This fonds consists of records from the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs that were created when it was a division within the Department of the Executive and from the Self Government Division, Ministry of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs. The records include policy development files and procedures related to self government cost sharing, formula financing, and grants and contributions, strategic planning documents, files related to organizational structure of Aboriginal Affairs Division and reorganization when it separated from the Department of the Executive and became its own entity, a devolution framework agreement including a Memorandum of Understanding between Aboriginal Affairs and Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), and self-government negotiations frameworks distributed to GNWT Departments. There are also meeting minutes and work plans from Director’s Meetings, Deputy Minister Meetings, Senior Management Committee Meetings, Premiers Chronos, Premiers speeches, Ministerial and Deputy Minister Chronos, Ministerial Briefing Notes, and Briefing Notes for the Intergovernmental Core Group, which included DIAND and Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.
There are also records related to the negotiation of self government and land claims agreements including files concerning the Inuvialuit Land Administration Agreement, Inuvialuit land claim, Makivik negotiations, Dogrib self government, Beaufort/Delta self government, as well as a file related to amendments to the NWT Act and intergovernmental forum process planning meeting. In addition, there are records related to the implementation of the Nunavut Final Agreement.
The bulk of the records were created by committees and working groups where Aboriginal Affairs was the lead agency or represented the GNWT on Federal Committees. There are committee records from the following: Devolution Working Group, Community Transfer Committee, Operational Review Committee, Traditional Knowledge Interdepartmental Working Group that addressed Traditional Knowledge within the Ministry, Federal/Territorial Core Group that dealt with constitutional reform, land claims and devolution, Constitutional Development Steering Committee, Ministerial Committee on Aboriginal Rights (CARS), Constitutional Affairs Committee Working Group, Federal/Territorial Special Joint Committee on Internal Relations, and the Services Review Committee that reviewed GNWT services to Aboriginal people. The Ministry chaired this committee that also included DIAND and Dene Nation. In addition, files related to the Dene/Metis Land Claim negotiations were kept including correspondence and committee work (Inherent Right Committee) on negotiating the Agreement in Principle between the GNWT and Dene Nation.
In addition, there are records from workshops and meetings that were funded and organized by the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs including Land Claims Implementation interjurisdictional workshop, Dene Nation and Metis Nation Annual General Assemblies, and Northern Leaders Conference that was organized by the Ministry in order for stakeholders such as Committee for Original Peoples Entitlement (COPE), and Dene Nation to discuss and have input into Bill C-48 (Canada Oil and Gas Act), as well as devolution issues. There is a memorandum of understanding on Devolution of Power and Authority to the GNWT from Canada with the involvement of the Dene and the Metis.
The remainder of the records relate to committee and working groups that Aboriginal Affairs would have monitored and provided expert advice such as submissions for the Land Claims and Self Government interface, Territorial Interest Working Group, Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Self Government discussion paper, Provincial/Territorial Treaties and Self Government Working Group, Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, Nunavut Implementation Committee, and Wright Report on Devolution. There is also one file regarding the NWT Supreme Court Decision regarding the Indian Land application by Chief Francois Paulette.