VISION OF SELF-GOVERNING OURSELVES
Self-govering of the Anishinaabek over Treaty 2 traditional lands existed long before contact by colonial governments. The Anishinaabek governed themselves in an organized society, guided by an unwritten constitution, and had laws followed by the citizens. Governance was based in a consensus democracy that was passed on through generations by an oral history. Th
e concept of inherent sovereignty and right to self-government is accepted by the Crown in the process of making treaty. The Anishinaabek have continued in a consensus government despite the intervention of the Indian Act and the policies of the Crown to disrupt and replace the process. The Anishinaabek of Treaty 2 revitalized governance through the knowledge they possessed, passed to them, unwritten, and the Governing, Grandmother, Ikwewak, Knowledge, Men, and Youth councils have renewed traditional government. The traditional consultative and consensus governance democracy has always been maintained and will be advanced and sustained by modern laws and structures.
