Divisions in Treaty 6 Perspectives: the dilemma of written text and oral tradition

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Lily Wing
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Canadian Government ◽  
Ongoing Controversy ◽  
Written Text ◽  
Historical Texts ◽  
Valid Evidence

Since the signing of Treaty 6 in 1876, there has been ongoing controversy between the First Nations and the Canadian government regarding the understanding and fulfillment of the treaty terms. Through investigating both historical texts and oral tradition, this article hopes to give insight on the modern dilemma of treaty rights in the specific case of Treaty 6. In order for the most accurate understanding of Treaty 6 to be obtained, First Nations oral tradition and perspectives must be considered as valid evidence.

scholarly journals Canada’s history of failing to provide medical care for Indigenous children

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakhshan Kamran
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Current Status ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Canadian Government ◽  
Indigenous Children ◽  
History Of ◽  
Services And Supports

Abstract In December 2007, the House of Commons unanimously supported Jordan’s Principle, a commitment that all First Nations children would receive the health care products, social services, and supports, and education they need, in memory of Jordan River Anderson. However, the process of applying for Jordan’s Principle was convoluted and not transparent, leaving several cases not being responded to. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found the definition and implementation of Jordan’s Principle to be racist and discriminatory in 2016, ordering the Canadian government to make immediate changes. Failing to make changes to Jordan’s Principle, the Canadian government was found to be noncompliant with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal orders in 2018. This article provides one case example of Jordan’s Principle that was not responded to, details on the current status of Jordan’s Principle, and information on the recent implementation of the Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

scholarly journals Indigenous healthcare: Caterpillars to butterflies, case study supporting transformation

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-43
Author(s):  
Roger A. Boyer
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Indian Policy ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Indian Act ◽  
First Peoples ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

The Canadian Government released a document to aid in the relationships between the Government of Canada and First Nations around the ratification and redesign of the Indian Act of 1876. The name of this document was the “White Paper.” The Federal Government's “White Paper, statement of Government of Canada on Indian Policy of 1969,” rejected the concept of special status for First Nations within confederation—they should have the same rights and responsibilities as other Canadians. The Federal Government argued treaty rights were irrelevant in today's society; the important issues demanding attention included economic, educational, and social problems. In Canada's assessment of the “savage” situation, the government could not see wellness wholistically addressing the poverty, social crises, and bleak future faced by most First Peoples was rooted in the very denial of treaty rights and humanness. This article pushes to educate health leaders about current circumstances contributing to racism.

scholarly journals Creating a cultural dialogue : reinforcing cultural identity on First Nations communities through the use of local materials and vernacular strategies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ksenia Eic
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Oral Tradition ◽  
Limited Government ◽  
The People ◽  
Self Sufficiency ◽  
Cultural Dialogue ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Local Materials

The focus of this thesis/project is to reinforce the cultural identity of First Nations communities by incorporating local materials, vernacular strategies, and a collaborative effort into the design and build process. The Maliseet First Nations at Tobique, N.B., which will be used as a case study for this thesis/project, has experienced a deterioration of culture and community throughout the years. As oral tradition is fundamental to Maliseet culture, speaking the language, practicing techniques, and engaging with the community is vital in order to uphold the Maliseet people's cultural identity. However, these practices and values are fading in Aboriginal communities throughout the country. Isolated reserves such as Tobique also suffer from a lack of economic development and employment opportunities, causing residents to feel that they must fend for themselves rather than work collaboratively. Currently, almost all residential construction is contracted to outside developers, which use little to no band labour or resources. With limited government funding, houses constructed over the past few decades have generally been low in quality and constantly require repair, with many instances of severe mould damage. Learning from and incorporating vernacular strategies, techniques, and material use would offer appropriate responses to site and climate while reinforcing the Maliseet people's connection with their land and heritage. Engaging the entire community in the design and built process would pass on knowledge, techniques, and cultural values to the younger generation while strengthening the sense of community and cultural identity. An architectural approach which strives to enable a group of people through use of these strategies will promote self-sufficiency, engage the people in their culture and community, and open a cultural dialogue on the possibilities of design and its contribution to an evolving cultural identity.

scholarly journals Thin or Thick Inclusiveness? The Constitutional Duty to Consult and Accommodate First Nations in Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-175
Author(s):  
Ian James Urquhart
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Judicial Interpretation ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
The Status ◽  
Natural Resource Exploitation ◽  
General Thrust

What has the addition of aboriginal rights to the Canadian constitution in 1982 meant for the place of First Nations’ interests in the Canadian constitutional order? This article considers this question in the context of natural resource exploitation – specifically, the exploitation of the oil or tar sands in Alberta. It details some of the leading jurisprudence surrounding Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982, the section of the Constitution recognizing existing aboriginal and treaty rights. Arguably, Section 35 represented an important effort to improve the status of aboriginal peoples in Canada, to enhance the extent to which Canada included and respected the values and interests of First Nations. The article specifically considers how the judicial interpretation of the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal peoples is related to the theme of inclusivity. It argues that the general thrust of judicial interpretation has promoted a thin, or procedural, version of inclusiveness rather than a substantive, or thicker, one. Such a thicker version of inclusiveness would be one in which the pace of oil sands exploitation is moderated or halted in order to allow First Nations to engage in traditional activities connected intimately with aboriginal and treaty rights.

scholarly journals Addressing the Challenge of Overlapping Claims in Implementing the Vancouver Island (Douglas) Treaties

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-307
Author(s):  
Brian Thom
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Land Claims ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Coast Salish ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Industrial Forestry

Indigenous social and legal orders are a source for addressing the challenge of overlapping claims in exercising historic treaty rights in the territories of neighbouring non-treaty Indigenous Peoples. The Vancouver Island Treaties (also known as the Douglas Treaties) of the 1850s made commitments that signatory communities could continue to hunt on unoccupied lands and carry on their fisheries as formerly. Today, as urban, agricultural and industrial forestry have constrained where people can exercise their treaty rights locally, individuals from these nations exercise harvesting rights in “extended territories” of their neighbours. Through detailing several court cases where these treaty rights were challenged by the Crown and the texts of modern-day treaty documents, I show how Coast Salish people continue to draw on local values and legal principles to articulate their distinctive vision of territory and community, both engaging and subverting divisive “overlapping claims” discourses. Not only First Nations but the state, through the judiciary, Crown counsel and land claims negotiators, also, at times, acknowledge and recognise the principles of kin and land tenure that are the foundation for addressing the challenges of overlapping claims.

Canada pipeline buy plan will see local controversies

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Purchase Price ◽  
Carbon Taxes ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Canadian Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Cost ◽  
Legal Fees ◽  
Provincial Politics

Significance The firm had threatened to mothball the project by the end of May unless assurances were made that it would eventually be built despite opposition in British Columbia (BC) from First Nations, environmental activists and the BC government. The federal purchase comes with a political cost to the Liberals in Ottawa, who now face further legal opposition from BC’s government. Impacts The likely rightwards shift in provincial politics (Quebec and Alberta elections are coming) will see carbon taxes scrapped. Scrapping carbon taxes will hinder federal policy to build pipelines while containing emissions. BC will likely fail to gain legal backing for their constitutional arguments about their right to regulate inter-provincial projects. The Alberta NDP government’s fortunes will be tied to developing the pipeline successfully. The project could cost the Canadian government more than the purchase price in legal fees and construction costs.

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