Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was a Canadian Royal Commission established in 1991 with the aim of investigating the relationship between Indigenous peoples in Canada, the Government of Canada, and Canadian society as a whole. It was launched in response to status and rights issues brought to light following events such as the Oka Crisis and the failure of the Meech Lake Accord. The commission culminated in a final report of 4,000 pages, published in 1996 and set out a 20-year agenda for implementing recommended changes.
Scope.
The Commission of Inquiry investigated the evolution of the relationship among Aboriginal peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis), the Government of Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and part of the Culture of Canada as a whole. It proposed specific solutions, rooted in domestic and international experience, to the problems which have plagued those relationships and which confront Aboriginal peoples today. The Commission examined many issues which it deems to be relevant to any or all of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada. The study of the historical relations between the government and Aboriginal people, in order to determine the possibility of Aboriginal self-government, and the legal status of previous agreements that included, the Royal Proclamation of 1763, the "Indian Act", the Numbered treaties and Aboriginal case law.
Public hearings.
The commission consisted of several high-profile Aboriginal members and jurists, including Paul Chartrand (Commissioner of the Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission), J. Peter Meekison, Viola Robinson, Mary Sillett, and Bertha Wilson, and was chaired by René Dussault, and Georges Erasmus.
Using its $60-million dollar budget, the five commissioners visited 96 First Nation communities and held 178 days of public hearings.
Final report.
The Commission issued its final report in November 1996. The five-volume, 4,000-page report covered a vast range of issues; its 440 recommendations called for sweeping changes to the relationship between Aboriginal, non-Aboriginal people and the governments in Canada.
Some of the major recommendations included the following:
The Report outlined a 20-year timeline for the implementation of identified recommendations. In 2016, during an interview regarding the conclusion of the 20-year period, Paul Chartrand, one of the Report commissioners, acknowledged not much had changed.
Criticism.
In an uncharacteristic move, Georges Erasmus denounced the historical role of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada in the forced assimilation of Aboriginal Peoples, citing the abandonment of indigenous languages, and traditions.
Legacy.
Despite the majority of the RCAP recommendations remaining unimplemented, the Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada credits the Report of the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples with drawing the attention of non-Indigenous Canadians to the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada and redirecting the nature of related conversations. The RCAP report also led to greater recognition in Western Canada of "the urgent need for preservation of Canada's Indigenous languages, many of which face extinction if current trends continue." In response to the threat of extinction, institutes for the revitalization of indigenous languages, including the Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute (CILLDI), were established. Now based at the University of Alberta, CILLDI had attracted over 1,000 participants to its summer school programmes by 2016.