Aboriginal people claim rights: to access and manage the land, to manage communities, housing in particular, to access better health and education services, etc. The First Nations and the Inuit simply want to regain greater autonomy, to be responsible for their own lives.
Being responsible means thinking about a question or problem, finding a solution, putting it into action, and then making sure the solution works – or correcting it if it does not. Among many examples, Aboriginal people want to be responsible for:
- The education of children, so that it corresponds to their culture and meets their needs;
- Laws and regulations that affect them, as well as the type of punishment for those who do not follow them;
- Access to the land and management of natural resources, so that the actions taken are in line with their values and their vision of the future.
When we are responsible, we are proud of our accomplishments and Aboriginal people want that as well.