Renewing Relationships? Solitudes, Decolonisation, and Feminist International Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 030582982110509
Author(s):  
Liam Midzain-Gobin ◽  
Caroline Dunton
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
International Policy ◽  
International Assistance ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Feminist Discourse ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Recent Policy

In this article we seek to understand how gendered coloniality is re-affirmed and reproduced. It does so by analysing the inter-national relationships formalised through two recent policy initiatives by the Government of Canada: its Feminist International Assistance Policy and ongoing bilateral mechanisms with Indigenous peoples organisations. Using feminist discourse analysis, we argue that the logics underpinning these initiatives are treated as mutually exclusive, with the result being solitudes across policy areas – Indigenous reconciliation and feminist governance – that should instead overlap. Our analysis suggests that in addition to failing to address systemic marginalisation, establishing exclusive domains of feminist and reconciliation policy reproduces gendered coloniality through the building of inter-national relationships. Ultimately, this results in a failure of both policy initiatives.

scholarly journals Which feminism(s)? For whom? Intersectionality in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-348
Author(s):  
Sam E. Morton ◽  
Judyannet Muchiri ◽  
Liam Swiss
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Feminist Rhetoric ◽  
International Assistance ◽  
Liberal Feminism ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

The Government of Canada introduced its new Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) to guide its foreign aid programming in June 2017. This feminist turn mirrors earlier adoptions of feminist aid and foreign policy by Sweden and echoes the current Canadian government’s feminist rhetoric. This paper examines the FIAP and its Action Areas Policies to ask what kind(s) of feminism are reflected in the policy and what groups of people it prioritizes. The paper examines the values, goals, and gaps of the policy in order to understand what feminist values and goals are being operationalized and pursued and what gaps and contradictions exist. By examining the FIAP’s Action Area Policies using a discourse network analysis of the groups represented in the policies, we demonstrate the failings of the FIAP to incorporate an intersectional approach. Our results show that the FIAP adopts a mainstream liberal feminism that excludes many peoples and groups from the core of Canada’s aid efforts.

“This Is Going to Affect Our Lives”: Exploring Huu-ay-aht First Nations, the Government of Canada and British Columbia’s New Relationship Through the Implementation of the Maa-nulth Treaty

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Sloan Morgan ◽  
Heather Castleden ◽  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
150Th Anniversary ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

AbstractCanada celebrated its 150th anniversary since Confederation in 2017. At the same time, Canada is also entering an era of reconciliation that emphasizes mutually respectful and just relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Crown. British Columbia (BC) is uniquely situated socially, politically, and economically as compared to other Canadian provinces, with few historic treaties signed. As a result, provincial, federal, and Indigenous governments are attempting to define ‘new relationships’ through modern treaties. What new relationships look like under treaties remains unclear though. Drawing from a comprehensive case study, we explore Huu-ay-aht First Nations—a signatory of the Maa-nulth Treaty, implemented in 2011—BC and Canada’s new relationship by analysing 26 interviews with treaty negotiators and Indigenous leaders. A disconnect between obligations outlined in the treaty and how Indigenous signatories experience changing relations is revealed, pointing to an asymmetrical dynamic remaining in the first years of implementation despite new relationships of modern treaty.

A retrospective on reconciliation by design

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alika T. Lafontaine ◽  
Christopher J. Lafontaine
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Stakeholder Alignment ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Thinking Tools

It is well-established that Indigenous Peoples continue to experience a lower level of health than non-Indigenous Peoples in Canada. For many health leaders, finding practical strategies to close the gap in health disparities remains elusive. In this retrospective study, we will illustrate our own experience of transformational change using design and systems thinking tools toward a primary outcome of multi-stakeholder alignment. Using this approach enabled three Indigenous Provincial/Territorial Organizations (IPTOs) representing more than 150 First Nations communities from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario to establish the largest community-led, collaborative approach to health transformation in Canada at the time. These IPTOs have gone on to pursue some of the most ambitious health transformation initiatives in Canada and in September 2018, were granted $68 million in funding support by the Government of Canada. If health leaders are looking at an alternative approach to closing the gap in Indigenous health, alignment thinking has shown promising results.

scholarly journals Reframing Indigenous Territories: Private Property, Human Rights and Overlapping Claims

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Thom
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
The Core ◽  
Indigenous Territories ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

This paper considers the implications of the powerful "overlapping territories" map produced by the government of Canada in its attempt to refute human rights violations charges brought by Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The map is at the core of Canada's defense in that it suggests that overlapping indigenous territories negate claims of exclusivity over the land and therefore any kind of obligations the state may have in respect of human or other indigenous rights in those lands. Revealing the limits of cartographic abstractions of indigenous spatialities, as well as the perilous stakes for indigenous peoples when engaging in conventional discourses of territoriality, these issues have broad significance.

Consent, Resistance and the Duty to Consult

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avigail Eisenberg
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Collective Agency ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Political Alliances ◽  
Meaningful Engagement ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Better Than

Until recently, conflicts between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state over land development projects have proceeded without the requirement that the state or companies obtain Indigenous consent. In 2018, this changed when the Government of Canada released a statement identifying ‘free, prior, and informed consent’ (fpic) as a requirement of meaningful engagement on projects that implicate Indigenous rights. This article considers the promise of consent within consultation processes. Consent is better than its absence, but conflicts over land development often involve rival claims to authority. The principle of consent cannot alone address the challenges posed by these rival claims nor offer appropriate responses to them. Through organised resistance, communities develop collective agency, forge political alliances, and re-appropriate their authority over territory and resources that are significant to them. The introduction of fpic clarifies but does not replace the benefits of resistance for some communities.

