First Nations Sacred Sites In Canada S Courts

The sacred sites of indigenous peoples are under increasing threat worldwide. The threat’s origin is traceable to state appropriation of control over their ancestral territories; its increase is fueled by insatiable demands on lands, waters, and natural resources. Because their sacred sites spiritually anchor their relationship with their lands, and because their relationship with their lands is at the core of their identities, threats to their sacred sites are effectively threats to indigenous peoples themselves. In recent decades, First Nations peoples of Canada, like other indigenous peoples, have faced hard choices. Sometimes, they have foregone public defence of their threatened sacred sites in order to avoid compounding disrespect and to grieve in private over the desecration and even destruction. Other times, they have mounted public protests – ranging from public information campaigns to on-the-ground resistance, the latter having occurred famously at Oka, Ipperwash, and Gustafsen Lake. Of late, they have also taken their fight to the courts. First Nations Sacred Sites in Canada’s Courts is the first work to examine how Canada’s courts have responded. Informed by elements of a general theory of sacred sites and supported by a thorough analysis of nearly a dozen cases, the book demonstrates not merely that the courts have failed but also why they have failed to treat First Nations sacred sites fairly. The book does not, however, end on a wholly critical note. It goes on to suggest practical ways in which courts can improve on their treatment of First Nations sacred sites and, finally, to reflect that Canada too has something profound at stake in the struggle of First Nations peoples for their sacred sites. Although intended for anthropologists, lawyers, judges, politicians, and scholars (particularly those in anthropology, law, native studies, politics, and religious studies), First Nations Sacred Sites in Canada’s Courts may be read with profit by anyone interested in the evolving relationship between indigenous peoples and the modern state.

Indigenous peoples around the world are seeking greater control over tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In Canada, issues concerning repatriation and trade of material culture, heritage site protection, treatment of ancestral remains, and control over intangible heritage are governed by a complex legal and policy environment. This volume looks at the key features of Canadian, US, and international law influencing indigenous cultural heritage in Canada. Legal and extralegal avenues for reform are examined and opportunities and limits of existing frameworks are discussed. Is a radical shift in legal and political relations necessary for First Nations concerns to be meaningfully addressed?

The desire to erase the religions of Indigenous Peoples is an ideological fixture of the colonial project that marked the first century of Canada’s nationhood. While the ban on certain Indigenous religious practices was lifted after the Second World War, it was not until 1982 that Canada recognized Aboriginal rights, constitutionally protecting the diverse cultures of Indigenous Peoples. As former prime minister Stephen Harper stated in Canada’s apology for Indian residential schools, the desire to destroy Indigenous cultures, including religions, has no place in Canada today. And yet Indigenous religions continue to remain under threat. Framed through a postcolonial lens, What Has No Place, Remains analyses state actions, responses, and decisions on matters of Indigenous religious freedom. The book is particularly concerned with legal cases, such as Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia (2017), but also draws on political negotiations, such as those at Voisey’s Bay, and standoffs, such as the one at Gustafsen Lake, to generate a more comprehensive picture of the challenges for Indigenous religious freedom beyond Canada’s courts. With particular attention to cosmologically significant space, this book provides the first comprehensive assessment of the conceptual, cultural, political, social, and legal reasons why religious freedom for Indigenous Peoples is currently an impossibility in Canada.

Proceedings of a conference held at the University of Manitoba, Oct. 24-26, 1996.

The desire to erase the religions of Indigenous Peoples is an ideological fixture of the colonial project that marked the first century of Canada's nationhood. While the ban on certain Indigenous religious practices was lifted after the Second World War, it was not until 1982 that Canada recognized Aboriginal rights, constitutionally protecting the diverse cultures of Indigenous Peoples. As former prime minister Stephen Harper stated in Canada's apology for Indian residential schools, the desire to destroy Indigenous cultures, including religions, has no place in Canada today. And yet Indigenous religions continue to remain under threat. Framed through a postcolonial lens, What Has No Place, Remains analyses state actions, responses, and decisions on matters of Indigenous religious freedom. The book is particularly concerned with legal cases, such as Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia (2017), but also draws on political negotiations, such as those at Voisey's Bay, and standoffs, such as the one at Gustafsen Lake, to generate a more comprehensive picture of the challenges for Indigenous religious freedom beyond Canada's courts. With particular attention to cosmologically significant space, this book provides the first comprehensive assessment of the conceptual, cultural, political, social, and legal reasons why religious freedom for Indigenous Peoples is currently an impossibility in Canada.

The essays in this book present important perspectives on the role of Indigenous legal traditions in reclaiming and preserving the autonomy of Aboriginal communities and in reconciling the relationship between these communities and Canadian governments. Although Indigenous peoples had their own systems of law based on their social, political, and spiritual traditions, under colonialism their legal systems have often been ignored or overruled by non-Indigenous laws. Today, however, these legal traditions are being reinvigorated and recognized as vital for the preservation of the political autonomy of Aboriginal nations and the development of healthy communities.

This book examines the ways in which law can be used to structure the return of indigenous sacred cultural heritage to indigenous communities, referred to as repatriation in this volume. In particular, it aims at developing legal structures that align repatriation with contemporary international human rights standards. To do so, it gathers the most valuable lessons learned from different repatriation laws and frameworks adopted in the United States and Canada. In both countries, very different ways of approaching repatriation have been used for several decades, highlighting the context-dependent nature of repatriation. The volume is divided into four parts, looking first at international law, then at the national legal landscape in the United States, followed by Canada, before the different repatriation models are evaluated against the backdrop of human rights law standards. Emphasis is placed not only on repatriation-specific legislation but also on the legal context in which it was developed and operates. In turn, the fourth part develops various models on the basis of these experiences that can be aligned with contemporary indigenous and cultural rights. The book ends by considering the models’ suitability for international repatriation and the lessons that can be learned from them. The primary audience includes those addressing the legal hurdles to repatriation, be they researchers, policymakers, communities, or museums.

In Daniels v. Canada the Supreme Court determined that Métis and non-status Indians were “Indians” under section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, one of a number of court victories that has powerfully shaped Métis relationships with the federal government. However, the decision (and the case) continues to reverberate far beyond its immediate policy implications. Bringing together scholars and practitioners from a wide array of professional contexts, this volume demonstrates the power of Supreme Court of Canada cases to directly and indirectly shape our conversations about and conceptions of what Indigeneity is, what its boundaries are, and what Canadians believe Indigenous peoples are “owed.” Attention to Daniels v. Canada’s variegated impacts also demonstrates the extent to which the power of the courts extend and refract far deeper and into a much wider array of social arenas than we often give them credit for. This volume demonstrates the importance of understanding “law” beyond its jurisprudential manifestations, but it also points to the central importance of respecting the power of court cases in how law is carried out in a liberal nation-state such as Canada.