Indigenous Politics, Law, and Justice

Since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its Calls to Action in June 2015, governments, churches, non-profit, professional and community organizations, corporations, schools and universities, clubs and individuals have asked: “How can I/we participate in reconciliation?”

Recognizing that reconciliation is not only an ultimate goal, but a decolonizing process of journeying in ways that embody everyday acts of resistance, resurgence, and solidarity, coupled with renewed commitments to justice, dialogue, and relationship-building, Pathways of Reconciliation helps readers find their way forward.

The essays in Pathways of Reconciliation address the themes of reframing, learning and healing, researching, and living. They engage with different approaches to reconciliation (within a variety of reconciliation frameworks, either explicit or implicit) and illustrate the complexities of the reconciliation process itself. They canvass multiple and varied pathways of reconciliation, from Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives, reflecting a diversity of approaches to the mandate given to all Canadians by the TRC with its Calls to Action.

Together the authors — academics, practitioners, students and ordinary citizens — demonstrate the importance of trying and learning from new and creative approaches to thinking about and practicing reconciliation and reflect on what they have learned from their attempts (both successful and less successful) in the process.

Reviews
“Alerts Canadians to what must be done if we are to seriously embrace the goal of decolonizing relations with Indigenous peoples." – Peter Russell, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto

Educator & Series Information
Table of Contents
Introduction

Ch. 1—Paved with Comfortable Intentions: Moving Beyond Liberal Multiculturalism and Civil Rights Frames on the Road to Transformative Reconciliation

Ch. 2—Perceptions on Truth and Reconciliation: Lessons from Gacaca in Post-Genocide Rwanda

Ch. 3—Monitoring That Reconciles: Reflecting on the TRC’s Call for a National Council for Reconciliation

Ch. 4—A Move to Distract: Mobilizing Truth and Reconciliation in Settler Colonial States

Ch. 5—Teaching Truth Before Reconciliation

Ch. 6—“The Honour of Righting a Wrong:” Circles for Reconciliation

Ch. 7—What Does Reconciliation Mean to Newcomers Post-TRC?

Ch. 8—Healing from Residential School Experiences: Support Workers and Elders on Healing and the Role of Mental Health Professionals

Ch. 9—Learning and reconciliation for the collaborative governance of forestland in northwestern Ontario, Canada

Ch. 10—Bending to the Prevailing Wind: How Apology Repetition Helps Speakers and Hearers Walk Together

Ch. 11—How do I reconcile Child and Family Services’ practice of cultural genocide with my own practice as a CFS social worker?

Ch. 12—Repatriation, Reconciliation, and Refiguring Relationships. A Case study of the return of children’s artwork from the Alberni Indian Residential School to Survivors and their families

Other contributors to this work include: Peter Bush, Tracey Carr, Brian Chartier, Mary Anne Clarke, Ko’ona Cochrane, Aimée Craft, Raymond F. Currie, Rachel (Yacaa?ał) George, Erica Jurgens, Régine Uwibereyeho King, Sheryl Lightfoot, David B. MacDonald, Benjamin Maiangwa, Cody O’Neil, Paulette Regan, Cathy Rocke, John Sinclair, Andrea Walsh, Melanie Zurba

This book is part of the Perceptions on Truth and Reconciliation series.

Additional Information
336 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

A powerful case for the essential role of plants and environments in recognizing Indigenous Peoples' land rights around the world.

For millennia, plants and their habitats have been fundamental to the lives of Indigenous Peoples - as sources of food and nutrition, medicines, and technological materials - and central to ceremonial traditions, spiritual beliefs, narratives, and language. While the First Peoples of Canada and other parts of the world have developed deep cultural understandings of plants and their environments, this knowledge is often underrecognized in debates about land rights and title, reconciliation, treaty negotiations, and traditional territories. Plants, People, and Places argues that the time is long past due to recognize and accommodate Indigenous Peoples' relationships with plants and their ecosystems. Essays in this volume, by leading voices in philosophy, Indigenous law, and environmental sustainability, consider the critical importance of botanical and ecological knowledge to land rights and related legal and government policy, planning, and decision making in Canada, the United States, Sweden, and New Zealand. Analyzing specific cases in which Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights to the environment have been denied or restricted, this collection promotes future prosperity through more effective and just recognition of the historical use of and care for plants in Indigenous cultures. A timely book featuring Indigenous perspectives on reconciliation, environmental sustainability, and pathways toward ethnoecological restoration, Plants, People, and Places reveals how much there is to learn from the history of human relationships with nature.

