The first Indigenous-led summit to explore moving beyond the Indian Act closed today with a strong call for First Nations to exercise their self-determination and to forge a new path for their people. “We have heard loud and clear that moving beyond the Indian Act must start at the community level with the full engagement of our communities,” said NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler. “The Government of Canada must move aside and support our people to design solutions from the ground up. Anything less is paternalistic and goes against everything we’ve been talking about for the past two days. We are not going to accept another federally dictated process where First Nation leaders are summoned to meet and given the option to take it or leave without true consultation.”