The Future of the Aboriginal Question

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21CQ supports the proposition that the Aboriginal Question is the major moral question for Canada in the 21st century. Indeed, for a country that, in relative terms, suffers from few world-historical public problems, the Aboriginal Question stands out as a major exception.

The Aboriginal Question is in many ways also a strategic question this century, even if few have to date realized that there is a critical logical link between Canadian success on the world stage and Canada’s performance in respect of its Aboriginal people. The link will increasingly manifest itself through the vectors of territorial claims, negotiations over energy exploration, exploitation and transport or export (including through pipelines), transportation infrastructure more generally, and also the Arctic (see 21CQ’s work on Arctic Futures).

Building on a number of classical pieces in Global Brief, 21CQ seeks to encourage an intelligent balancing of two key imperatives this century in respect of the Aboriginal Question:

1. spiritually resuscitating the Aboriginal people of Canada from a posture of strategic defeat in order to make them political co-equals in governing Canada.

2. ensuring that the Canadian federation, while adapting to changes in its arrangements with the Aboriginal people, remains coherent and governable.

3. promoting the mainstreaming of Aboriginal language education in schools across Canada, as part of a national languages strategy (see 21CQ’s work on The Future of the Quebec Question).

4. creating, in partnership with private and public partners, a national academy for Aboriginal leaders, in the aim of developing future generations of world-class Aboriginal leaders across the sectors.

21CQ is in actively consultations with partners to create the national academy for Aboriginal leaders, and will be making its arguments and interventions, more generally, in support of its goals through conferences, briefings, publications, private and public interventions, as well as Track 1, Track 1.5 and Track 2 initiatives across Canada.