Reviews
"Nancy Turner is respected at every level of the field and this book brings together many of the collaborators she has worked with throughout her career. The chapters they contribute are impressive, and as a whole they comprise the collective research and experience of over forty authors all demonstrating how Indigenous peoples, past and present, have contributed to land rights, policies, ethics, and caring for the earth." - Scott Herron, Ferris State University

Educator Information

Additional Information
554 pages | 6.25" x 9.25"

In August of 2016, Cree youth Colten Boushie was shot dead by Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley. Using colonial and socio-political narratives that underlie white rural settler life, the authors position the death of Boushie and trial of Stanley in relation to Indigenous histories and experiences in Saskatchewan. They point to the Stanley case as just one instance of Indigenous peoples' presence being seen as a threat to settler-colonial security, then used to sanction the exclusion, violent treatment, and death of Indigenous peoples and communities.

Additional Information
120 pages | 5.00" x 7.00"

In a moment where unlawful pipelines are built on Indigenous territories, the RCMP make illegal arrests of land defenders on unceded lands, and anti-Indigenous racism permeates on social media; the government lie that is reconciliation is exposed. Renowned lawyer, author, speaker and activist, Pamela Palmater returns to wade through media headlines and government propaganda and get to heart of key issues lost in the noise.

Warrior Life: Indigenous Resistance and Resurgence is the second collection of writings by Palmater. In keeping with her previous works, numerous op-eds, media commentaries, YouTube channel videos and podcasts, Palmater’s work is fiercely anti-colonial, anti-racist, and more crucial than ever before.

Palmater addresses a range of Indigenous issues — empty political promises, ongoing racism, sexualized genocide, government lawlessness, and the lie that is reconciliation — and makes the complex political and legal implications accessible to the public.

From one of the most important, inspiring and fearless voices in Indigenous rights, decolonization, Canadian politics, social justice, earth justice and beyond, Warrior Life is an unflinching critique of the colonial project that is Canada and a rallying cry for Indigenous peoples and allies alike to forge a path toward a decolonial future through resistance and resurgence.

Reviews
“In this moment of multiple existential crises from climate change to species extinction, ocean degradation, toxic pollution and so on, the Indigenous struggle to regain authority over land provides an opportunity to see our place in the world differently. To me, that is what Palmater’s fiery rhetoric is calling for, a chance to see the world through the lenses of different values.” — David Suzuki

