You say that something is an anachronism when you think that it is out of date or old-fashioned. First Nations people seek accountability. Most will tell you their band councils have too much power. In reality, council authority is delegated and therefore limited.
Real power stays with the Canadian government. In delegating powers to bands, the government gave no thought to ensuring that leaders were accountable to the people. By law, councils provide audits to the Indian Affairs minister. By comparison, most First Nations people have never seen an audit. Thus if information is power, band councils have too much.
Real government requires accountability to the governed. It means that the governed must pay for government. So bands should have the resources and authority to allow them to generate the wealth needed to sustain “real” government.
Recent federal policy allows off-reserve First Nations people to participate in band elections. This, however, does not affect “custom” rules. These include hereditary systems that are determined by birth and gender. Federal policy supports hereditary systems, denying accountability through elections.
I have studied hereditary systems and the title was always passed down to the oldest child, regardless of gender.
For Canadian politics and government, we should be looking at Nunavut’s style of government. No political parties. Regional elected candidates move to Iqaluit to form government, and they choose a leader together. The premier today comes from Grise Fiord, the most northerly town in Canada.
