Aboriginal Self-Government

Term Paper # 101464

Canadian Studies > Charter of Rights
Canadian Studies > First Nations
Public Administration

This paper explores aboriginal self-government and the implications for public administration in Canada.

3,217 words () | 17 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at the history of aboriginal government in Canada and how attitudes expressed in the laws of the land kept aboriginals from exercising their full rights. The paper discusses how the federal government and the Department of Indian Affairs gradually came to realize that changes were in order and examines what key administrative adaptations have been made as a result. The paper discusses what the future portends and concludes that public administration in Canada appears to be growing more fragmented. The paper includes a detailed outline of the essay.

From the Paper:

"The historical foundations of aboriginal self-government in Canada traces back many generations - far longer than most people commonly suppose. In the Royal Proclamation of 1763, King George III stated that Indian tribes were to be dealt with on a "nation to nation" basis and that land purchased from them was to be done through treaties that were akin to those treaties signed by nation-states. Going further, the Proclamation "tacitly acknowledged aboriginal land title" and hinted at proper "procedures of surrender" that were subsequently incorporated into later incarnations of the treaty system (Cote, 15+; Titley, 2). According to Charlotte Cote, the Indian tribes of eighteenth and (presumably) nineteenth century Canada (then also known as British North America) conceived of sovereignty as being something that included self-government, "autonomous" institutions, and a "territorial land and resource base" sufficiently large and generous to allow them to maintain their traditional culture; it is further added by Cote that the tribes who signed the earliest treaties with the British perceived these agreements to be a formal recognition on the part of the White Man that the tribes had exclusive authority over their territories and that native communities were unique political entities readily distinguishable from the larger political structure of the Canadian nation (15+)."

Sample of Sources Used:

Calder et al. v. Attorney General of British Columbia [1973] 34 D.L.R.
"The Constitution Act, 1867." 10 Nov. 2001. The Solon Law Archive. 18 Jan. 2007 <http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1867.html> http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1867.html
Cote, Charlotte. "Historical Foundations of Indian Sovereignty in Canada and the United States: A Brief Overview." American Review of Canadian Studies, 31.1/2 (2001): 15+. Questia.com. 18 Jan. 2007.
Delgamuukw v. British Columbia [1997] 3 S.C.R. 1010.
Early Canadiana Online (ECO). "1876-1877: The Indian Act, 1876 and Numbered Treaties Six and Seven." Canada in the Making. N.d. Early Canadiana Online. 18 Jan. 2007 <http://www.canadiana.org/citm/themes/aboriginals/aboriginals8_e.html#indianact>