Gender Inside Indigenous Law Casebook Indigenous Law Research Unit, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria Acknowledgments The Gender Inside Indigenous Law Casebook and its corresponding Toolkit are part of the Indigenous Law Research Unit’s Gender Project, which was funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia and received additional support from the Swift Foundation and the Religion and Diversity Project. The Gender Inside Indigenous Law Casebook was created by Darcy Lindberg and Jessica Asch, and edited by Darcy Lindberg, Jessica Asch, and Yvette Sellars for the Indigenous Law Research Unit (ILRU). The authors thank Val Napoleon and Rebecca Johnson for their insight, direction and support through this project. They also acknowledge the seminal work of Val Napoleon, John Borrows, Hadley Friedland and Emily Snyder. The work of this project is possible because of their vision and years of scholarship in the fields of Indigenous law and Indigenous legal theory. Finally, they thank Yvette Sellars for her helpful suggestions and thoughtful editing, and Val Napoleon for the use of her Kokum Raven Series images. Kokum Raven Series: Artist Statement Indigenous law is in the world and there are many ways to learn about it, teach it, and to represent it. The way I have chosen here is with the raven – a trickster for some Indigenous peoples. She can teach us by being a trouble maker and by upsetting the log jams of unquestioned assumptions. She can also teach us with love, patience, and a wicked sense of humor. She can create spaces for conversations and questions – that is her job as a trickster and a feminist so that nothing is taken for granted and all interpretations are laid bare. ~ Val Napoleon Gender Inside Indigenous Law Casebook © 2016 Indigenous Law Research Contact Information Indigenous Law Research Unit Faculty of Law University of Victoria PO Box 1700 STN CSC Victoria, British Columbia V8W 2Y2 Telephone: 250-721-8914 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.uvic.ca/law/about/indigenous/indigenouslawresearchunit/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/indigenouslawresearchunit/ Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Background to Project .................................................................................................................................... 1 Using Stories to Engage with Law and Critical Legal Issues .............................................................. 1 The Casebook ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Part One: The Stories .................................................................................................................... 3 Cree Stories .................................................................................................................................... 4 The Starving Uncle ........................................................................................................................................... 4 The Hairy-Heart People .................................................................................................................................. 6 The Making of Wetaskiwin ............................................................................................................................ 9 Rolling Head .................................................................................................................................................... 10 Dane-zaa Stories .......................................................................................................................... 14 Dog Who Peed on Arrow/Girl Who Started Trouble Story ............................................................. 14 Swan and Soge ................................................................................................................................................. 17 Secwepemc Stories ...................................................................................................................... 21 Wolverene and Fisher .................................................................................................................................. 21 Story of Muskrat ............................................................................................................................................. 22 Story of Sna’naz .............................................................................................................................................. 24 Story of Porcupine ......................................................................................................................................... 27 Story of Hu’pken ............................................................................................................................................. 29 Coyote Makes Women Menstruate .......................................................................................................... 31 Part Two: Case Briefs .................................................................................................................. 32 Cree Case Briefs ........................................................................................................................... 33 Starving Uncle ................................................................................................................................................. 33 Hairy-Heart People ....................................................................................................................................... 34 The Making of Wetaskiwin ......................................................................................................................... 38 Dane-zaa Briefs ............................................................................................................................ 39 Dog Who Peed on Arrow/Girl Who Started Trouble......................................................................... 39 Dog Who Peed on Arrow/Girl Who Started Trouble......................................................................... 41 Swan and Soge ................................................................................................................................................. 42 Secwepemc Briefs........................................................................................................................ 44 Wolverene and Fisher .................................................................................................................................. 44 Wolverene and Fisher .................................................................................................................................. 46 Story of Muskrat ............................................................................................................................................. 47 Story of Muskrat ............................................................................................................................................. 49 Story of Porcupine ......................................................................................................................................... 50 Story of Hu’pken ............................................................................................................................................. 51 Part Three: Indigenous Feminist Legal Analysis ...................................................................... 54 Analysis of Cree Stories............................................................................................................... 55 Hairy-Heart People ....................................................................................................................................... 55 Analysis of Dane-Zaa Stories ...................................................................................................... 56 Dog Who Peed on Arrow/Girl Who Started Trouble......................................................................... 56 Swan and Soge ................................................................................................................................................. 58 Analysis of Secwepemc Stories .................................................................................................. 59 Story of Sna’naz .............................................................................................................................................. 59 Story of Porcupine ......................................................................................................................................... 61 Story of Hu’pken ............................................................................................................................................. 62 Appendix I – Thematic Index ...................................................................................................... 63 Introduction Background to Project The Gender Inside Indigenous Law Casebook and its accompanying Gender Inside Indigenous Law Toolkit are products created for the Indigenous Law Research Unit’s (ILRU) Gender Project. ILRU is a dedicated research unit committed to the recovery and revitalization of Indigenous laws housed at the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law. We believe Indigenous laws need to be taken seriously as laws. We partner with and support