Beyond Rights: The Nisga'a Final Agreement and the Challenges of Modern Treaty Relationships

by Carole Blackburn

Overview

An analysis of the potential of treaty-making as a way to address historical injustice.
 
After more than one hundred years of protest, petitions, litigation, and negotiation, the Canadian and British Columbian governments signed a treaty with the Nisga’a Nation in 2000, formally recognizing the unextinguished land rights of the Nisga’a people. The unprecedented agreement, providing both self-rule and a perpetual land title, marked a turning point in the relationship between First Nations and settler states across the globe. Using the Nisga’a Final Agreement as a case study, Beyond Rights explores the possibilities and limitations of treaty-making in the ongoing fight for Indigenous sovereignty and legal recognition throughout the world. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780774866460
Publisher:	University of British Columbia Press
Publication date:	08/30/2022
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Carole Blackburn is associate professor of anthropology at the University of British Columbia and the author of Harvest of Souls: Jesuit Missions and Colonialism in North America, 1632-1650. 
 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 3

1 We Have Always Made Laws: Defending the Right to Self-Government 27

2 Aboriginal Title, Fee Simple, and Dead Capital: Property in Translation 55

3 Treaty Citizenship: Negotiating beyond Inclusion 93

4 The Treaty Relationship: Reconciliation and Its Discontents 118

Conclusion 143

Notes 149

References 167

Index 181

Editorial Reviews

"I  have  no  qualms  about  recommending  this  book  to  anyone  interested  in  learning  about  the  Nisga’a  treaty,  its  history,  and  how  it  has  worked  out  since  its  signing.  Blackburn’s  writing  is  easy  to  read  without  being  simplistic,  and  the  only  time  things  even  come  close  to  being  unclear  is  when  discussing  reconciliation.  Of course, this vagueness speaks more to ongoing debates and conversations regarding what  constitutes  reconciliation  than  it  does  scholarship  and/or  editing.  A  mere  146  pages  long  (when  you  exclude  the  front  matter,  notes,  references,  and  index),  it  is  perfect  for  a  quick  read.  And  given  that  we  are  fast  approaching  the  twenty-five-year  anniversary  of  the  territory,  combined  with  recent  developments  in  British  Columbia  such  as  the  Tsilhqot’in  case,  Stó:lo  Xwexwilmexw  memorandum  of  understanding,  and recognition of Haida title to Haida Gwaii, I would encourage everyone to do so."

American Indian Culture and Research Journal