Indian Group of Seven

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Ryan Smith
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Indian Policy ◽  
Group Of Seven ◽  
Colonial Legacies ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Professional Artists ◽  
Indian Group

The Indian Group of Seven is an ironic title given by a reporter from the Winnipeg Free Press to a collective of Indigenous artists from Canada, including Jackson Beardy (1944–1984), Eddy Cobiness (1933–1996), Alex Janvier (b. 1935), Norval Morrisseau (1932–2007), Daphne Odjig (b. 1919), Carl Ray (1942–1978), and Joseph Sanchez (b. 1948). Their name is a direct reference to the Group of Seven, a collective of Canadian artists who used the Canadian landscape as their primary subject matter in the 1920s and 1930s. The Indian Group of Seven emerged soon after Montreal’s 1967 International and Universal Exposition, and the 1969 release of the Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian policy—events that were heavily criticized for supporting colonial legacies and supressing Indigenous rights. The Group’s artwork reacted against such politics. They sought to break cultural and political stereotypes by demanding recognition as professional artists, by challenging established meanings of contemporary Indigenous art, and reconsidering social relationships to Indigenous peoples. The Indian Group of Seven helped to change the preconceived notion that Indigenous artists were preoccupied with traditional craftwork such as weaving, pottery, and carving.

scholarly journals Effects on the Perceptions of Language Importance in Canada’s Urban Indigenous Peoples

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva M Jewell
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
The Government ◽  
Statistics Canada ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Inuit Peoples

The following analysis utilizes data drawn from the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) to examine the effects of age, sex, education, household type, and exposure to Indigenous[1] language inside the home and outside the home on the perceived importance of Indigenous language for Indigenous people living in urban centres across Canada. The results of the regression analysis indicate that “exposure to Indigenous language inside the home” and “exposure to Indigenous language outside the home” is directly related to how important Indigenous language is perceived by urban Indigenous peoples.[1] Statistics Canada and the Government of Canada utilize the term “Aboriginal” to identify First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. The author has chosen to use “Indigenous”, a term that communicates the quality of being original in land and place. 

scholarly journals Wii Niiganabying (Looking Ahead):

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
Joshua Manitowabi
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Educational Funding ◽  
Positive Identity ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Fifty years ago, Indigenous elders and leaders drafted their response to the Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy (White Paper of 1969). Their formal rebuttal, Citizens Plus (Red Paper), published in 1970, was a turning point in Indigenous education policy. It marked the beginning of the shift away from government-controlled, assimilationist educational policies to greater Indigenous control over funding and pedagogical methods. The Red Paper refuted the White Paper’s main conclusions and stated that Indigenous peoples are “citizens plus” because the federal government is legally bound to provide Indigenous peoples with services in exchange for the use of the land they occupy. The most important Indigenous rights to be upheld included education, health care, Aboriginal status, and Aboriginal title. These unique rights recognized that Indigenous peoples are the original owners of all the natural resources on their traditional treaty lands. The Red Paper became a political turning point for Indigenous peoples in Canada by presenting an Indigenous vision for a new political and legal relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples based on Aboriginal and treaty rights. Since the 1970s, Indigenous leaders have struggled to maintain control of educational funding while having to abide by provincial standards of educational curricula. Indigenous communities want to provide more positive learning experiences and positive identity through reconceptualizing educational curricula. They are exploring ways to indigenize the educational experience by igniting cultural resurgence through the integration of Indigenous languages, knowledge, culture, and history by reconnecting students to their elders, land, and communities.

Evolving Standards of Indigenous Peoples Engagement and Managing Project Risk

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D. Vincent ◽  
Indra L. Maharaj
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Active Role ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Corporate Policies ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
United Nations Declaration

The standards for Indigenous engagement are evolving rapidly in Canada. The risks to project approvals and schedules, based on whether consultation has been complete, have been recently demonstrated by the denial of project permits and protests against projects. Indigenous rights and the duty to consult with affected Indigenous groups is based on the Constitution Act, 1982 and has been, and is being, better defined through case law. At the same time, international standards, including the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, are influencing government and corporate policies regarding consultation. The Government of Canada is revising policies and project application review processes, to incorporate the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada; that Commission specifically called for industry to take an active role in reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous peoples. Pipeline companies can manage cost, schedule and regulatory risks to their projects and enhance project and corporate social acceptance through building and maintaining respectful relationships and creating opportunities for Indigenous participation in projects.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Pandemic: Invoking the Famine and Pestilence Clause to be Paired with the Medicine Chest Clause from the Numbered Treaties

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Carrie Bourassa ◽  
Danette Starblanket ◽  
Jennifer Langan ◽  
Mikayla Hagel ◽  
Sadie Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Treaty-based strategies are required to address the unique needs of Indigenous communities in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. A treaty-based approach should recognize provisions within the Numbered Treaties, including the Famine and Pestilence Clause and Medicine Chest Clause, agreed to during the signing of Treaty 6 in 1876. The Famine and Pestilence Clause established the Crown’s obligation to aid Indigenous Peoples within Treaty 6 Territory in the event of calamities such as locust raids, storms, starvation, and disease. The Medicine Chest Clause instituted the means through which the Crown would provide medical care for Indigenous Peoples within the jurisdiction. The Government of Canada has a legal obligation to invoke the Famine and Pestilence Clause and Medicine Chest Clause in a strategy to address the spread of COVID-19 in Indigenous communities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document