Two remarkable conventions of First Nations chiefs and political leaders in Canada occurred in Ottawa during the final years of the Second World War. Ostensibly protesting military conscription and income taxation, the issues at the conventions went to the heart of their oppression: the denial of aboriginal rights, nationhood and self-determination. The essay critically reviews the context of Indian policy leading up to the conventions, the impact of the protest led by Jules Sioui and the continuing divergence of First Nations' and state objectives concerning the future place of Indians in Canada. In conclusion, the essay discusses the idea of citizenship and the inclusion of indigenous peoples in states of European settler origins.