“As governments try to pull the wool over the public eye by suggesting contemporary colonial acts are best for Indigenous peoples, Palmater helps us see the wrongdoing so we can become informed and be respectful change allies. Read this book to see the many faces of colonialism and to learn how truth, justice, and respect can defeat it.” — Cindy Blackstock, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Foreword by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair
Harper’s Gone, Now It’s Time to Look Within
The Worst Thing That Could Happen Is A First Nations Minister of Indian Affairs
Will We See Real Nation to Nation Respect With Trudeau?
Evidence of Good Faith Lacking in Trudeau’s Indigenous Agenda
Why Is Trudeau Government Opposing Charter Equality for Indigenous Women?
PM Trudeau’s Nation to Nation Relationship Disappeared with Empty Budget Promises
Trudeau’s Dance of Deception on Indigenous Rights
Trudeau’s Forked Tongue Reconciliation At UN
Indigenous Issues Disappear Slowly from Election 2019
Canada’s Ongoing Racial Discrimination Against Indigenous Women and Children Discussed at United Nations
Lethal Impact of Racism on Indigenous Health
Overincarceration Of Indigenous Peoples Nothing Short of Genocide
First Nations Water Crisis Problems A Crisis of Canada’s Own Making
Saskatchewan: The Land of The Living Skies and Lethal Racism
Justice for Our Stolen Children Camp
How Canada Turned A Blind Eye to The Suicide Crises In First Nations
Don’t Forget the Racist Canadians Behind the Racist Systems
The Ongoing Legacies of Canadian Genocide
Sexualized Genocide
Corporate Conquistadors Rape Indigenous Lands and Bodies
Bill S-3 Amendments to The Indian Act and the Never-Ending Battle for Equality for Indigenous Women
What You Need to Know About Sharon McIvor’s UN Victory on Indian Status
The People Left Behind by Trudeau’s Promised Nation to Nation Relationship (Co-Authored with Sharon McIvor)
Federal Budget 2019 Indigenous Women & Children Left Behind Again
Public Inquiry Needed to Address Sexualized Violence in Policing and Corrections
Why Canada Should Stand Trial for Tina Fontaine’s Murder
Justice System Still Not Protecting Indigenous Women and Girls
Missing and Murdered: Canada’s Genocide Cover-Up
Transitional Justice Plan Needed to End Genocide in Canada
Bill C-92’s Indigenous Child Welfare Act More Pan-Indigenous Legislation That Risks Continuing the Status Quo
Bill C-91 An Act Respecting Indigenous Languages: More Hollow Reconciliation
Canada’s Criminalization of The Indigenous Tobacco Trade
Cannabis Legalization Ignores First Nations
NAFTA 2.0 – Time to Get It Right or Kill It
Bill C-51, Anti-Terrorism Act, Testimony and Questions at Senate Committee on Public Safety and National Security
RCMP Invasion of Wet’suwet’en Nation Territory Breaches Canada’s Rule of Law
Killer Whales, Trans Mountain Pipeline and The Public Interest (Part 1)
It’s Up to Indigenous Environmental Groups to Protect the Public Interest (Part 2)
Clearing the lands has always been at the heart of Canada’s Indian Policy
The blockades no one talks about devastate Indigenous economies
The Liberals Plans for Indigenous Reconciliation are Just Beads and Trinkets
Abolishing the Indian Act Means Eliminating First Nations’ Rights
The Source of Our Power Has Always Been in Our Peoples – Not Voting in Federal Elections
Indigenous Rights are Not Conditional on Public Opinion
Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Universities and Colleges
True Test of Reconciliation: Respect the Indigenous Right to Say No
The Indigenous Right to Say No
A Modern Treaty to Save Our Peoples and the Planet
Social Conflict Inevitable in Decolonization Battle
Indigenous Women Warriors are the Heart of Indigenous Resistance
Wet’suwet’en: a wake-up call for Canada
References
Index

Additional Information
272 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

The current framework for reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state is based on the Supreme Court of Canada’s acceptance of the Crown’s assertion of sovereignty, legislative power, and underlying title. The basis of this assertion is a long-standing interpretation of Section 91(24) of Canada’s Constitution, which reads it as a plenary grant of power over Indigenous communities and their lands, leading the courts to simply bypass the question of the inherent right of self-government.

In A Reconciliation without Recollection, Joshua Ben David Nichols argues that if we are to find a meaningful path toward reconciliation, we will need to address the history of sovereignty without assuming its foundations. Exposing the limitations of the current model, Nichols carefully examines the lines of descent and association that underlie the legal conceptualization of the Aboriginal right to govern.

Blending legal analysis with insights drawn from political theory and philosophy, A Reconciliation without Recollection is an ambitious and timely intervention into one of the most pressing concerns in Canada.

Educator Information
This work would be useful for the following subjects or courses: History, Canadian History, Indigenous Studies, Indigenous Politics, Indigenous Law, Law and Society, Philosophy, Political Science.

Includes forwards by John Borrows (Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Victoria Law School) and James Tully (emeritus distinguished professor of Political Science, Law, Indigenous Governance, and Philosophy at the University of Victoria).

