This paper examines how self-government in urban areas might be put into practice. The purpose of the paper is not to propose any particular model of government or self-governing institution, but rather to outline various options and possibilities, and to raise questions that need to be addressed in developing workable arrangements.

Policy-makers, academics and Aboriginal organizations have all developed models of what Aboriginal self-government might look like in practice. Most models of self-government have been associated with a defined land base. Some analysts have looked at the possibilities of self-governing arrangements off a land base, and more specifically in urban areas.

It is necessary to step beyond the conventional meaning of self-government to embrace a wider vision of its possibilities. The focus on land-based models fails to address how an inherent right of self-governing will be implemented in urban settings.

• I. Introduction
• II. Exercising self-government and implications for urban aboriginal peoples
• III. Urban aboriginal self-government in practice
• IV. Conclusion

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