Self-governance

"The first in-depth, interdisciplinary study of Native water rights issues in Canada.
Economic developments in irrigation, agriculture, and hydroelectric power generation in western Canada at the turn of the last century challenged the way Native peoples had traditionally managed the watershed environment. Facing rapidly expanding provincial and federal power as well as private industries, Native peoples saw opportunities to protect their self-governing rights and explore reserve-based economy.

"The North is an increasingly important focal point of public policy. The impact of climate change on the environment and community life underlines the urgent need for measures to slow this trend and facilitate adaptation to uncertain conditions. International events have underlined the importance of safeguarding Canada's sovereignty in its Arctic regions, and the federal government has announced a series of measures to further this objective.

"Finding Dahshaa describes self-government negotiations as they have unfolded between Canada and the Dehcho, Délînê, and Inuvialuit and Gwich’in peoples. By contrasting accounts of negotiating sessions in city boardrooms with vibrant descriptions of Dene moosehide-tanning camps on the land and community meetings in small northern communities, it shows why Canada’s Aboriginal policy has failed to alleviate the causes of social suffering in the North.

"American Indian Sovereignty and Law: An Annotated Bibliography covers a wide variety of topics and includes sources dealing with federal Indian policy, federal and tribal courts, criminal justice, tribal governance, religious freedoms, economic development, and numerous sub-topics related to tribal and individual rights. While primarily focused on the years 1900 to the present, many sources are included that focus on the 19th century or earlier.

"Broken Landscape is a sweeping chronicle of Indian tribal sovereignty under the United States Constitution and the way that legal analysis and practice have interpreted and misinterpreted tribal sovereignty since the nation's founding. The Constitution formalized the relationship between Indian tribes and the United States government--a relationship forged through a long history of war and land usurpation--within a federal structure not mirrored in the traditions of tribal governance.

"In 1899, the Canadian government implemented a policy to replace Mi’kmaw leader selection and other political practices with the triennial system, a Euro-Canadian system of democratic band council elections. Officials in Ottawa assumed the federally mandated and supervised system would redefine Mi’kmaw politics. They were wrong.

"The Navajo Nation court system is the largest tribal legal system in the world. Justice Raymond D. Austin considers the history and implications of how the Navajo Nation courts apply foundational Navajo doctrines to modern legal issues. In addition to detailed case studies, Justice Austin provides a broad view of tribal law, outlining how other indigenous peoples can draw on traditional precepts to control their own futures." -- Provided by publisher

"American Indian Tribal Law examines the development of tribal justice systems from pre-contact to colonization, and into the modern era of self-government. Unique in it's field, America Indian Tribal Law surveys more than 300 tribal courts and 565 Indian tribes nationwide - in a detailed exploration of how disputes are handled and resolved." - Provided by publisher

"An absorbing and comprehensive survey, The Eagle Returns: The Legal History of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians shows a group bound by kinship, geography, and language, struggling to reestablish their right to self-governance. Hailing from northwest Lower Michigan, the Grand Traverse Band has become a well-known national leader in advancing Indian treaty rights, gaming, and land rights, while simultaneously creating and developing a nationally honored indigenous tribal justice system.

"This volume addresses the contentious and topical issues of Aboriginal self-government over child welfare. Using case studies from Australia and Canada, it discusses Aboriginal child welfare in historical and comparative perspectives and critically examines recent legal reforms and changes in the design, management and delivery of child welfare services aimed at securing the 'decolonization' of Aboriginal children and families.