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Abstract
In this thesis, I argue that the First Nations Governance Act (FNGA) shares the colonial aspirations of other pieces of historical legislation in the Canadian context. The FNGA attempted to have First Nations' local governing structures mirror those of the Canadian state. As a result, this piece of legislation fails to recognize and respect the jurisdictional authority of First Nations over their own internal socio-political structures and systems. The FNGA is therefore a colonial assault on First Nations' jurisdiction in the realm of governance undermining the right to self-government and self-determination of First Nations.
I demonstrate this by examining three major issues dealt with in the FNGA: the status of historical and modern Canada-First Nations treaties, the jurisdiction of First Nations governance authority as well as control over band membership and Indian status classification systems.
