Indigenous Perspectives Collection Bora Laskin Law Library
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Indigenous Laws for Making and Maintaining Relations Against the Sovereignty of the State
We All Belong: Indigenous Laws for Making and Maintaining Relations Against the Sovereignty of the State by Amar Bhatia A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science Faculty of Law University of Toronto © Copyright by Amar Bhatia 2018 We All Belong: Indigenous Laws for Making and Maintaining Relations Against the Sovereignty of the State Amar Bhatia Doctor of Juridical Science Faculty of Law University of Toronto 2018 Abstract This dissertation proposes re-asserting Indigenous legal authority over immigration in the face of state sovereignty and ongoing colonialism. Chapter One examines the wider complex of Indigenous laws and legal traditions and their relationship to matters of “peopling” and making and maintaining relations with the land and those living on it. Chapter Two shows how the state came to displace the wealth of Indigenous legal relations described in Chapter One. I mainly focus here on the use of the historical treaties and the Indian Act to consolidate Canadian sovereignty at the direct expense of Indigenous laws and self- determination. Conventional notions of state sovereignty inevitably interrupt the revitalization of Indigenous modes of making and maintaining relations through treaties and adoption. Chapter Three brings the initial discussion about Indigenous laws and treaties together with my examination of Canadian sovereignty and its effect on Indigenous jurisdiction over peopling. I review the case of a Treaty One First Nation’s customary adoption of a precarious status migrant and the related attempt to prevent her removal from Canada on this basis. While this attempt was ii unsuccessful, I argue that an alternative approach to treaties informed by Indigenous laws would have recognized the staying power of Indigenous adoption. -
Obvious but Invisible: Ways of Knowing Health, Environment, and Colonialism in a West Coast Indigenous Community
Comparative Studies in Society and History 2018;60(2):241–273. 0010-4175/18 # Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 2018 doi:10.1017/S001041751800004X Obvious but Invisible: Ways of Knowing Health, Environment, and Colonialism in a West Coast Indigenous Community PAIGE RAIBMON Department of History, University of British Columbia PRELUDE I: ABIRDS- EYE VIEW This is a story about divergent epistemologies and the politics of risk. It is a story about diverse ways of knowing a place, of sensing danger, of feeling well; a story about the production of imperception, the construction of colonial subjecthood, and the struggle for Indigenous sovereignty. In this story, an Indigenous community worked to render perceptible to the settler state appara- tus its knowledge claims about pollution, health, and critically, authority. Activ- ists initially pursued an anti-colonial, environmental justice campaign that sought to translate local, Indigenous ways of knowing into the epistemologies of environmental science and public health. This strategy earned them allies in the health science and legal professions, and activists had reason for optimism. Yet ultimately, this strategy failed. When it did, the community changed course: it now appropriated technologies of law rather than science. Where they previ- ously mobilized knowledge verifiable with bare human senses, they now Acknowledgments: I humbly acknowledge the many people whose generosity, assistance, and insights made this piece possible. Most importantly, I thank the Mowachaht and Muchalaht com- munity members who spoke and worked with me, especially but not only: Sheila Savey, Margarita James, Margaret Amos, Jerry Jack, Max Savey, Lillian Howard, and Mike Maquinna. -
NATIONAL FILM BOARD of CANADA FEATURED at Moma
The Museum off Modern Art 50th Anniversary NO. 16 ID FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 3, 1981 DOCUMENTARY FILMS FROM THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA FEATURED AT MoMA NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA: A RETROSPECTIVE is a three-part tribute presented by The Museum of Modern Art in recog nition of NFBC's 41 years Of exceptional filmmaking. PART TWO: DOCUMENTARY FILMS, running from March 26 through May 12 in the Museum's Roy and Niuta Titus Auditorium, will trace the develop ment of the documentary form at NFBC, and will be highlighted by a selection of some of the finest films directed by Donald Brittain, whose work has won wide acclaim and numerous awards. PART TWO: DOCUMENTARY will get off to an auspicious start with twelve of Donald Brittain's powerful and unconventional portraits of exceptional individuals. Best known in this country for "Volcano: An Inquiry Into The Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry" (1976), Brittain brings his personal stamp of creative interpretation to such subjects as America's love affair with the automobile in "Henry Ford's America" (1976) ; the flamboyant Lord Thompson of Fleet Street (the newspaper baron who just sold the cornerstone of his empire, The London Times) in "Never A Backward Step" (1966); Norman Bethune, the Canadian poet/ doctor/revolutionary who became a great hero in China when he marched with Mao ("Bethune" 1964); and the phenomenal media hysteria sur rounding the famous quintuplets in "The Diorme Years" (1979) . "Memo randum" (1965) accompanies a Jewish glazier from Tcronto when he takes his son back to the concentration camp where he was interned, an emotion al and historical pilgrimage of strong impact and sensitivity. -
