E/CN.4/2005/88/Add.3 page 6 8. The Special Rapporteur also visited several Mi’kmaq, Mohawk, Cree, Ojibway, Algonquin, Huron, Inuit and Métis communities in the country. Furthermore, he met with leaders of the Assembly of First Nations, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, the Métis National Council, the Native Women’s Association of Canada and other organizations. 9. He also met with members of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, a number of non-governmental organizations, members of academic institutions as well as with Wayne Lord and Wilton Littlechild, members of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: A NEW DEAL FOR NATIVE PEOPLES 10. The situation of the Aboriginal peoples derives from the earliest colonial relationships between the native population and the European settlers, and their rights emanate in modern times from a number of founding legal documents such as the Royal Proclamation of 1763, followed over a century later by the Indian Act of 1876 whereby the Government assumed power to control all aspects of the lives of Indians living on reserves through a federally appointed resident Indian Agent. Aboriginal people lost most of their traditional lands during subsequent decades, and were subjected to a process of assimilation as individuals into Canadian society. 11. The Indian Act was amended several times but was never abolished; it remains the statutory regime for status Indians on reserve unless those First Nations are self-governing. With respect to fundamental recognition of Aboriginal rights, section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, recognizes and affirms “the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights” of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, which, Aboriginal peoples assert, include their inherent rights to land, self-government and economic autonomy. The Constitution Act, 1982, also includes Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 12. In 1996, the Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) submitted its final report, the most thorough study on the situation of Canada’s indigenous people ever carried out; its numerous recommendations have opened the way to the solution of long-standing problems afflicting the relations between these peoples and the various orders of Government in Canada. The Government of Canada responded to the challenge by creating in 1998 the Aboriginal Action Plan named “Gathering Strength”, which it presented as a long-term, broad-based policy approach designed to increase the quality of life and promote the self-sufficiency of Aboriginal people. 13. Today, there are 2,787 First Nation reserves (land set apart and designated as a reserve for the use and occupancy of an Indian group or band) across the country, comprising 31,771.5 km². 14. In addition, between 1975 and 2004, nearly 500,000 km² of land have come under the direct control of Aboriginal groups through the comprehensive claims process. As a result of migration and urban spread, more than 50 per cent of Canada’s Aboriginal population is now estimated to live in cities.