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Copyright of Canadian Journal of Native Studies is the property of Brandon University, CJNS, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

How have municipal governments in Canada been engaging Aboriginal peoples and First Nations? This project examined municipal Aboriginal relations offices and/or advisory committees across Canada and focuses on four cases in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto. This study identified their mandates, size, locations and initiatives these offices and advisory committees have undertaken, which include: awareness training; employment strategies to recruit, hire and retain Aboriginal municipal employees; and improve Aboriginal representation on municipal agencies, boards and commissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizens of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation fight for justice with their bodies at the frontlines of daily toxic exposure. This paper examines struggles for environmental and reproductive justice in the polluted heart of Canada’s ‘Chemical Valley’. These are as struggles over life, land and knowledge. Based upon community-engaged qualitative research, from a participatory action research approach, including field immersion, participant observation and 35 in-depth interviews with First Nations residents, I document the Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s citizens’ activities and practices on the ground as they cope with the impact of their contaminated surroundings on their health and habitat. This community-engaged scholarship lens brings into view the lived experiences and ongoing practices of resistance by the Anishinabek citizens who are surrounded by Chemical Valley. I situate these struggles within the green citizenship literature to assess three blind spots of green governmentality: greening citizenship, lifestyle blame and Western dualisms. I discuss the multiple edges of ecological citizenship and argue that citizens are simultaneously bound up within disciplinary power relations and place-based belonging. This place, although polluted, is crucial to practices of relational Anishinabek citizenship and the identity of indigenous citizens who call this place both ‘prison and home’. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Native Studies is the property of Brandon University, CJNS, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines the definition of success in First Nations drinking water service as voiced by the First Nations technical community of practice. The research explores success stories to identify success themes and factors to formulate a workable definition for policy-makers. Researchers interviewed sixteen technical practitioners in Ontario using a semi-structured approach. Data analysis revealed a definition of success that extends beyond the technical boundary to include professional growth, employment, local action and a facilitating policy environment. This comprehensive definition provides a basis for policy and program considerations to increase First Nations buy-in and foster a constructive environment for drinking water improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the role of collaborative conservation in the empowerment and autonomy of Canadian First Nations people. The author reflects on the Boreal Leadership Council and the transformation of resistance into strategic accommodation. Other topics include alliances with non-Natives for environmental interests, reaction to the environmental impact of resource extraction, and the development of Native American land-based self-determination.

Copyright of International Journal of Canadian Studies is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective Natural resource policy has been a constant source of conflict between 'Aboriginal' and 'non-Aboriginal' stakeholders in Canada. We employ a historical institutionalist analysis to examine the extent to which changes to the Canadian Constitution in 1982 and Ontario's Mining Act in 2009 enabled Aboriginal communities to become equal partners in participatory governance arrangements in mineral resource sectors. Methods We analyze primary sources consisting of federal and provincial legislation and in-person interviews conducted across Ontario in 2010. Results The existing Canadian mining policy paradigm, while under significant pressure, has not yet been displaced by a new policy paradigm that would better accommodate the interests of Aboriginal stakeholders. Consequently, Aboriginal peoples' mineral resource claims are likely to remain unresolved. Conclusion We suggest how a policy paradigm that both improves Aboriginal-state relations and reduces uncertainty in the mining sector offers a promising political foundation for participatory governance and cooperative engagement between stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines ways in which the Crown Duty to Consult is implemented in Ontario planning processes. The authors present the Red Hill Valley Parkway project in Hamilton, Ontario and draw from seventeen semi-structured interviews to examine the role of municipal planning in relation to the duty to consult. The interviews reveal that engaging in municipal-First Nations relations is a mutually beneficial practice, although legislation offers minimal guidance for this practice. In order to move forward planners must confront the challenges and opportunities for municipalities to implement consultation with First Nations in planning processes. The authors conclude that municipal-First Nations engagement will require both legislative change and a cultural shift in how planning is done and what is included in professional planning curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disagreement over how and between whom power should be shared has led to competing conceptions of federalism in Canada. The model of federalism adopted in the Constitution Act 1867 divides power between the provinces and the federal government to the exclusion of Aboriginal peoples. However, pre-Confederation documents such as the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the early treaties suggest that federalism is founded on the coexistence of self-governing nations. This paper presents a case study of how one Aboriginal people, the Métis, are reviving the pre-Confederation vision of federalism founded on mutual recognition by carving out a space for themselves in Canada's political and institutional landscape. We argue that by delivering an expanded array of programs and services to their citizens, creating innovative governance structures, adopting legislation in key areas of Métis interest and fostering economic self-sufficiency, the Métis are reshaping federalism from the bottom up. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2004 and 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a trilogy of decisions that outlined the doctrine of the duty to consult and accommodate, thereby changing how resource development occurs in Aboriginal traditional territories. As a result of these decisions, new avenues of economic development for well-resourced First Nations have opened up, with the hope of creating a new future for remote Aboriginal communities; but are these types of agreements meeting the expectations of First Nations and their members? The authors visited a First Nations community that recently negotiated impact and benefit agreements with large industrial proponents. The authors conducted in-depth, long interviews with 17 key informants: former chiefs and grand chiefs, executive directors of community agencies, program directors, business persons, spiritual persons and elders, property managers, and direct-service practitioners. Five themes, or areas of concern, emerged from the research: unemployment, employment, and economic stimulation; social and physical health concerns; negotiations and meaningful community involvement; corporate social responsibility, capacity building, and social capital; and environmental concerns and cultural relevance. Despite the concerns these agreements raised, 14 of 17 informants remained in favour of the impact and benefit agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nouvelles Pratiques Sociales is the property of Revue Nouvelles Pratiques Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While academic interest in accountability and transparency mechanisms in Aboriginal governance has risen over the past few years, very few studies have examined how these mechanisms operate in practice. One author, Shin Imai (2007), argues that Indigenous groups in Canada are faced with an accountability paradox that gives too much power to the federal government to intervene in band affairs, while giving too little power to band members to hold their local officials accountable for their actions. This paper examines the extent to which Aboriginal groups can avoid this paradox by reviewing three experiments in institutional design and self-government in Aboriginal communities: the Sechelt Indian Band and the Westbank First Nation in British Columbia, and Nunatsiavut in Labrador. While considerable variation exists in terms of how well these communities overcome Imai's paradox, each community's accountability regime is an improvement over the one imposed by the Indian Act. The effectiveness of these regimes depends heavily on the institutional designs chosen by the Indigenous groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relationship between the First Nations' right to land use in British Columbia (BC) and their environmental governance of natural resources. A particular focus is given to the First Nations' environmental management of Great Bear Rainforest in BC. An overview of the acquisition of land rights for Aboriginal people in BC, including Canadian Supreme Court decisions, the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements and negotiations between the First Nations' government and the government of BC, is provided. The relationship between the First Nations and land conservation is discussed.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Native Studies is the property of Brandon University, CJNS, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Occasionally in recent decades, relations between the Canadian state and particular Native communities have spiralled into open confrontation and violence. While such instances reflect the failure of conciliatory or decolonizing politics within a liberal–democratic milieu, scholarship has barely begun to analyze these events in a systematic fashion. This article applies to long-standing questions about political behaviour to the study of Native-state relations in Canada. By this, the authors particularly mean the dynamics of Native peoples' mobilization and institutional engagement. Examining several recent cases of open confrontation, this article looks for the basic circumstances in which violence arises, and how confrontation alters internal political dynamics in Native communities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the Canadian court case Little Leaf v. Houle which deals with an application to terminate residential tenancy on the Pikani Indian reserve in Canada and a judgment on rental arrears. The court applied the regulations in the Residential Tenancies Act and held that it does not apply to the case in respect to the possession or occupation or land on a reserve.

