The mandate of the Committee, as defined by the CAA/AAC Executive, and reviewed at its first meeting on November 12, 1992 in Calgary, was:

1. To develop, through extensive consultation with the Aboriginal and archaeological communities, a draft Statement of Principles for ethical archaeological practice and minimum standards for intercommunity communication.
2. To examine policies and concepts to assist all levels of government (including Aboriginal governments) to realize consensual management of Aboriginal heritage features.
3. To encourage direct involvement of Aboriginal people, through active recruitment programs, in professional archaeology.

The AHC's timetable stipulated that a draft document would be presented to the general membership at the 1994 CAA/AAC annual meeting in Edmonton. This would be followed by the presentation of a revised Statement of Principles at the 1995 annual meeting in Kelowna, and its distribution to the membership with a ballot for acceptance in 1996. The AHC would then be formally dissolved.