Aboriginal/Indigenous
Justice
CRIM 419 / FNST 419
Fall 2010
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Journal Entry Assignments
The journal
entry assignments involve questions you address that are framed by our
classroom discussion and the readings that will allow you to grapple with some
of the challenges that face us in the course. The only person who will read
them is the course professor. In the event that you would prefer to rephrase
one, or do an alternate assignment you propose in some area of interest to you,
I'm always willing to listen. The primary objective is that you address course
themes, and incorporate relevant course readings and other material (videos,
speaker presentations) into your considerations. Over the semester, you should
ensure that you complete at least nine (9) different entries; these should
include the Assignments below marked “Required” plus at least three others that
are provided by your professor.
Assignment 1 (Required)
If you are
non-Aboriginal, write a few pages about what "Indians" meant to you
as you were growing up. For example, where did you grow up, and how much did
you learn about Aboriginal issues (e.g., in school, from parents/friends/etc)?
What kind of images of Aboriginal people were you exposed to; how did your
experience compare to what Francis describes in his article on "Indians
of Childhood"? What is your experience with Aboriginal people? What
are some of your more memorable experiences? What sorts of attitudes did you
hold prior to your entry in the course regarding Aboriginal issues? OR
If you are
Aboriginal, write a few pages about what it was like for you growing up
"Indian." For example, what sorts of relations did you have with
non-Aboriginal people? Did you encounter the sorts of views and expectations
that Francis describes in the course reading entitled, "Indians of
Childhood"? What are some of your more memorable experiences? What
sorts of attitudes did you hold about regarding Aboriginal issues prior to your
entry in the course? OR
Your experience
might be like neither of the two above. If so, write a few pages about what
being "Indian" or "Aboriginal" or "Haida"
or whatever meant to you and how your sense of identity changed over time.
Assignment 2 (Required)
You
will have attended at least one session of the Annual General Assembly of the
Union of BC Indian Chiefs. Describe the session and tell me what you learned.
Include also any observations about the meeting and the way it proceeded, e.g.,
have you been to a meeting of this sort before? were you surprised by anything?
are there any issues that arose either in the meeting or in your reflections on
it that you would like to see considered in class?
Assignment 3
The
Royal Proclamation
of 1763 has been characterized in a variety of ways. Certainly it plays a major
role in Aboriginal title cases that have made their way to the Supreme
Court. Some see the Royal Proclamation as an Aboriginal-friendly
document that recognizes Aboriginal nationhood and sovereignty; others see it
as a terribly colonial policy that, at least in retrospect, undermined
Aboriginal interests. Las Casas and Sepulveda
(discussed in your first readings from Berger) took quite different views of
Indigenous peoples and their rights in relation to the Spanish, as revealed
both in their actions and during the debate at Valladolid. Of course they lived
in the 1500s and would never have seen the Royal Proclamation, which was
proclaimed in 1763. But if they were around, how do you think each of them
would have viewed the Royal Proclamation? Explain.
Assignment 4 (Required)
Boldt's article in the course reader regarding Canada's
Indian Policy suggests that the last 100+ years can be understood through a
"national interest" perspective where Aboriginal interests are
constantly sacrificed to a "national interest" that does not include
them. However, his article is pretty much focussed on
the time there has been a "Canada," i.e., from the mid-1800s onward,
which we referred to in class as the "conflict" period. But the point
has also been made in class that Aboriginal-European relations have changed
considerably over the last several hundred years. Does Boldt's
analysis fall apart if you try and apply it to include the more respectful
relations that seem to have characterized the earlier "contact"
period as well? Or does it still apply? Explain.
Assignment 5
In
Kahnehsatake, Bill Wilson makes the statement
that there are lessons to be learned from history, but that we have to be
listening to appreciate them. In the first part of this course we've covered
five hundred years of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relations in North America, and
have spoken in some detail about the last hundred or so years of Canadian
Indian Policy. What assumptions have guided the Nation of Canada's
Indian Policy for the nation's first hundred years (i.e., go beyond the
policies themselves to the view of governments and Canada and Indigenous
Peoples that underpins them)? What are the lessons of history?
Suggest some principles that you think should guide policy-making regarding
Aboriginal peoples in the future.
