The act of governing one's self, or the state of being governed by one's self; self-control; self-command.
Hence, government of a community, state, or nation by the joint action of the mass of people constituting such a civil body; also, the state of being so governed; democratic government; democracy.
Quite simply, the concept expresses the desire of Aboriginal peoples to control their destiny. It precludes accountability to the provincial and federal governments in favour of accountability and responsibility to the Aboriginal peoples by their own Aboriginal leaders. Self-government is concerned with sovereignty in relation to the Canadian state- within it or outside it, depending on one=s view. Self-government consists of two distinguishing factors. The first is the source of the right of self-government: the federal government's position is that self-government may be delegated by the Canadian state whereas most Aboriginal leaders contend that self-government is an inherent right that can not be extinguished. The second factor concerns the implementation of the right of self-government (taken from Issac, 1995:343).
Self-government is the ability of peoples to govern themselves according to their values, cultures and traditions.
The right of a people to create and operate their own form of government.
government of a country by its own people
The Government of Canada recognizes that Aboriginal peoples have an "inherent right of self-government" and has committed to negotiating self-government agreements with Aboriginal peoples.
The internal regulation of a First Nation by its own people.
the right to govern. This is not the same as sovereignty, but does include the right to administer taxes, pass laws, manage land and natural resources, negotiate with other governments and, in some instances, take responsibility for education, health, safety, and welfare services for a given community. The extent and application of self-government is negotiated with First Nations and the federal government. There are a number of existing self-government agreements in Canada.
at the time of contact, all First Nations were self-governing. In modern usage, it has come to mean a process by which First Nations can re-establish control over their lands and affairs. Models of self-government may vary from First Nation to First Nation.