Land Claims

"Collection of 11 essays that examine the implications and ramifications of the Mabo decision on Australia and its law. Discusses such topics as the constitutional background to the decision, public law aspects, the admissibility of traditional evidence, the implications for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, and native title and pastoral leases. Contributors include Frank Brennan, Henry Reynolds, Bryan Keon-Cohen, Darrell Lumb, Margaret Stephenson and K E Mulqueeny. Includes notes on contributors, references and a foreword by Sir Harry Gibbs, a former Chief Justice of the High Court.

“In this book, Professor D. N. Sprague tells why the Métis did not receive the land that was supposed to be theirs under the Manitoba Act. ... Sprague offers many examples of the methods used, such as legislation justifying the sale of the land allotted to Métis children without any of the safeguards ordinarily required in connection with transactions with infants. Then there were powers of attorney, tax sales—any number of stratagems could be used, and were—to see that the land intended for the Métis and their families went to others. All branches of the government participated.

"More than a decade has passed since the High Court's decision in Mabo, and this book remains a key mechanism for distinguishing between fact & myth among the claims & counter-claims which bedevil Australia's native title debate. It provides an accurate, accessible, and unbiased account of what the judges and the Acts of Parliament have actually said about native title, what it means, and what problems are likely to arise.

"Papers examine discrete and contemporary issues in native title law; highlights difficulties in competing Indigenous and non Indigenous interests; shortfall in common law solutions; papers annotated separately." -- Provided by publisher

"On June 11 and 20, 1981, the Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raided Restigouche Reserve, Quebec. At issue were the salmon-fishing rights of the Mi’kmaq. Because salmon has traditionally been a source of food and income for the Mi’kmaq, the Quebec government’s decision to restrict fishing aroused consternation and anger. Released in 1984, this groundbreaking and impassioned account of the police raids brought Alanis Obomsawin to international attention.

"The Dene nation is made up of eighteen thousand people speaking five distinct languages and spread over 1.8 million square kilometers in the western Canadian subarctic. In the 1970s and 1980's, the campaign against the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, support for the leadership of Georges Eramus in the Assembly of First Nations, and land claim negotiations with the federal government put the Dene on the leading edge of Canada's Native rights movement.

"In this recent era of indigenous peoples rights recognition, many states around the globe are faced with reconciling the pre-existing, inherent rights of indigenous peoples with those held and asserted by the state. Within New Zealand we remain engaged in this process of reconciliation and while there has been significant progress, there remain many outstanding and controversial questions about the status of Maori and their treaty and customary rights. This fact was brought into sharp focus by the Court of Appeal decision of Ngati Apa.

"This book looks at the way in which dispute resolution processes can be developed to more effectively empower Aboriginal people and assist with the more equitable and satisfactory resolution of disputes between Aboriginal people and between Aboriginal people and other groups.

It uses conflict around land, particularly at the intersection between land claim and native title as its focus. These have been identified through extensive field research.

"Relying extensively on the court transcripts from Delgam’Uukw v. British Columbia, her own research, and material provided by the Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs’ office, Dawn Mills paints a compelling picture of the Gitxsan relationship to the land and their community, and their court battle all the way to Canada’s Supreme Court to prove their Aboriginal right to land and self-government.

"What happens to a First Nation after the successful negotiation of a land claim? Navigating Neoliberalism argues that neoliberalism, which drives government policy concerning First Nations in Canada, can also drive self-determination. And in a globalizing world, new opportunities for indigenous governance may transform socioeconomic well-being.