In 1867, Canada was established as a federal state in which each province "may exclusively make Laws in relation to Education" while the federal government may "make Laws for the Peace, Order, and good Government of Canada, in relation to all matters....[including] Indians and lands reserved for Indians." Thus two separate educational systems were established, one for First Nations people who lived on reserve and the provincial system for all other Canadians. This article gives focus to the federal system of education and the changing role of Canada and First Nations people in the delivery and governance of education. In 1969, in response to a proposed federal policy paper, First Nations people across Canada issued their own policy document Indian Control of Indian Education and over the past four decades First Nations have entered into a variety of educational governance models. Four governance structures are discussed in the paper, including issues of leadership, accountability, and educational attainment. This paper, using historical documentation and current statistical information--including educational attainment rates--gives focus to (1) the development of First Nations formal education; (2) federal Indian educational policy; and (3) First Nations' endeavors to ensure education provides their children with "the knowledge to understand and be proud of themselves and the knowledge to understand the world around them." (NIB, 1972, p. 1). (Contains 1 table.)