SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Supreme Court of Canada's recent refusal to hear an appeal calling for a non-discriminatory, expanded definition of aboriginal status emphasizes that First Nations need to decide their own citizenship, the Assembly of First Nations says.

B.C. lawyer Sharon McIvor's quest for aboriginal gender equality has ended after a 24-year legal battle that resulted in changes to Canada's Indian Act that now allow an aboriginal woman and her children to keep their status if the woman marries a non-aboriginal man. On Nov. 5, the Supreme Court denied her request to appeal an earlier decision that had already labelled the Act as discriminatory toward women.

McIvor was trying to secure aboriginal status for the grandchildren of women, like herself, who married non-aboriginals, since future generations of aboriginal men retain their status no matter who they marry. The federal government is expected to submit changes to the Indian Act by April 2010.

AFN regional chief Bill Erasmus said the court decision is a good sign for First Nations leadership.

"What I'm saying is that maybe it's good that the courts denied the right to appeal because it should never have been in the courts in the first place. This is something that has to be established by First Nations and the relationship has to be understood by the Crown so we're suggesting that Canada, when working with this legislation for example, draft this legislation with our people and ideally with Sharon McIvor," Erasmus said.

"It's not up to the courts to define who we are."

Sandra Lockhart, chair of the Public Service Alliance of Canada NWT Aboriginal Peoples committee, said she's "torn" by the court decision.

"I believe also that the onus should belong to us to decide, but what have we done to educate people, particularly women, about this? It was women stepping forward to eradicate the discrimination up to this point. It was a woman. It wasn't our chiefs or our men," said Lockhart, who is a member of the Lutsel K'e Dene Band.

"They haven't made a public commitment of how they're going to ensure that the aboriginal women, that we don't lose our rights, that we get the same as the men. They haven't said that."

Lockhart said aboriginal governments across the North should use the time leading up to Canada's expected Indian Act changes to make a commitment to promoting equality within their own memberships.

"We are going into self-government agreements. This education needs to be put on the agenda and people - my granddaughter - need to understand what that means."