Assembly of First Nations
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AFN Logo
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| Abbreviation | AFN |
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| Formation | began emerging from the National Indian Brotherhood in 1978, eventually holding its first meeting in April 1982 in Penticton, British Columbia. |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario |
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Region served
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Canada |
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Official language
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English, French |
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National Chief
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Perry Bellegarde |
| Website | afn.ca |
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is an assembly, modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, of First Nations (Indian bands) represented by their chiefs. It emerged from and replaced the Canadian National Indian Brotherhood in the early 1980s. The aims of the organization are to protect and advance the aboriginal and treaty rights and interests of First Nations in Canada, including health, education, culture and language.
The self-formation of political organizations of indigenous peoples of North America has been a constant process over many centuries—the Iroquois Confederacy and the Blackfoot Confederacy are two prominent pre-colonial examples. Other groups formed to enter into Treaties with colonial governments.
The Grand Indian Council of Ontario and Quebec was established in 1870 composed primarily of Ojibway and Iroquois. In 1915, the Allied Tribes of B.C. was formed by Peter Kelly and Andrew Paull to seek treaties and adequate-size reserves.
After the First World War, the League of Indians in Canada was founded by a Mohawk veteran, Fred Ogilvie Loft (1862-1934). It became the antecedent of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and Indian Association of Alberta.
In 1926, the Indian Defense League of America was formed by Chief Clinton Rickard of the Tuscarora Nation, with heavy involvement in US-Canada border crossing problems faced by "Indians" in both countries. Rickard organized an annual celebration to assert border crossing rights, Indian rights generally, and respect for the value and dignity of indigenous culture.
A split took place in the League of Indians in 1938, and in 1939 the Indian Association of Alberta was formed. After the Second World War, the other faction formed “The Protective Association for Indians and Their Treaties” to advocate for native title and recognition of rights over traditional territories and resources.
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