The ancestry for many of Native Council’s members can be traced back to the original descendants of Mi’kmaq Peoples prior to the creation of the Indian Act. The Native Council of PEI was created to provide PEI’s off-reserve Indigenous people a self-governing body to represent their rights, interests, and needs.

The Native Council began its journey to self-government on September 8, 1973, as Local #17 of the New Brunswick Association of Métis and non-Status Indians. On April 1, 1975, the Native Council incorporated as an independent Indigenous Representative Organization on PEI as the PEI Association of Métis and non-Status Indians. On November 23, 1978, the name changed to the Native Council of Prince Edward Island. Each of these milestones is viewed as a step to returning Indigenous Peoples to a state of self-government.