Aboriginal/Indigenous Links Page
[This page was last updated 07
February 2012]
Center for World Indigenous
Studies
This institute,
based in Washington State, is a terrific source of information regarding
indigenous issues at the international level. Their Fourth World Documentation
Project is the best source for United Nations documents, especially
concerning the Working Group on Indigenous Populations.
UN
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples
In 2001 the
Commission on Human Rights first appointed a special rapporteur
on the rights of Indigenous peoples. The special rapporteur’s
mandate was renewed by the Commission in 2004 and by its successor, the Human
Rights Council, in 2007. The first Special Rapporteur
was Rudolfo Stavenhagen of
Mexico; he was replaced after two terms by Dr. James Anaya
of the United States, who still occupies that position. Dr. Anaya is the author
of a seminal book in the field entitled Indigenous
Peoples in International Law (1996; 2004); he is also Regents Professor
and James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy at the University
of Arizona College of Law.
UN Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues
The PFII -- a
16-member forum whose members are 50-50 Indigenous/Nation State representatives
-- was created in 2000 and met for the first time in 2001. An offshoot of
ECOSOC (the Economic and Social Council), PFII holds meetings in New York
every March on a wide range of policy issues. With the demise of the Working
Group on Indigenous Populations after 2006, PFII is the central forum in the UN
system for consideration of Indigenous issues.
Survival: The
Movement for Tribal Peoples
Survival is an
organization that supports tribal peoples worldwide through education, advocacy
and campaigns. They also offer tribal peoples a platform to address the world.
International Work Group for
Indigenous Affairs
In
the IWGIA's words" "IWGIA is an independent international membership organisation staffed by specialists and advisers on
indigenous affairs." The organization "... supports indigenous
peoples' struggle for human rights, self-determination, right to territory,
control of land and resources, cultural integrity, and the right to
development."
The Union has
NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United
Nations and has played a significant role in British Columbia and Canadian politics
since its initial formation in 1969. The Union has a splendid resource page
including press releases and commentary on issues of the day.
The
introduction to this site states: "The Canadian Native Law Cases were
compiled and indexed by researchers at the Native Law Centre, University of
Saskatchewan between 1980 and 1991. The 9 volume set contains all reported
Canadian court decisions as well as those that went to the Privy Council on
appeal from Canada. There is also a selection of previously unreported cases.
The period covered is 1763-1978.
Listed below are
some articles that might otherwise prove difficult to obtain. You are welcome
to download copies of any paper you wish as long as (a) you do not make money
from its distribution; and (b) you acknowledge the original source whenever the
ideas are referred to or a quote is used. They are listed in reverse
chronological order.
Ted Palys, Richelle Isaac, and Jana Nuszdorfer (2012). Taking
Indigenous Justice Seriously: Fostering a Mutually Respectful Coexistence of
Aboriginal and Canadian Justice. Research report prepared for Vancouver’s Downtown
Community Court and Vancouver Aboriginal Transformative Justice Services.
Ted Palys and Wenona Victor (2007).
“Getting to a Better Place”: Qwi:qwelstóm,
the Stó:lō and Self-Determination. Pre-publication draft
of a paper prepared under a Law Commission of Canada award within its
Indigenous Legal Traditions initiative that appeared in an edited volume of
papers published by UBC Press. See the UBC Press
web site for more information.
Ted Palys and Wenona Victor (2005). Aboriginal
Justice: Taking Control and Responsibility. Paper presented as part
of a Law Commission of Canada symposium at the 30th Annual Congress
of the Canadian Criminal Justice Association. Calgary, Alberta; 28 October.
Ted Palys and Wenona Victor (2005). "Getting to a Better Place": Qwi:qwelstóm,
the Stó:lō Nation and Self-Determination. Paper presented as part
of a Law Commission of Canada symposium on “Indigenous Legal Traditions” at a
conference on “Law’s Empire” hosted by the Canadian Law and Society Association
with the collaboration of the Association for Canadian Studies in Australia and
New Zealand and the Australia and New Zealand Law and History Society. Harrison
Hot Springs, BC; 27 June.
Ted Palys (2004). Resolving
Conflicts Involving Indigenous Peoples: Lessons From the Search for
"Indigenous Justice" in Canada. Intervention to the U.N
Working Group on Indigenous Populations at its 22nd Session; July 19-23;
Geneva, Switzerland.
Ted Palys (2004). Ten Years After:
Has Anything Changed During the Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples?
Invited paper presented at the Stó:Lō Nation Justice Conference held in Mission, BC, March 22-24.
Ted Palys (2001). Are Canada and BC Meeting International Standards
Regarding the Rights of Indigenous Peoples? Stó:Lô
Nation and its Search for Justice. Paper presented at Stó:Lô Nation Conference 2001: Bridging the Millennia,
Bridging Cultural and Legal Traditions, April 5-7, 2001
Ted Palys (1999). Vancouver's
Aboriginal Restorative Justice Programme: The Challenges Ahead. Aboriginal
Justice Bulletin, 3(1), 2-3.
Warhaft, E.B., Palys, T.S., and
Boyce, W. (1999). “This is How We Did It”: One
Canadian First Nation Community's Efforts to Achieve Aboriginal Justice.
In a special issue of The Australia-New Zealand Journal of Criminology,
entitled Crime, Justice and Indigenous Peoples, 32(2), 161-81.
Ted Palys (1997). Fifty years of human
rights: The Universal Draft Declaration on Human Rights and its Legacy.
Invited address to the Human Rights Fiftieth Anniversary Conference
Celebration, held by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the United Nations
Association, and Kla-How-Ya,
at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 8 December 1997.
Ted Palys (1996). Histories of
Convenience: Understanding Twentieth Century Aboriginal Film Images in
Context. Paper presented at an international conference regarding Aboriginal
peoples and film entitled Screening Culture: Constructing Image And Identity,
held in York, Great Britain, by the Aboriginal Studies Circle of the British
Association of Canadian Studies.
Ted Palys (1993). Considerations for
Achieving "Aboriginal Justice" in Canada. Paper presented at
the annual meetings of the Western Association of Sociology and Anthropology.
Ted Palys (1993). Prospects for
Aboriginal Justice in Canada. A position paper written for myself.
Ted Palys (1990). Ideology, Epistemology,
and Modes of Inquiry: Aboriginal Issues, Trajectories of Truth, and the
Criteria of Evaluation Research. Paper presented at a meeting of the West Coast
Law and Society Group.