Search results for ""Purich Publishing""

Alexander Morris, Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba and the North West Territories in the 1870s, was the main negotiator of many of the numbered treaties on the prairies and has often been portrayed as a parsimonious agent of the government, bent on taking advantage of First Nations chiefs and councillors. However, author Robert J. Talbot reveals Morris as a man deeply sympathetic to the challenges faced by Canada's Indigenous peoples as they sought to secure their future in the face of encroaching settlement and the disappearance of the buffalo. Both Morris and the First Nations negotiators viewed the treaties as the basis of a new, reciprocal arrangement, but by the end of his appointment, Morris was seriously at odds with a federal administration that preferred inaction over honouring its treaty promises.

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Neal McLeod examines the history of the nêhiyawak (Cree People) of Western Canada from the massive upheavals of the 1870s and the reserve period to the vibrant cultural and political rebirth of contemporary times. Central to the text are the narratives of McLeod’s family, which give first hand examples of the tenacity and resiliency of the human spirit while providing a rubric for reinterpreting the history of Indigenous people, drawing on Cree worldviews and Cree narrative structures. In a readable style augmented with extensive use of the Cree language throughout, McLeod draws heavily on original research to examine on the Cree experience of the Canadian prairies.

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Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the interpretation of its provisions by the courts is forcing educators to increase attention paid to student rights, resulting in a more democratic educational system and a better learning environment. Yet many questions still face both educators and parents, as addressed by Watkinson, including the ability of teachers and principals to search students and their lockers; whether teachers can regulate the contents of student newspapers; whether school boards are responsible for sexual harassment within schools; what constitutes corporal punishment and whether it can be used; and what accommodation schools must make for students facing learning difficulties.

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Drawing on treaties, international law, the work of other Indigenous scholars, and especially personal experiences, Marie Battiste documents the nature of Eurocentric models of education, and their devastating impacts on Indigenous knowledge. Chronicling the negative consequences of forced assimilation, racism inherent to colonial systems of education, and the failure of current educational policies for Aboriginal populations, Battiste proposes a new model of education, arguing the preservation of Aboriginal knowledge is an Aboriginal right. Central to this process is the repositioning of Indigenous humanities, sciences, and languages as vital fields of knowledge, revitalizing a knowledge system which incorporates both Indigenous and Eurocentric thinking.

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The current Status criteria of the Indian Act contains descent-based rules akin to blood quantum that are particularly discriminatory against women and their descendants, which author Pamela Palmater argues will lead to the extinguishment of First Nations as legal and constitutional entities. Beginning with an historic overview of legislative enactments defining Indian status and their impact on First Nations, the author examines contemporary court rulings dealing with Indigenous identity, Aboriginal rights, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Palmater also examines band membership codes to determine if their reliance on status criteria perpetuates discrimination. She offers changes for determining Indigenous identity and citizenship and argues that First Nations must determine citizenship themselves.

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A pressing issue today is how to compensate Aboriginal peoples for the infringement of their rights. Aboriginal rights include more than a title; within the fiduciary relationship between the federal government and Aboriginal peoples is the issue of compensation for the infringement of Aboriginal and treaty rights. In an historical and legal context, Mainville examines Aboriginal and treaty rights origins, major Canadian court decisions that have defined them, the impact of the Canadian Constitution, and the limits to the government's ability to infringe upon Aboriginal and treaty rights. Mainville argues that while Canadian law can provide guidelines for compensation, expropriation law is inadequate to address the issue fully, and instead provides clear and practical principles for compensation.

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Adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 September 2007, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms the “minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world.” The Declaration responds to past and ongoing injustices suffered by Indigenous peoples worldwide, and provides a strong foundation for the full recognition of the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples. Despite this, Canada was one of the few countries to oppose the Declaration. With essays from Indigenous leaders, legal scholars and practitioners, state representatives, and representatives from NGOs, contributors discuss the creation of the Declaration and how it can be used to advance human rights internationally.

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In the 1950s, Indian Affairs concealed the lease terms of more than one-third of the Musqueam’s reserve land to the Shaughnessy Heights Golf Club in Vancouver, BC. Justice for the Musqueam was finally achieved in 1984 with the release of Guerin v. the Queen, where the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that Canada has a duty to act in the best interests of Aboriginal peoples. This book tells the story of the government's breach of that duty, the impact of the Court's decision on the development of Aboriginal law and the law of fiduciary obligations. Discussion of recent decisions in Haida and Taku River, and a comparison to laws in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand is also included.

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