Self-Determination, Participation, and Openness

Insights from Latin America to Canada's Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Abstract

This policy brief analyses Canada’s Action Plan 2023-2028 (Action Plan) under the lens of Indigenous self-determination as defined by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It assesses how Indigenous self-determination within the UNDRIP is not ontologically opposed to state sovereignty. Using Bolivia – the state with the largest Indigenous population in the Americas – as a comparative case study, it argues that effective Indigenous self-determination requires not only the implementation of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), but also a policy stance defined as Openness – the welcoming and active inclusion of Indigenous in the Canadian government institutional structure, both in formal advisory positions and as members of the workforce.