Compensation After Delgamuukw Aboriginal Title’S Inescapable Economic Component
Compensation after Delgamuukw Aboriginal Title’s Inescapable Economic Component MICHAEL J. MCDONALD AND THOMAS LUTES Introduction As any observer of recent Canadian news can attest, aboriginal issues in Canada are once again atop the public and media agenda. The range of issues in the public eye is remarkable: from the applicability of sales tax to New Brunswick’s aboriginal peoples; to the return of traditional lands to the First Nation at Ipperwash, Ontario; to the unprecedented fusion of aboriginal healing circles and the Canadian justice system in British Columbia’s Bishop O’Connor case. While such stories ride the crest of the latest wave of national media attention, the land claims process in British Columbia remains some- what adrift following the December 1997 Delgamuukw decision. The im- plications of the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in Delgamuukw that aboriginal title exists and contains an “economic component” poses a tre- mendous challenge to government, private industry and First Nations. In particular, the Crown faces judgment for its action—or inaction—in Notes will be found on page 450. 425 426 Beyond the Nass Valley resolving land and resource claims, not only in our courts of law but also in the forum of public opinion, with its jury of voting citizens. The scenarios of economic doom voiced by a few politicians and public commentators since Delgamuukw was handed down have not al- layed British Columbians’ understandable concerns about the practical effects on their lives and on the effect of compensation to First Nations on the provincial economy. The entire land base of British Columbia is not about to be transferred to British Columbia’s First Nations, and the entire provincial budget for the next quarter-century will not be direct- ed to compensating the Province’s aboriginal peoples. -
Aboriginal Rights in Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982
“EXISTING” ABORIGINAL RIGHTS IN SECTION 35 OF THE CONSTITUTION ACT, 1982 Richard Ogden* The Supreme Court recognises Métis rights, and Aboriginal rights in the former French colonies, without regard for their common law status. This means that “existing aboriginal rights” in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 need not have been common law rights. The Supreme Court recognises these rights because section 35 constitutionalised the common law doctrine of Aboriginal rights, and not simply individual common law Aboriginal rights. As such, section 35 forms a new intersection between Indigenous and non-Indigenous legal systems in Canada. It is a fresh start – a reconstitutive moment – in the ongoing relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. La Cour suprême reconnaît les droits des Métis, et les droits des peuples autochtones dans les anciennes colonies françaises, sans tenir compte de leur statut en vertu de la common law. Ceci signifie que « les droits existants ancestraux » auxquels fait référence l’article 35 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1982 n’étaient pas nécessairement des droits de common law. La Cour suprême reconnaît ces droits parce que l’article 35 constitutionnalise la doctrine de common law qui porte sur les droits des peuples autochtones, plutôt que simplement certains droits particuliers des peuples autochtones, tels que reconnus par la common law. Ainsi, cet article 35 constitue une nouvelle intersection entre les systèmes juridiques indigène et non indigène au Canada. Ceci représente un départ à neuf, un moment de reconstitution de la relation qui dure maintenant depuis longtemps entre les peuples indigènes et non indigènes. * Senior Advisor, First Nation and Métis Policy and Partnerships Office, Ontario Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure; currently completing a Ph.D. -
President's Report.Indd
MÉTIS RIGHTS UPDATE Métis Nation of Alberta Annual General Assembly Métis Rights Update August 2016 This past year we have seen some exciting changes and developments - both provincially and nationally - that we hope will lead to signifi cant progress and new mandates and negotiations on Métis rights and outstanding claims here in Alberta. From the election of the Liberal party as the new federal Government and commitments identifi ed in their “Métis Policy Platform” to the historic Supreme Court of Canada ruling in Daniels v. Canada to the report by Canada’s Ministerial Special Representative on Métis Section 35 Rights which pioneers groundbreaking recommendations, we have many exciting and new opportunities available to us that we must seize on in order to advance our Métis rights agenda. In order to be successful though, we must work - together. The MNA is the government of the Métis Nation in Alberta and has the clear mandate to deal with outstanding Métis rights and claims for all Métis in this province. Our Locals, Regions and Provincial Council must work together to eff ectively represent all Alberta Métis. We are one Métis Nation - one Métis people. We must advance our rights on that basis. And, we will, by working - together. This document has been developed to provide the MNA Annual General Assembly with an update on what has happened over the last year with respect to Métis rights, what the MNA is currently working on with respect to Métis rights and what is on the horizon for the remainder of 2016 and 2017. Page 3 | Métis Nation -