Table of Contents
Part 1 Reconciliation without Recollection
1.1 Reconciliation in Canadian Jurisprudence
1.2 Reconciliation as Picture Thinking
 A) Historicism
 B) The Ship of State
1.3 History, Law and Legitimacy
1.4 Problem of Reconciliation as Problem of Foundations
1.5 A Genealogy of the Indian Act
   
Part 2 A Genealogy of Reconciliation: Civilizing, Extinction and Culturalism as the Discursive Foundations of the Indian Act
2.1 Liberty and Legitimate Despotism: The Liberal-Imperialism of J. S. Mill
2.2 The Science of Savage Character: The Uncivilized and Mill’s Philosophy of History
 A) Governing the Uncivilized: The Role of the Intermediate Body
 B) Peace, Order and Good Government: Mill and the Indian Question
2.3 Reading the Right of History: Universal History and the Extinction Thesis
2.4 From Enfranchisement to Reconciliation: Culturalism and Indirect Rule

Part 3 A Despotism for Dealing with Barbarians: A Survey of the Foundations of Indian Policy in Canada
3.1 Pre-Confederation to the Indian Act of 1876
 A) Imperial Federalism
 B) Imperial Civilizing
 C) Assimilation and Indirect Rule
 D) Striation or Continuity?
3.2 The Indian Question and the Dominion
3.3 The Six Nations Status Case
 A) The Six Nations of the Grand River
 B) The League of Nations and the Mandate System
 C) The Documents
3.4 A Building Crisis of Legitimacy

Part 4 A Law Without Measure for a Land Without Citizens: The Indian Act in Canadian Jurisprudence
4.1 The Authority of s. 91(24)
 A) St. Catherine’s Milling, s. 91(24) and the Division of Powers
 B) Interjurisdictional Immunity and s. 91(24)
 C) The Theory of Enclaves
 D) The Uncertain Measure of Indianness
 E) Section 88 and Provincial Law
4.2 The Definition of Indians and the Authority of Bands                                         
 A) Legislative Origins
 B) The Judicial Definition of Indians
 C) The Judicial Definition of Bands
 D) Custom Band Councils and the Question of Jurisdiction
4.3 Tsilhqot'in Nation and the Meaning of s. 91(24)

Part 5 An Era of Reconciliation, An Era of Indirect Rule: From the White Paper to the Full Box of Rights
5.1 The Hidden Player: Policy from Calder to the Indian Act, 1985
 A) Line One: Legislative Renovation
 B) Line Two: Land Claim Agreements
 C) Line Three: Constitutional Change
 D) The Penner Report                                                                                                  
 E) The Problem of Implementing the New Relationship
 F) The Era of Indirect Rule and the Mechanism of Deferral
5.2 Reconciliation and Implementation
 A) Unsettling the Ship of State
 B) Recollection without Historicism
 C) Implementing Reconciliation-with-Recollection
Bibliography

Additional Information
408 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Established narratives portray Indigenous unity as emerging solely in response to the political agenda of the settler state. But unity has long shaped the modern Indigenous political movement. With Indigenous perspectives in the foreground, Assembling Unity explores the relationship between global political ideologies and pan-Indigenous politics in British Columbia through a detailed history of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. Sarah Nickel demonstrates that the articulation of unity was heavily negotiated between UBCIC members, grassroots constituents, and Indigenous women’s organizations. This incisive work unsettles dominant political narratives that cast Indigenous men as reactive and Indigenous women as apolitical.

This book will appeal to scholars and students of history, BC studies, and Indigenous studies, particularly those with an interest in gender and politics. It will also find an audience among Indigenous communities, activists, and political leaders.

Reviews
"Assembling Unity is a much needed resource that should be read by those wanting to learn about the historical issues BC Indigenous communities have faced – the same issues we continue to raise with current Canadian governments with little improvement." - Francyne Joe, President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada and member of the Shackan First Nation

Educator Information
Related Topics: BC Studies, Indigenous Studies, Canadian History, Gender & Sexuality Studies, History, Regional Studies, Women's Studies.

