SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Aboriginal leaders are balking at a proposed agreement that would give the NWT power over its own land and water saying governments must be transparent about the negotiation process.

The Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Dene Nation have spoken out against the GNWT's proposed devolution agreement with the federal government, which was recently mailed out to all seven aboriginal governments and leaked to the CBC last week.

The agreement-in-principle, which CBC North posted on its website, states the federal government is willing to pay the GNWT $26.5 million as a one-time fee for the transfer of lands, while aboriginal governments who sign the agreement would receive $3.9 million. If the agreement is signed, the federal government would also give $100,000 to the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation for subsequent management negotiations of on- and offshore oil and gas.

Aboriginal groups have until the end of this month to decide whether they support the devolution agreement as drafted. Though Premier Floyd Roland has said the GNWT is keeping the agreement confidential as part of the negotiation process, some leaders have said the only fair way to get feedback from their constituents on the proposed deal is to make the document public.

Sahtu MLA Norman Yakeleya went so far as to call for a referendum.

"That's what needs to happen. People need to get this in their hands. I was very surprised that some of the leaders in the Sahtu didn't see the deal. It was done in a way that it was almost like a back-door approach," Yakeleya said. He called the devolution plan "a watered-down agreement" that degrades aboriginal organizations.

"Why would you want to negotiate a position where you'll be the backseat driver and the GNWT will be the driver of the vehicle?" he said. "We don't want to go for a ride, we want to be part of the solution for the shaping of the Northwest Territories."

No representatives of the Tlicho government, the Dehcho First Nation, the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation or the Metis Nation returned calls for comment before deadline.

Gwich'in Tribal Council President Richard Nerysoo said aboriginal concerns seem to have been pushed aside, both in the terms of the agreement and in the negotiation process.

"Presently the population of aboriginal people in the North is approximately 50 per cent of the population. How is it that we're then told that all we get is 25 per cent of the revenues?" Nerysoo asked.

More than that, he added, governments have violated the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim agreement by not involving them in devolution negotiations.

"This is not an unusual exercise, where the government of Canada has failed to live up to the terms of the land claim agreement," he said.

Instead, all aboriginal parties should have had the opportunity to negotiate devolution with federal and territorial negotiators, but Nerysoo, along with several other leaders, said he feels the decision to go ahead with the agreement has already been made.

"That, for me, is very disheartening, because I have to believe that the premier and his cabinet are honourable when they say that we're to work together in a collaborative approach on any issue," he said. "If we can't trust them, I certainly can't trust the people in Ottawa, because I don't think they care about what we have to do in the North."

Though the Gwich'in Tribal Council doesn't support this drafted agreement, Nerysoo echoes many other NWT leaders when he says the organization still supports devolution.

"To do it wrong is not helpful to anybody. We need to do it in a way that protects the interests of the aboriginal people but results in the responsibility being properly managed in the North, collaboratively."

Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus said while devolution is a good thing he doesn't like the agreement, adding there remains a lot of work to do deciding what Northwest Territories governance will look like.

"We have this unique opportunity for all the people of the North to participate in a constitutional discussion to design institutions and the North the way we'd like to see it," he said. "On the surface, however, it doesn't look like a good agreement. Why if aboriginal peoples compose 51 per cent of population, do they not have 51 per cent of control?"

- with files from Aaron Beswick

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