New Deloitte Canada Report Spotlights Indigenous Sovereignty as Key to Shared Prosperity

Toronto, January 28, 2025 – Deloitte Canada’s Future of Canada Centre (FCC) is announcing the release of a new report titled Honouring Indigenous sovereignty toward a future of collective prosperity. The report is the fifth and final volume of its Voices of Indigenous youth leaders on reconciliation series, which launched in 2022 in collaboration with Indigenous Youth Roots (IYR), a national Indigenous youth-led organization. It examines the experiences of Indigenous youth leaders in asserting sovereignty and advocating for the recognition and well-being of their communities. The report sheds light on the challenges they face and offers actionable recommendations for policymakers, corporate Canada, the legal profession, cultural institutions, and the public. By affirming Indigenous sovereignty and strengthening nation-to-nation relationships, the report aims to inspire healing, shared prosperity, and a brighter future for all.

With support from IYR, the FCC worked with Indigenous youth leaders from across Canada to gather their insights, advise on the report's structure, and review the paper prior to publication. The report further incorporates secondary sources such as academic publications, aggregated data from Statistics Canada and other sources, and interviews with thought leaders in nation-building, treaty relations, and sovereignty-affirming work involving Indigenous Peoples.

Within this final volume of the series, the Indigenous youths’ insights identify four priority areas for action in advancing Indigenous sovereignty: Indigenous Peoples and Land, Self-Governance, Nationhood, and Truth-telling and Learning. When asked what they hope the future would look like if Indigenous sovereignty were to be fully realized and respected, the youth identified the following as key experiences:

• Indigenous Peoples live in a society where they feel comfortable in their identity, able to self-express and actualize their full potential,
• Indigenous nations are exercising effective governance and authority to meet community needs, resulting in their people healing and thriving,
• Sustainable Indigenous-led decision-making and land practices are in place and respected by governments and landowners in a cooperative, collaborative way, and
• Indigenous nations are interacting with governments on an equal nation-to-nation basis with influence on outcomes.

“Indigenous youth are calling for meaningful action in four key areas, where their authentic identities are embraced, their cultural values are respected, and their communities’ sovereignty is upheld,” says Byron Jackson, Director, Nation Building Advisory Services and a member of the Piikani Nation, within the Blackfoot Confederacy, Southern Alberta. “They envision a future rooted in healing, thriving, and true nation-to-nation relationships that honour their rights and perspectives.”

The report underscores that for Indigenous youth, sovereignty is deeply rooted in relationships – with the land, all beings, and each other. This understanding of sovereignty, centered on interconnectedness and responsibility, challenges the dominant narrative that is often limited to legal and political frameworks. Indigenous youth believe that for true progress to advance reconciliation, there needs to be a greater recognition of Indigenous values and approaches to sovereignty and self-determination. They call for a shift in mindset, moving away from colonial perspectives and embracing Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

The report powerfully conveys Indigenous youth’s vision for self-governance rooted in their communities’ unique cultures and traditions. They advocate for respecting Indigenous long-standing systems of law and governance and the choices each community makes for how it should be governed. The report underscores the tangible benefits that flow from Indigenous communities having greater control over their own affairs. For example, the report cites a compelling statistic from the 2016 Census: self-government agreements increase community wellbeing by four points for Indigenous residents and five points for all residents due to positive impacts on housing, income and employment. This finding demonstrates the positive correlation between self-determination and improved collective wellbeing for all communities.

For Indigenous youth, respectful nation-to-nation relationships with Canada require a fundamental shift toward relations grounded in mutual respect, coexistence, and non-interference. Indigenous youth also emphasize the importance of honoring Indigenous legal orders by giving them equal weight alongside Canadian law. They call for education on Indigenous legal principles and laws, particularly for law practitioners working on matters that directly impact Indigenous Peoples. This education would help legal professionals better appreciate the law through an Indigenous lens, contributing to more just outcomes.

The report champions Indigenous narrative sovereignty, recognizing the power of Indigenous Peoples to shape their own stories and educate others about their cultures and histories. Indigenous storytelling has the power to challenge biases and stereotypes, change misconceptions, and foster greater understanding among Canadians. For example, a study by the USC Norman Lear Center and IllumiNative found that viewers of the series Reservation Dogs, which centers on the lives of Native Americans living on-reservation, were more likely to identify false statements about Native American issues than non-viewers. The report calls for bold actions to further Indigenous narrative sovereignty, such as funding and commissioning Indigenous-led media projects and supporting repatriation of cultural artifacts and historical records to Indigenous communities.

“Centering the voices of Indigenous youth leaders allows us to better understand the pathways to sovereignty and reconciliation,” adds Jackson. “Their insights challenge us to reimagine our relationships and embrace solutions that reflect their values, laying the groundwork for empowered and thriving communities."

The report provides tangible actions for policymakers, corporate Canada, the legal profession, heritage organizations, and the public to take in order to advance Indigenous sovereignty and reconciliation. It showcases case studies that demonstrate the practicality of sovereignty and highlights the importance of Indigenous community-led initiatives.

To access more actionable recommendations put forward by Indigenous youth leaders, please find the full report here. The previous reports in the series may also be accessed here.