Table of Contents

Beginnings

Part 1: Pan-Indigenous Unity
1 Unity: “United we stand, divided we perish”
2 Authority: “Ordinary Indians” and “the private club”
3 Money: “A blessing and a golden noose”

Part 2: A Philosophical Revolution and Competing Nationalisms
4 Refusal: “Empty words and empty promises”
5 Protest: Direct Action through “Militant May”
6 Sovereignty: “If you really believe that you have the right, take it!”

Reflections
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Additional Information
236 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 1 b&w photo, 2 maps, 3 tables 

For centuries, Canadian sovereignty has existed uneasily alongside forms of Indigenous legal and political authority. Canadian Law and Indigenous Self-Determination demonstrates how, over the last few decades, Canadian law has attempted to remove Indigenous sovereignty from the Canadian legal and social landscape. Adopting a naturalist analysis, Gordon Christie responds to questions about how to theorize this legal phenomenon, and how the study of law should accommodate the presence of diverse perspectives. Exploring the socially-constructed nature of Canadian law, Christie reveals how legal meaning, understood to be the outcome of a specific society, is being reworked to devalue the capacities of Indigenous societies.

Addressing liberal positivism and critical postcolonial theory, Canadian Law and Indigenous Self-Determination considers the way in which Canadian jurists, working within a world circumscribed by liberal thought, have deployed the law in such a way as to attempt to remove Indigenous meaning-generating capacity.

Reviews
"Thought-provoking and robust, Canadian Law and Indigenous Self-Determination is likely to be a flag-ship in theorizing on indigenous-state relations. Gordon Christie situates himself squarely within the debates he describes and critiques, something that few legal theorists attempt. This book is remarkable in its originality and in my view a triumph." - Kirsty Gover, Melbourne School of Law, The University of Melbourne

"Clearly and carefully argued, Canadian Law and Indigenous Self-Determination is an original, analytically incisive, and important contribution to our understanding of the development of Aboriginal rights by the courts since 1982." - James Tully, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Law and Philosophy, University of Victoria

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Introduction: A Journey in Making Sense

1. Setting the Stage
2. Canadian Law and Its Puzzles
3. Differing Understandings and the Way Forward
4. Remarks on Theorizing and Method
5. Problems with Theorizing About the Law
6. Liberal Positivism and Aboriginal Rights: Defining and Establishing ‘Existing’ Rights
7. Liberal Positivism and Aboriginal Rights: Making Sense of the Place of Aboriginal Rights in Canada
8. Postcolonial Theory and Aboriginal Law

Conclusion

Bibliography
Texts
Articles

Additional Information
528 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

An exploration of the historical and future significance of Canada's Native soul.

Eatenonha is the Wendat word for love and respect for the Earth and Mother Nature. For many Native peoples and newcomers to North America, Canada is a motherland, an Eatenonha - a land in which all can and should feel included, valued, and celebrated.

In Eatenonha Georges Sioui presents the history of a group of Wendat known as the Seawi Clan and reveals the deepest, most honoured secrets possessed by his people, by all people who are Indigenous, and by those who understand and respect Indigenous ways of thinking and living. Providing a glimpse into the lives, ideology, and work of his family and ancestors, Sioui weaves a tale of the Wendat's sparsely documented historical trajectory and his family's experiences on a reserve. Through an original retelling of the Indigenous commercial and social networks that existed in the northeast before European contact, the author explains that the Wendat Confederacy was at the geopolitical centre of a commonwealth based on peace, trade, and reciprocity. This network, he argues, was a true democracy, where all beings of all natures were equally valued and respected and where women kept their place at the centre of their families and communities.

Identifying Canada's first civilizations as the originators of modern democracy, Eatenonha represents a continuing quest to heal and educate all peoples through an Indigenous way of comprehending life and the world.

Reviews
"Eatenonha is a unique interweaving of self, family, First Nation, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas and elsewhere." - John Steckley, Humber College

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 10 to 12 for use in these areas: English Language Arts and Social Studies.

