Aboriginal Participation in Forest Management Not Just Another Stakeholder [National Aboriginal Forestry Association, NAFA]

This paper is intended to provide a greater understanding of the nature of Aboriginal and treaty rights and how they interface with emerging forest policy. When one examines the essence of Aboriginal and treaty rights an early observation must be that these rights are largely about continued use of the forests. This obvious linkage has never been reconciled in forest policy, and where it counts most - at the provincial level. Only now is there some evidence that change may occur. Court decisions on Aboriginal and treaty rights and the move to sustainable forest management have been the impetus.