[lukan]

"If tomorrow they decided to start developing nuclear weapons I don't think "they didn't consent to be governed" would fly."

Any nation developing nuclear weapons will get serious problems from the nations who already have them. Native, or not.

And it used to not be necessary, to have "international standing" to have your own state. You just minded your own buisness and tried to get along with the local neighbors. As far as I understand, this is a compromise, to bring some of it back. They are still subject to most of federal law and that is not going to change. So there won't be a true souvereign native state inside of canada anytime soon.

[astrange]

> Any nation developing nuclear weapons will get serious problems from the nations who already have them.

That's not universally true as long as they don't acknowledge it. Israel has nuclear weapons and nobody is (effectively) trying to stop them.

[philistine]

Looking at realpolitik, I can see one path: Quebec independence. If it’s achieved within our lifetime, a sovereign Quebec might offer full independence to First Nations to get them to sign a dotted line to stop trying to be inside Canada.