First Nations? Second Thoughts, Second EditionOver the last thirty years Canadian policy on aboriginal issues has come to be dominated by an ideology that sees aboriginal peoples as "nations" entitled to specific rights. Indians and Inuit now enjoy legal privileges that include the inherent right to self-government, collective property rights, immunity from taxation, hunting and fishing rights without legal limits, and free housing, education, and medical care. Underpinning these privileges is what Tom Flanagan describes as "aboriginal orthodoxy" - the belief that prior residence in North America is an entitlement to special treatment. Flanagan shows that this orthodoxy enriches a small elite of activists, politicians, administrators, and well-connected entrepreneurs, while bringing further misery to the very people it is supposed to help. Controversial and thought-provoking, First Nations? Second Thoughts dissects the prevailing ideology that determines public policy towards Canada's aboriginal peoples. In this updated edition, Flanagan analyzes the developments of the last ten years, showing how a conflict of visions has led to a stalemate in aboriginal policy-making. He concludes that aboriginal success will be achieved not as the result of public policy changes in government but through the actions of the people themselves. |
Contents
1 The Aboriginal Orthodoxy | 3 |
2 We Were Here First | 11 |
3 What Ever Happened to Civilization? | 27 |
4 The Fiction of Aboriginal Sovereignty | 48 |
5 Bands Tribes or Nations? | 67 |
6 The Inherent Problems of Aboriginal SelfGovernment | 89 |
7 In Search of Property | 113 |
8 Treaties Agreements and Land Surrenders | 134 |
9 Making a Living | 166 |
10 This Octagon Is a Stop Sign | 192 |
11 Update 2008 | 199 |
Notes | 235 |
| 261 | |
| 279 | |
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Common terms and phrases
aborig aboriginal communities aboriginal governments aboriginal nations aboriginal orthodoxy aboriginal political aboriginal rights aboriginal self-government aboriginal title agriculture Alberta Alexander Morris American assertion band council British Columbia Calvin Helin cent century civilization colonial constitution Court of Canada Cree Crown culture decision Delgamuukw Dene Department of Indian Donald Marshall economic European evidence extinguished fee simple Flanagan groups human Ibid inal Indian Act Indian Affairs Indian bands Indian reserves inhabitants inherent right Inuit legislation living Louis Riel Manitoba means ment Metis Nation million nationhood native negotiated non-status Indians northern Ojibwa on-reserve Ontario oral traditions ownership population possession prairie problems property rights provincial Quebec rcap rcap’s Registered Indian Report right of self-government settlement social society sovereign sovereignty specific claims status Indians Stephen Harper Stoney Supreme Court surrender terra nullius territory tion Tom Flanagan tribal welfare word World