One of the recommendations contained in the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is for a new Royal Proclamation, to be signed by the Monarch, and to enshrine a "new relationship" between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The summary report published by the Commission People to People, Nation to Nation states: "To support the rebuilding of Aboriginal nations and shift from paternalistic policies to partnership relations, we propose a bold starting place: a new Royal Proclamation, issued by the Monarch as Canada's head of state and guardian of the rights of Aboriginal peoples." According to the summary "The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was a defining document in the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in North America,...(it) offered Aboriginal people not only peace and friendship, respect and rough equality, but also protection." The summary itself points out that "Protection was the leading edge of domination. At first, it meant preservation of Aboriginal lands and cultural integrity from encroachment by settlers. Later, it meant `assistance', a code word implying encouragement to stop being Aboriginal and merge into the settler society." The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was proclaimed by King George III largely to ensure the Aboriginal nations that in the wake of the British victory on the Plains of Abraham and the expansion of British colonies in North America, further settlers from the seaboard colonies would not occupy their lands. It followed the battles led by Pontiac in 1763, when the Aboriginal forces nearly succeeded in pushing the British back to the east side of the Great Lakes; all the British forts west of Niagara (with the exception of Detroit) were captured. The Proclamation established boundaries beyond which settlement was not allowed, while entry into the West was only to be permitted those granted a licence. The terms of the Proclamation were never respected. Writing before the American Revolution, George Washington called the Proclamation "a temporary expedient to quiet the minds of the Indians." He was proved correct. It is quite shocking that the central recommendation of the report would call for the renewal of the very document which symbolizes the two-faced character of British colonialism in regards to the Aboriginal peoples. Far from 'protecting' the Aboriginal peoples, the Canadian state has taken every measure to wipe out the Aboriginal nations, from robbing them of their lands, outlawing their languages and cultural practices, to the kidnapping and forced assimilation of Aboriginal children. To day, the terrible statistics speak for themselves of the kind of "protection" the state provides the Aboriginal peoples. The Canadian state, as it is currently constituted, is incapable of acting as a guardian of the rights of the Aboriginal peoples. It is based on the same old arrangements of the nineteenth century, aimed at suppressing the Aboriginal nations and the nation of Quebec and excluding the working class and people from playing any role. It is only through the establishment of new arrangements, led by the working class and people, that the hereditary rights of the Aboriginal peoples will be guaranteed. Shawgi Tell University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education [EMAIL PROTECTED]