Additional Information
200 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Indigenous Peoples in Canada are continuing to assert their right to self-determination in this era of reconciliation. While dozens of Indigenous communities have signed varying forms of self-government agreements with the federal government, Indigenous Nations still face many obstacles along the path to true self-determination.

As a former Chief of Siksika Nation in southern Alberta, Leroy Wolf Collar dealt with many of the same problems other Indigenous Nations face across the country. From serious housing shortages to the lack of opportunities for youth, Chief Wolf Collar experienced the challenges and frustrations that come from operating in a colonial system still constrained by the Indian Act.

How do Indigenous Peoples move on from this defective system? Chief Wolf Collar identifies 17 issues that currently hinder Indigenous Nations—including broken treaty promises, problems with common forms of band administration, and the intrusion of provincial governments—along with potential solutions to overcome them.

This guide is for current and aspiring Indigenous leaders who want to increase their understanding of good governance, management, and leadership, as well as those who want to explore issues around Indigenous self-determination in Canada.

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 11 and 12 for use in these areas: Law, English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

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128 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

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224 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | 10 b&w photos, 4 maps

An Indigenous leader who has dedicated her life to Indigenous Rights, Jody Wilson-Raybould has represented both First Nations and the Crown at the highest levels. And she is not afraid to give Canadians what they need most – straight talk on what has to be done to deconstruct the colonial legacy and achieve true reconciliation in Canada.

In this powerful book, drawn from Wilson-Raybould’s speeches and other writings, she urges us all – governments, Indigenous Nations, everyone – to build upon the momentum already gained in the reconciliation process or risk hard-won progress being lost. The choice is stark: support Indigenous-led initiatives for Nation rebuilding or revert to governments just managing “the problem.” Frank and impassioned, she also argues that true reconciliation will never occur so long as governments deny Indigenous Peoples their rights and the Indian Act continues to exist. Until then, we’ll be stuck in the status quo – mired in conflicts and expensive court cases that do nothing to improve people’s lives or heal the country.

The good news is that Indigenous Nations already have the solutions. Now it is time to act and build a shared future based on the foundations of trust, cooperation, good governance, and recognition. Removing the barriers that are keeping these solutions from being put into effect will not only empower Indigenous Peoples – it will enrich all Canadians and make Canada stronger.

From Where I Stand is indispensable reading for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the reconciliation process and know what they can do to make a difference, from engaged citizens and students to leaders and policy-makers, educators and academics, and lawyers and consultants.

Reviews
"From Where I Stand is a must-read book for all Canadians. Puglaas shares a clear understanding of where we have come from, the issues we must address, and the pathways to a transformed future. Having witnessed her remarkable courage and capacity as Canada’s attorney general and her determination to do what is right without succumbing to unrelenting political pressure, Puglaas stands tall among Canadians as a person for whom truth, thoughtfulness, and principle are not mere words – but values to sustain a different kind of policy and politics." - Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond (Aki-Kwe), Professor of Law, Allard Law School UBC, and Director of the Residential School History and Dialogue Centre

"Jody Wilson-Raybould's quest for justice has long driven her work. I first saw this when she was a law student and this commitment to justice has only been deepened by subsequent public service. Her unwavering commitment to reconciliation, balance, and good governance springs off every page of this book." - John Borrows, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law, University of Victoria Law School

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction

Moving through the Postcolonial Door
We Truly Have Come a Long Way ...
Idle No More and Recapturing the Spirit and Intent of the Two Row Wampum
On the Parallels, and Differences, between Canada and South Africa
Our Shared Histories and the Path of Reconciliation

Rights and Recognition
Self-Determination and the Inherent Right of Self-Government
Translating Hard-Fought-For Rights into Practical and Meaningful Benefits
UNDRIP Is the Start Not the Finishing Line
Defining the Path of Reconciliation through Section 35
Indigenous Rights Are Human Rights
Implementing UNDRIP