Treaty Relationships Between the Canadian and American Governments and First Nation Peoples
Tina Dion Treaty Relationships Between the Canadian and American Governments and First Nation Peoples Research Paper for the National Centre for First Nations Governance May, 2008 I. INTRODUCTION This paper is intended to provide First Nations with a comparative overview of treaty relationships between the Canadian and American governments and First Nation peoples. From this historic treaty relationship, legal principles have been developed which give effect to Treaty rights. Modern day Treaty rights are framed, in part, by virtue of the historical and legal authority of governments in Canada and in the United States during the treaty-making period. One large component of modern day Treaty law is the concept of fiduciary duty; that is, where the government has a legal duty to do what is in the best interests of the First Nation. Canadian law as it relates to the Crown’s fiduciary obligations toward First Nations, in some measure, rests on an understanding of American law. There are two major components to this paper. In the first part, American and Canadian approaches to treaty making, including the development of Indian policy, will be examined. The second part of this paper will examine the comparative historical governmental authority and legal justification in respect of Indian nations and their lands. This paper will conclude with a brief discussion of how fiduciary duty legal principles may affect Treaty First Nations and their rights. II. UNITED STATES AND CANADA: AN OVERVIEW Americans entered into many more historical treaties than did the Canadian government. For example, between 1848 and 1867, the United States government signed over 100 treaties with various Indian tribes.1 Early in the colonial process, it was the objective of each of the developing nations to foster relationships and secure Indian lands for incoming European settlers. -
Policing Aboriginal Protests and Confrontations: Some Policy Recommendations Edward J
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Directory of Open Access Journals The International Indigenous Policy Journal Volume 3 | Issue 2 Article 1 8-9-2012 Policing Aboriginal Protests and Confrontations: Some Policy Recommendations Edward J. Hedican University of Guelph, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iipj Part of the Social Policy Commons Recommended Citation Hedican, E. J. (2012). Policing Aboriginal Protests and Confrontations: Some Policy Recommendations. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 3(2) . Retrieved from: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/iipj/vol3/iss2/1 This Policy is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in The nI ternational Indigenous Policy Journal by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Policing Aboriginal Protests and Confrontations: Some Policy Recommendations Abstract This paper discusses the role of police forces in Aboriginal protests and confrontations. It takes as a case study the Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry, which was released on May 31, 2007. In 1995 Dudley George, a member of the Stoney Point First Nation, was shot by an Ontario Provincial Police officer during a protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park. Five recommendations are proposed in this paper to reduce the inherent tensions in such protests, focusing on methods of mediation and conflict resolution. In particular, it is proposed that during such protests a more extensive use be made of Aboriginal persons with training and skills in mediation and negotiations in order to improve communication between police and First Nations protesters. -
The Difficulties of Combating Inequality in Time
The Difficulties of Combating Inequality in Time Jane Jenson, Francesca Polletta & Paige Raibmon Abstract: Scholars have argued that disadvantaged groups face an impossible choice in their efforts to win policies capable of diminishing inequality: whether to emphasize their sameness to or difference from the advantaged group. We analyze three cases from the 1980s and 1990s in which reformers sought to avoid that dilemma and assert groups’ sameness and difference in novel ways: in U.S. policy on bio- medical research, in the European Union’s initiatives on gender equality, and in Canadian law on Indig- enous rights. In each case, however, the reforms adopted ultimately reproduced the sameness/difference dilemma rather than transcended it. To explain why, we show how profound disagreements about both the histories of the groups included in the policy and the place of the policy in a longer historical trajec- tory of reform either went unrecognized or were actively obscured. Targeted groups came to be attribut- ed a biological or timeless essence, not because this was inevitable, we argue, but because of these fail- ures to historicize inequality. Efforts to legislate or judicially confirm rights to equality often prove disappointing, even for those with clear-eyed aspirations. There are many rea- sons for the gap between the aspiration and the re- sult, but a deceptively simple one is that political actors define equality in ways that restrict its scope and substance. On some accounts, the problem can be characterized in terms of the sameness/differ- jane jenson is Professor Em- ence dilemma.1 Equality sometimes has been de- erita of Political Science at the fined as meaning that members of the disadvan- Université de Montréal. -
