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 |
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Common terms and phrases
aborig aboriginal communities aboriginal governments aboriginal nations aboriginal orthodoxy aboriginal rights aboriginal self-government aboriginal title agreements agriculture Alberta Alexander Morris American band council British Columbia Calgary Herald Canadian Indian cent century Chief civilization colonial constitution Court of Canada Cree Crown culture decision Delgamuukw Dene Department of Indian economic European evidence extinguished federal Flanagan Fraser Institute human Ibid inal Indian Act Indian Affairs Indian bands Indian reserves inhabitants inherent right Inuit Justice land legislation living Louis Riel Manitoba means ment Metis Nation nationhood Native negotiated Nisga'a non-status Indians northern Ojibwa on-reserve Ontario oral traditions ownership population Prairie problems property rights provincial Quebec RCAP RCAP’s Registered Indians 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 Toronto treaty rights tribal welfare word World