The case Laboucan v. Little Red River Cree Nation (LRRCN) #477 which was heard in Canada's Federal Court on July 2, 2010 is presented. The applicant's request for a judicial review concerning the LRRCN's decision to remove him from the tribal council is discussed. The Little Red River Cree Nation Portfolio Officers and Governance Policy Guidelines and the LRRCN Custom Election Code 2003 are mentioned.

Despite a rich and diverse literature on the revitalization of Indigenous legal traditions and constitutional orders, no one has yet looked at modern Aboriginal constitutions in Canada. This essay draws upon the comparative constitutional design and Aboriginal politics literatures to describe and analyze the texts of 14 Aboriginal constitutions. The findings suggest that these constitutional documents are similar to non-Aboriginal ones in many ways. Specifically, both deal with similar political problems and try to express and protect local political cultures. In short, they represent practical attempts to marry Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal constitutional orders and legal traditions in the contemporary context. Students of Aboriginal politics and law should pay greater attention to these documents, and especially to their origins and evolution over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to analyze the legal concepts and principles that surrounded the colonization of North America as well as the relations that the French had with native Indians. Topics include a comparison between the ideas of French jurist and political philosopher Jean Bodin (1530–1596), about the political aspects of colonization, with those of jurists from the Ancien Regime, a period referring to the history of French society from the 14th to the 18th centuries, a study of official documents from the royal power in Canada at this period, and the arguments of France and Great Britain concerning the negotiating of their possessions in North America.

The article provides information about the federal court case in Canada which is indexed as Seymour v. Anishinaabeg of Naongashiing. Napoleon James Seymour is the applicant for a judicial review. Chief Wesley Big George, Councillor Robert Handorgan, and Electoral Officer Valerie Pizey are the respondents. Seymour alleges that the First Nation's Custom Election Code was violated when he was removed from the band or tribal council.

This article discusses the case of George Price and Paulette Campiou v. Sucker Creek Fist Nation #150A in the Federal Court of Canada. Price and Campiou contested their suspension as elected councillors with the Sucker Creek First nation Band Council on charges of conflict of interest. The application for judicial review was granted on the grounds that the Council did not properly notify Price and Campiou of the action pending against them or comply with election law.

The article discusses a court case wherein Algonquin Indians of Barriere Lake, British Columbia attempt to assert their tradition of leadership selection. The Indians accuse the Canadian Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development of interfering with their customs regarding the leadership process. Their customs are codified in the document Mitchikanibikok Anishinabe Onakinakewin.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Native Studies is the property of Brandon University, CJNS, Faculty of Arts and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)