reference to "Indians" (section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867) does apply to the Inuit (Reference Re Eskimos 1939) as well as to Métis and non-status Indians (Daniels v. Canada 2013), but the relations of these groups with the federal government are not governed by the terms of the Indian Act. Band In Canada, the elected government of a First Nations band, consisting of a chief and councillors. Many bands, especially in British Columbia, control multiple Indian reserves, that is, multiple parcels of land. Although bands have considerable control over their reserve land, legally neither the band itself nor its members hold aboriginal land title. Rather, the land is held in trust for the band by the Crown. The term band is historically related to the anthropological term band society, but as a legal and administrative unit the band need not correspond to a band in this sense. Some bands draw their members from two or more ethnic groups due to the disruption of traditional ways by colonization and/or the administrative convenience of Canada, or by consensual alliances between such groups, some pre-dating the Indian Act. The functioning of a band is controlled by the Indian Act, the legislation that defines the position of status Indians. The band government is controlled by a chief councillor and council. The number of councillors is determined by the number of band members, with a minimum of two in addition to the chief councillor. The Indian Act specifies procedures for the election of the chief councillor and council. Some bands make use of a policy provision (called 'custom election', which allows them to exempt themselves from these requirements in order to follow traditional procedures for the choice of leaders. This is a matter of controversy. Proponents argue that it allows First Nations to adapt the externally defined system to their traditions. Sometimes this means that 'hereditary' leaders become the chief councillor. Opponents argue that custom systems are frequently not traditional and that, traditional or not, they are unfair and undemocratic and have the effect of preserving the power of corrupt cliques. In many cases they exclude women and also exclude hereditary leaders. The term "Chief" refers to a chief councillor: this individual is not necessarily a hereditary chief or leader, though some are. Although the current policy of the Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) is to treat band governments as largely autonomous,