The Constitution Express 

The Constitution Express movement was organized between 1980 and 1981 protesting against the patriation of the Canadian Constitution. In1980, Canada remained to be a British dominion, and Prime Minister Trudeau proposed a framework for the patriation of a new Canadian Constitution [1]. The purpose was to give Canada the more independent power as a country to amend its laws. This resolution was drafted with no Indigenous consultation and included little to no mention of Indigenous rights in its framework. Thus, the Constitution Express was organized to protest the lack of acknowledgment of Aboriginal rights in the constitution [2]. 

Activists of the movement boarded two trains on November 24th, 1980 in Vancouver headed for Ottawa led by George Manuel, leader of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) at the time [3]. The trains picked up about 1,000 people across the country in support of the Constitution Express and the protest against the lack of recognition for Aboriginal rights in the proposed charter [4]. Demonstrations on parliament were publicized to bring attention to the concerns of Aboriginal rights and lobbied for changes to the constitution. 

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs was a representative political organization of Native bands in British Columbia [5]. The UBCIC was outspoken on the issue of abolishing Aboriginal treaty rights with the new constitution not only with the organization of the Constitution Express but also with the Aboriginal Rights Position Paper drafted in April of 1980 [6]. The Aboriginal Rights Position Paper reflected resistance on the part of Chiefs from BC to accept the terms of a new constitution that would erase the treaty rights to the social, political, and economic organization of Aboriginal people in Canada. As the introduction of the document asserts, "traditionally, as Aboriginal people, we had uncontested, supreme and absolute power over our territories, our resources, and our lives. We had the right to govern, make laws and enforce laws, to decide citizenship, to wage war or make peace, and to manage our lands, resources, and institutions. We had our own political, legal, social, and economic systems. The power to govern rests with the people and cannot be taken away" [7]. This assertion of Indigenous right to governance manifested out of the fears that the new constitution only recognized the power of the federal and provincial governments, and did not recognize the authority of Aboriginal government. 

The UBCIC mobilized its position paper in the form of the Constitution Express movement to force changes to the constitution that would recognize Aboriginal rights and enshrine them into the constitution. The activists stopped in urban centers and rural communities across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and, Ontario until the trains reached Ottawa [8]. The Constitution Express embodied in this way the continuation of Indigenous activism on a national scale. The UBCIC was concerned with the rights of all Aboriginal peoples across Canada, not just those in British Columbia. When activists reached the capital, there was little response from the Trudeau administration, and activists of the movement continued to the United Nations in New York [9]. In 1981, the Constitution Express traveled across the Atlantic to Europe to spread their message. This transition to activism on a national scale will be further explored on the next page of this exhibit. 

The Canadian Constitution: Section 35 

As a result of the Constitution Express movement and the national and international support, it gathered for Aboriginal rights in Canada, the Trudeau government agreed to include the protection of Aboriginal rights in the Constitution. The government met and negotiated with Indigenous leaders and agreed to honor the requests of these leaders in 1982. Section 35 was added to the Canadian Constitution that affirmed "the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada..."[10]. The inclusion of Section 35 in the Canadian Constitution demonstrated the significance of resistance through political activism in Canada both on a national and international scale. 

Assembly of First Nations (AFN)

The Constitution Express gave rise to the importance of chiefs as the voice of First Nations people. The Assembly of First Nations was established out of the National Indian Brotherhood. Along with the inclusion of section 35 in the Constitution, the Assembly of First Nations was established in 1982 [11]. Based on a model of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the AFN included representation of the Chiefs of First Nations bands across Canada. The creation of the AFN coincided with the constitutional debate over the recognition of Aboriginal rights and gave rise to the importance of strong Chief leadership in a local and national context.