Governance in the Post-Indian Act World
Toppling the Indian Act Tree
First Nations Jurisdiction over Citizenship
Holding and Managing Our Lands
On Accountability and Transparency
Developing a New Fiscal Relationship
The Governance Toolkit and Building on Our Success

Building Business Relationships and the Duty to Consult
Economic Development Depends on Self-Government
First Nations Are Not a Box to Tick Off
Who Owns and Is Responsible for the Water?
On Certainty and Why It’s Elusive

Restoring Balance, Correcting Injustices, and Remaining Vigilant
A Litmus Test for Reconciliation Is the Status of Women
Preventing First Contacts with the Criminal Justice System
On Sticking Our Necks Out
On Obstruction, Denial, and Canada’s Failure to Uphold the Rule of Law
Each of Us, In Our Own Way, Is a Hiligaxste’

Acknowledgments
A Note on Terminology and the Speeches
Index

Additional Information
264 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Indigenous women continue to be overrepresented in Canadian prisons; research demonstrates how their over-incarceration and often extensive experiences of victimization are interconnected with and through ongoing processes of colonization. Implicating the System: Judicial Discourses in the Sentencing of Indigenous Women explores how judges navigate these issues in sentencing by examining related discourses in selected judgments from a review of 175 decisions.

The feminist theory of the victimization-criminalization continuum informs Elspeth Kaiser-Derrick’s work. She examines its overlap with the Gladue analysis, foregrounding decisions that effectively integrate gendered understandings of Indigenous women’s victimization histories, and problematizing those with less contextualized reasoning. Ultimately, she contends that judicial use of the victimization-criminalization continuum deepens the Gladue analysis and augments its capacity to further its objectives of alternatives to incarceration.

Kaiser-Derrick discusses how judicial discourses about victimization intersect with those about rehabilitation and treatment, and suggests associated problems, particularly where prison is characterized as a place of healing. Finally, she shows how recent incursions into judicial discretion, through legislative changes to the conditional sentencing regime that restrict the availability of alternatives to incarceration, are particularly concerning for Indigenous women in the system.

Reviews
“Elspeth Kaiser-Derrick’s work is an important read in light of the needs of truth and reconciliation. Her exploration of judicial discourses in the sentencing of Indigenous women reveal the multiple systemic failures of Canada’s justice system. What judge’s say and write is important because it reflects and refracts the inequalities and injustices that are embedded in our collective social order. Their words are demonstrative of the dire need for dramatic changes in Canada’s justice system. The book is a must read for all persons concerned with justice, criminal law and human rights.” — Richard Jochelson

Additional Information
414 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | bibliography | index

Indigenous Relations: Your Guide to Working Effectively with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

A timely sequel to the bestselling 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act - and an invaluable guide for anyone seeking to work more effectively with Indigenous Peoples.

We are all treaty people. But what are the everyday impacts of treaties, and how can we effectively work toward reconciliation if we're worried our words and actions will unintentionally cause harm?

Hereditary chief and leading Indigenous relations trainer Bob Joseph is your guide to respecting cultural differences and improving your personal relationships and business interactions with Indigenous Peoples. Practical and inclusive, Indigenous Relations interprets the difference between hereditary and elected leadership, and why it matters; explains the intricacies of Aboriginal Rights and Title, and the treaty process; and demonstrates the lasting impact of the Indian Act, including the barriers that Indigenous communities face and the truth behind common myths and stereotypes perpetuated since Confederation.

Indigenous Relations equips you with the necessary knowledge to respectfully avoid missteps in your work and daily life, and offers an eight-part process to help business and government work more effectively with Indigenous Peoples - benefitting workplace culture as well as the bottom line. Indigenous Relations is an invaluable tool for anyone who wants to improve their cultural competency and undo the legacy of the Indian Act. 

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 11 and 12 in these areas: Social Studies, Law, English Language Arts, and Social Justice.

Additional Information
200 pages | 8.00" x 5.00"

Law’s Indigenous Ethics examines the revitalization of Indigenous peoples’ relationship to their own laws and, in so doing, attempts to enrich Canadian constitutional law more generally. Organized around the seven Anishinaabe grandmother and grandfather teachings of love, truth, bravery, humility, wisdom, honesty, and respect, this book explores ethics in relation to Aboriginal issues including title, treaties, legal education, and residential schools.

