Indigenous Land Claims and Reconciliation: the Importance of Land and Relationship Between Indigenous Nations and the Government of Canada
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 9-16-2020 1:00 PM Indigenous Land Claims and Reconciliation: The Importance of Land and Relationship Between Indigenous Nations and the Government of Canada Joy S. Spear Chief-Morris, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Quinn, Joanna, The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Master of Arts degree in Political Science © Joy S. Spear Chief-Morris 2020 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Indigenous Studies Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Spear Chief-Morris, Joy S., "Indigenous Land Claims and Reconciliation: The Importance of Land and Relationship Between Indigenous Nations and the Government of Canada" (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7390. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7390 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This thesis discusses whether Indigenous land claims settlements signal reconciliation between Indigenous nations and the Government of Canada. Using Indigenous methodologies, anti- oppressional and intersectional lenses, and historical institutionalism, it argues that land claim settlements do not signal reconciliation of the Indigenous-Canadian relationship. This is because the modern land claims settlement process exists as a reiteration of the colonial policies and institutions that proceeded it. It examines the historical treaty process, case law on Aboriginal rights and title, existing documents, and statutes that protect and promote Indigenous sovereignty and nationhood. Lastly, it examines the 2015 Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a transitional justice mechanism for reconciliation, and its limitations in resolving land claims in the spirit of meaningful reconciliation within Canada. It concludes that there is a need for incorporating international legal frameworks into the land claim settlement process between Indigenous nations and the Government of Canada. Keywords Indigenous land claims, Indigenous rights, Aboriginal title, Indigenous sovereignty, historical treaties, modern treaties, reconciliation, Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, transitional justice, nation-to-nation. ii Summary for Lay Audience This thesis looks at the Indigenous land claims settlement process in Canada and its implications for reconciliation between Indigenous nations and the Government of Canada. It incorporates Indigenous methodologies and Western research models to argue that land claim settlements do not indicate reconciliation of the Indigenous-Canadian relationship. The land claim settlement process, also known as the modern treaty process is a new iteration of past colonial policies and institutions. By examining the history of the colonial relationship between Indigenous nations and the Government of Canada, including looking at historical and modern documents and legal studies, it looks at the importance of Aboriginal rights and title as well as Indigenous sovereignty and nationhood in the land claims process. It looks at the 2015 Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as a means of promoting reconciliation, as well as the ways in which the TRC did not manage to offer recommendations for resolving land claims in the spirit of meaningful reconciliation within Canada. This thesis concludes that there is a need for an international system to settle land claim between Indigenous nations and the Government of Canada. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank Joanna Quinn for her incredible support and guidance throughout the length of this project, and even before. Her knowledge and perspective helped strengthen my voice as a researcher and writer. Thank you to Candace Brunette-Debassige, Janice Forsyth, and Leroy Little Bear for the conversations I had with each of them that helped guide me as an Indigenous researcher not only within this project, but within the larger field of academia. I would also like to thank the Graduate Program of Political Science at Western University and Red Crow College for the financial support I received from them, and for whom without this project would not have been possible. Thank you to my committee, Michael Coyle, Cristine de Clercy, and Chantelle Richmond for your insights. Thank you, at last, to my family (my parents, Wilma and Wayne, my brother Julian and sister-in-law Sierra) for your endless support and belief in me. iv To my mother, Wilma (Ookaki), and my grandmother, Cecille (Iitsstsi’nikki), for showing me what it means to be a strong Blackfoot woman. v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Keywords ........................................................................................................................................ ii Summary for Lay Audience ........................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi Chapter One .................................................................................................................................... 1 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The Research Question ....................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Chapters at a Glance ........................................................................................................... 3 Chapter Two.................................................................................................................................... 6 2 Literature Review.................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Indigenous Knowledge and Land ....................................................................................... 6 2.2 Treaties ................................................................................................................................ 7 2.3 Transitional Justice Literature on Reconciliation ............................................................. 13 2.4 Indigenous Pedagogy on Reconciliation ........................................................................... 17 2.5 Case Law and Statutes ...................................................................................................... 19 2.6 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 21 Chapter Three................................................................................................................................ 22 3 Integrating Indigenous and Western Research Methodology ............................................... 22 3.1 Intersectional, Feminist, and Anti-Oppressional Methodologies ..................................... 22 vi 3.2 Indigenous Scholarship and Methodologies ..................................................................... 24 3.3 Indigenous Methodologies and Historical Insitutionalism ............................................... 29 Chapter Four ................................................................................................................................. 32 4 The Importance of Land........................................................................................................ 32 4.1 Land and Spirit – Understanding Indigenous Knowledge ................................................ 32 4.2 Aboriginal Rights, Aboriginal Title, and Self-Determination .......................................... 40 4.3 Colonialism – Economic, Political and Legal Subordination ........................................... 45 4.4 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 51 Chapter Five .................................................................................................................................. 52 5 Modern Treaties and Land Claims ........................................................................................ 52 5.1 Recognition of Indigenous Sovereignty............................................................................ 53 5.2 Nation-to-Nation Agreements ........................................................................................... 55 5.3 Colonialism and The Treaty Record ................................................................................. 58 5.4 Land Claims Policy: 50 years of uncertainty .................................................................... 60 5.5 Specific Claims Policy ...................................................................................................... 62 5.6 Comprehensive Claims Policy .........................................................................................