The Meadow Lake Tribal Council is making strides towards self-government for its nine member bands.
Tribal chief Eric Sylvestre reports they are coming close to the end of negotiations with the federal government, noting a financial offer was presented to the communities last March.
Sylvestre says they are currently examining what that offer means and how to proceed.
He hopes a deal can be reached within the next few years.
The Whitecap Dakota First Nation signed a framework agreement with Ottawa earlier this week to negotiate self-government — the first band in the province to do so.
The MLTC signed agreements-in-principle with the province and the federal government in 2001, but Sylvestre says negotiations have been taking place for the better part of two decades.