Implementing self-government is a long-term project with no end date, and areas of jurisdiction are “drawn down” after careful consideration and negotiation over many years.

What have modern treaty organizations drawn down so far? That depends on what we mean by “draw down”. There is an important difference between:

1. Taking over the management and administration of existing programs and services without changing them (e.g. health care, social services, education, law enforcement), and
2. “Exercising jurisdiction” by designing and delivering new programs and services to meet the specific cultural and socio-economic needs of an Indigenous organization, Such as:

• An education system modeled after the teaching and learning traditions of a specific First Nation
• Justice and law enforcement services based on the historical practices of a specific Inuit group
• An Indigenous health authority designed to deliver culturally appropriate care

Both situations above can be described as “drawing down services”.

Unfortunately, there are many instances of modern treaty organizations taking over management and administration of programs, but very few instances of them exercising jurisdiction. The primary reason for this is lack of funding.

Carcross-Tagish First Nation, in Yukon, has negotiated responsibility for and receives funding to manage and administer more than 40 programs and services, including housing, social assistance, alcohol and drug services, suicide prevention, and home and community care. Before the self-government agreement all these services were delivered by the territorial or federal government. Since the implementation of the self-government agreement, the only change has been that Carcross-Tagish First Nation is now the legal entity that receives the funding and delivers these programs. The programs themselves remain the same.

Another example is the Nisg̱a’a Nation in BC’s Nass River Valley. The Nisg̱a’a negotiated responsibility for and receives funding to manage and administer Kindergarten to Grade 12 education programs. They currently pay a provincial school district to provide the service. Similar Nisga’a agreements exist for nursery programs, Indigenous skills and employment training, child and family services, income assistance, special needs programming, health, and other programs.

Both examples involve straightforward transfers of responsibility from one jurisdiction to another.

Most self-government agreements are designed to enable modern treaty organizations to go beyond the simple program transfer described above, and tailor programs and services to their specific needs. However, currently there is no will at the federal level to make that possible.