加拿大卑詩省Sechelt 印地安社自治政府

Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government

加拿大 Sechelt 印地安社自治政府成立於1986 年，是加拿大卑詩省最早擁有自治權的印地安社。因此，其爭取自治權的政治歷程，自治政府的組成、運作，以及其所面臨的種種遭遇等，不但足以成為加拿大其他原住民族或社爭取自治權時之借鏡，也可以作為其他國家原住民族爭取自治權時之參考。他山之石可以攻錯，在台灣原住民族爭取自治權未果的今日，本文的目的除了簡單介紹加拿大Sechelt 印地安社的歷史與風土民情外，更重要的是要探究其爭取自治權的歷程，以及自治政府的組成與運作等情形，以期未來能作為台灣原住民族爭取自治權時之參考依據。

The Sechelt Indian Band of British Columbia is the first indigenous people in Canada to develop its own constitution and to withdraw the lands of the reserve from the Indian Act. In 1986, the Sechelt became the first Indian band in Canada to attain self-government through proclamation of the federal Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act. In effect, the Sechelt Band set a precedent by creating a new level of government for aboriginal communities. Rather than have reserve lands that are held by the Crown in trust, aboriginal people now have the capacity, power, and right to mortgage, transfer, and inherit property. Since the implications of the case are important, this article aims to introducing the Sechelt Indian Band and exploring the process that leads to self government.