With characteristic depth and sensitivity, John Borrows brings insights drawn from philosophy, law, and political science to bear on some of the most pressing issues that arise in contemplating the interaction between Canadian state law and Indigenous legal traditions. In the course of a wide-ranging but accessible inquiry, he discusses such topics as Indigenous agency, self-determination, legal pluralism, and power. In its use of Anishinaabe stories and methodologies drawn from the emerging field of Indigenous studies, Law’s Indigenous Ethics makes a significant contribution to scholarly debate and is an essential resource for readers seeking a deeper understanding of Indigenous rights, societies, and cultures.

Reviews
"Law’s Indigenous Ethics addresses very controversial topics in Canada, not just in Indigenous legal studies, but far beyond that. John Borrows employs story work methodology, along with thorough legal research, ensuring that his work is truly leading edge. Law’s Indigenous Ethics will further advance Indigenous studies in Canada and beyond. Borrows’s work moves beyond the binary, divisive, and linear ideologies dominating the Indigenous intellectual landscape in Canada. He provides nuance, complicates dominate narratives, and gives the reader much food for thought and, more importantly, asks the reader to think, reflect, and embrace the principles embedded in the seven grandmother and grandfather teachings as a whole." -Deborah McGregor, Osgoode Hall Law School, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice, York University

"Law’s Indigenous Ethics is extremely novel, important, and has the potential for great influence. Demonstrating tremendous expertise and fluency with its subjects, John Borrows’s arguments are sound and thoughtful, providing a number of important insights that lead me to adjust the way I think about issues that are very familiar to me." -Bethany Berger, Wallace Stevens Professor of Law, University of Connecticut

Additional Information
400 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

At a time when the Métis are becoming increasingly visible on Canada’s political scene, Métis Politics and Governance in Canada offers a novel and practical guide to understand who the Métis are, how they govern themselves, and the challenges they face on the path to self-government.

The Métis have always been a political people. With the culmination of the North-West Resistance in 1885 and the hanging of their spiritual and political leader, Louis Riel, the Métis continued to take political action to give life to Riel’s vision of a self-governing Métis Nation in Canada.

Drawing on interviews with elders, leaders, and community members, Kelly Saunders and Janique Dubois reveal how the Métis have adapted their governance structures in accordance with their way of life as a distinct, rights-bearing Indigenous people. They look to the Métis language – Michif – to identify Métis principles of governance that emerged during the fur trade and that continue to shape Métis governance structures. Both then and now, the Métis continue to negotiate their place alongside federal and provincial partners in Confederation.

As Canada engages in nation-to-nation relationships to advance reconciliation, this book provides timely insight into the Métis Nation’s ongoing struggle to remain a free and self-governing Indigenous people.

This book will appeal to anyone interested in the Métis Nation and Indigenous self-government, including scholars in Political Science, Indigenous Studies, and Public Policy as well as government officials and the general public.

Reviews
"Métis Politics and Governance in Canada explores an aspect of Métis existence in Canada that has been neglected for far too long: the workings of contemporary Métis political organizations at the provincial and national levels. It is a must-read for anyone interested in Métis political organizing, leadership, representation, and the values inherent in Métis political activity." - Joe Sawchuk, co-author of From New Peoples to New Nations: Aspects of Métis History and Identity from the Eighteenth to the Twenty-First Centuries

"Unlike other academic works that simply look at the Métis Nation’s self-government as frozen in time and tied to 1869/70 or 1885, this book compellingly tells the “rest of the story” up to the present day. Uniquely, it also looks to the Métis Nation’s own language – Michif – to identify and understand key principles of Métis governance that continue to today. This book is essential reading for those who want to better understand the current state of Métis Nation self-government in Canada." - Jason Madden, co-managing partner of Pape Salter Teillet LLP

Additional Information
220 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"