Assignment 6
Your
readings this week included articles by Sinclair and Ross pertaining to
Aboriginal perspectives on "justice." With regards to these articles,
and our discussion in class: (a) Compare and contrast Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal perspectives on the meaning of that word. Don't try and create
an exhaustive list of comparisons, but pick three or four dimensions that you
think most strongly illustrate respective views; (b) Conclude with a statement
on the basis of your discussion whether you see the two approaches as
fundamentally similar to each other, or fundamentally different; and (c) Now
consider the principles you concluded in Assignment 5 should guide the future
of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relations in Canada. If you apply those principles
to the justice arena, what are the implications for you for the development of
contemporary "Aboriginal justice" initiatives?
Assignment 7
We've
talked about justice issues and justice programming for Indigenous communities
for the last couple of weeks, and tracked the successive generations of
initiatives that have been advanced since the 1967 publication of Natives and
the Law -- from "Indigenization" to "Accommodation" to
Parallel Systems" and "Independent Systems." Has Canada shown itself
to be open to and embracing of Indigenous traditions of justice and conflict
resolution within Indigenous communities? Should it? A cynic might say that the
"advances" we've seen in Aboriginal justice programming in BC are
illusory; that what we have here is no more than the "orientalism"
that Tauri describes in New Zealand. Would you agree
or disagree with that point of view? Feel free to frame your response to this
assignment as a letter to the federal Minister of Justice (or not).
Assignment 8
Our
discussion about treaties has gone from the initial promise of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 to the
contemporary treaty process that is still ongoing within British Columbia. Two
contemporary treaties -- the first with the Nisga'a,
and the second with Tsawwassen -- show something of what a contemporary
treaty can look like. Certainly they are evidence of the sort of agreement that
Canada and British Columbia will sign, because they have done so, but other
First Nations may or may not be eager to follow the same path. Where would you
stand on this issue. Critically assess a section of interest to you in either
the Nisga'a or Tsawwassen treaty in terms of what has
been agreed to, whether you think it is a fair deal for both sides, and what
you would be seeking if you were representing a First Nation involved in the
treaty process.
Assignment 9
Mandell's article entitled "Offerings to an emerging
future" and Kline's article entitled "The colour
of law" both describe a history of legal decision-making that can only
be described as racist in its dismissal of Indigenous peoples and cultures. In
class we spoke at length about R.
v. Sparrow, which was the first post-Charter Aboriginal
rights case to come before the Supreme Court. Was it a breath of fresh air in
its recognition of Aboriginal rights? Or a continuation of that same racist
tradition? [OR feel free to pick any of the other Supreme Court cases
that are listed on the course
web page and apply your analysis to that case instead of Sparrow]
Assignment 10
A
major accomplishment of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous
Populations was the creation of a draft Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was generated in
consultation with representatives of the world's indigenous peoples, and
approved by them as well. By 2007 the Declaration finally made it to the
General Assembly of the UN and was passed by a vote of 144-4. So where does
Canada stack up to this new benchmark for Indigenous rights? Would you
say that Canadian Indian policy in 2009 is consistent with, or violates,
Indigenous rights articulated in the UN Declaration? [Feel free to
respond to this question either in terms of broad principles or by considering
some specific domain such as health, education, justice, etc.]
Assignment 11
After
Juan Tauri’s visit to our class, I received an email
from one of the students that asked, “Is family group conferencing a form of
aboriginal justice?” How would you
answer that question?
Assignment 12
In
the last part of course we have gone through some of the many ways that
Indigenous peoples have sought justice in their relations with non-Indigenous
peoples and nation state governments -- through negotiation, the courts,
governance initiatives, direct action, and international fora. Imagine
that a Tribal Council in British Columbia is considering how best to proceed in
asserting their rights and title and has asked for your input into that
decision. "What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each of
those means, and which would you recommend?", they ask. How do you
respond?
Other Possibilities
From time to
time we will have "open" weeks where I will ask you to make up a
question, or where you may wish to depart from the question posed that day.
Although I am always willing to listen to your proposal for a question you
would prefer to answer or issue you would prefer to address, the following are
also possibilities that you can include at any time. They are also examples of
the sort of ballpark you should be aiming for in the questions you do pose.
Special Events: Throughout the semester, I will let you know about speakers and events happening around Vancouver. If you go to any of these, tell me about the event, who you saw and/or what you did, and connect your experience there with the course readings and themes.