Constitutional Conflict and the Development of Canadian Aboriginal Law
The University of Notre Dame Australia Law Review Volume 19 Article 5 1-12-2017 Constitutional Conflict and the Development of Canadian Aboriginal Law Guy Charlton Auckland University of Technology, [email protected] Xiang Gao The Eastern Institute of Technology, Auckland, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/undalr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, and the Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons Recommended Citation Charlton, Guy and Gao, Xiang (2017) "Constitutional Conflict and the Development of Canadian Aboriginal Law," The University of Notre Dame Australia Law Review: Vol. 19 , Article 5. Available at: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/undalr/vol19/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you by ResearchOnline@ND. It has been accepted for inclusion in The nivU ersity of Notre Dame Australia Law Review by an authorized administrator of ResearchOnline@ND. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONSTITUTIONAL CONFLICT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANADIAN ABORIGINAL LAW GUY C CHARLTON* AND XIANG GAO** ABSTRACT This paper argues that aboriginal rights in Canada have been greatly affected by 19th century governmental and social conflicts within the Canadian colonial state. These conflicts, largely over the ownership of land and regulatory authority between the federal government and the provinces necessarily impacted the First Nations on the ground while affecting how their legal claims were recognized and implemented. In particular they impacted the legal efficacy of treaty rights, the scope of rights recognised by the courts and an expansive legally protected notion of indigenous sovereignty. As a result, the rights now protected under sec. -
Aboriginal Well-Being: Canada's Continuing Challenge"
Western University Scholarship@Western Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi) 2008 Introduction: Aboriginal Well-being: Canada’s Continuing Challenge Dan Beavon Jerry White Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/aprci Part of the Social Policy Commons Citation of this paper: Beavon, Dan and White, Jerry, "Introduction: Aboriginal Well-being: Canada’s Continuing Challenge" (2008). Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi). 9. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/aprci/9 1 Introduction: Aboriginal Well-being: Canada’s Continuing Challenge Dan Beavon and Jerry White Introduction Canada was founded on the principles of peace, order, and good government.1 It would be fair to say that most Canadians view our society as peaceful, civil, and just. As Canadians, we are often shocked or dismayed when we see civil unrest in other countries, particularly when police or military force are used against civil populations in order to quell popular uprisings or to restore order. When we see such events unfolding in the news, we breathe a collective sigh of relief and count our blessings that we live where we do. However, it may be that our collective memories are quite short, and our knowledge of history quite limited, because police forces and the military have intervened thousands of times against many different segments of civil society in Canada. Some of these interventions have been against protestors (e.g., such as the police action during the 1997 Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Vancouver), unruly sports fans (e.g., the 1955 Rocket Richard riot in Montreal), unions (e.g., the 1919 Winnipeg general strike), and sometimes against Aboriginal peoples. -
Policing Aboriginal Protests and Confrontations: Some Policy Recommendations Edward J
The International Indigenous Policy Journal Volume 3 | Issue 2 Article 1 August 2012 Policing Aboriginal Protests and Confrontations: Some Policy Recommendations Edward J. Hedican University of Guelph, [email protected] Recommended Citation Hedican, E. J. (2012). Policing Aboriginal Protests and Confrontations: Some Policy Recommendations. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 3(2) . DOI: 10.18584/iipj.2012.3.2.1 This Policy is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in The International Indigenous Policy Journal by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Policing Aboriginal Protests and Confrontations: Some Policy Recommendations Abstract This paper discusses the role of police forces in Aboriginal protests and confrontations. It takes as a case study the Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry, which was released on May 31, 2007. In 1995 Dudley George, a member of the Stoney Point First Nation, was shot by an Ontario Provincial Police officer during a protest at Ipperwash Provincial Park. Five recommendations are proposed in this paper to reduce the inherent tensions in such protests, focusing on methods of mediation and conflict resolution. In particular, it is proposed that during such protests a more extensive use be made of Aboriginal persons with training and skills in mediation and negotiations in order to improve communication between police and First Nations protesters. It is also evident that government officials need to become more actively involved in resolving land claims, especially before they become flashpoints for violence, and to remove such disputes from the realm of criminal activity to matters of civil litigation.