Five Pillars of Effective Governance
The People | The Land | Laws and Jurisdiction | Institutions | Resources
The People
The People are the foundation of our Nations. The People are the citizens of Nations that share language, creation stories, community history and family relationships. They form self-defined and self-governed communities and together they hold collective memories. When individuals gather themselves as communities, they are making intentional, political statements about their past, present and the possibilities of their future.
Three Principles that Relate to the People
• Strategic Vision
• Meaningful Information Sharing
• Participation in Decision Making
These three principles exist when the People are engaged. Through living these principles First Nations ensure their government rests on a solid foundation.
Strategic Vision is the shared, long term dream of the People – the future state that the People hope to achieve collectively. Vision charts the course from where the People are to where they want to be and is relevant to those in the present time and to those in the future seven generations. Strategic vision is the necessary starting point, but it is not sufficient to ensure the complete, proper and effective involvement of the People.
Meaningful Information Sharing is critical for the People to realize their vision. Information truly is power and information sharing works to ensure power is also shared. Meaningful information sharing occurs when the exchange of information occurs frequently, openly and in all directions.
Participation in Decision Making. First Nations engage their People in decision making in many different ways. The form of that decision making is not important. What is important is that Nations determine the best way(s) for their communities to contribute to important decisions. What matters is that the process of decision making be open, inclusive, appropriate to the community, and understood and endorsed by all members of the community.
When these principles are applied, the outcome is a First Nations government supported by the People, clear in its mandate and held as legitimate. When these principles are not in place, the outcomes may be lack of trust, lack of respect and efforts to undermine government and its leaders. Trust, respect and transparency are essential to effective governance.