When major projects are proposed in their territories, rather than treated as governments with decision making authority, the Crown tends to treat First Nations like any other stakeholder in the environmental assessment process. This paper discusses the Squamish Nation process, which was designed to parallel Crown environmental assessment processes and ensure project impacts on the Nation’s rights and title interests are understood and properly avoided or mitigated. The paper also discusses how this process may lead to the Nation’s consent on projects, and the reconciliation of Crown and Squamish interests, something the Nation has not been able to achieve through the Crown environmental assessment process.