous-child-welfare-system-bill-c-92-1.5037135
First Nations Child & Family Caring Society (Dr. Cindy Blackstock). https://fncaringsociety.com (verify current URL before assigning)