I was once closely involved in how Canada and the US treated its Native people,
but that was many years ago. However, I'll see what I can still remember.
In the case of both countries there was considerable initial recognition of
Native groups being independent entities or nations with title to their lands.
However, where Canada and the US differed was with regard to how Native
autonomy, including land title, was to be dealt with as frontiers expanded. In
the US, it was extinguished through a series of Indian wars. The Indians,
defeated in battle, became subject to American law and administration. In
Canada there were skirmishes and Indians did take part in wars between the
English and French, but the general process of dealing with them was initially
via treaties and subsequently via claims agreements. Canada, unlike the US,
the government had never gone to war with Indian tribes and thus had never
taken their lands and rights from them.
Via treaties, Indians gave up large areas of land in return for specific
promises of support from the federal government. However, they were able to
retain specific portions of their lands as outlined in the treaties. When we
hear of Native blockades to roads and railroads, the usual cause is that the
lands they were supposed to retain were not given to them or were encroached
upon by non-Native development. There is a specific claims process in effect
which is supposed to deal with this kind of thing, but it is doing it far too
slowly.
The claims process is typically covers Native groups and areas never brought
under treaty. The keystone case is Calder, in which the Supreme Court of
Canada recognized that the land rights of the Nisga'a in northern British
Columbia had never been extinguished. The first major claim settlement in
Canada was the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement which protected Native
lands and interests in the face of major hydropower development.
The Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry of the 1970s covered a region which was
under treaty, but in which the treaties were totally inadaquate to deal with
the huge impact that industrial development could have on region. The pipeline
was not built, but since then almost all land claim issues in the region have
been resolved.
That is all I have time to remember at present. Supper time. I hope I got it
right.
Ed
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christoph Reuss" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2007 4:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Futurework] Good thing he's infallible?
>> Good. OK, you mean AIPAC
>
> AIPAC is only part of that lobby.
>
>
>> It is up to the person who makes an assertion to provide the supporting
>> evidence, Chris, not the challenger.
>
> Formally correct, but if the assertion is as false as you seem to believe,
> it should be easy for you to present evidence for your view. Anything that
> comes close to a "Holocaust industry for Native Americans".
>
>
>> I know several AIPAC pretty well; never have I heard any of them oppose
>> legislation in favor of Native Americans.
>
> That's not necessary because there is no far-reaching legislation in favor
> of Native Americans.
>
>
>> I have no doubt that Palestinians
>> are treated by the Israelis as badly as Europeans treated Native Americans.
>> But that does not suggest that AIPAC opposes pro-Indian policies. After all
>> Stalin killed millions of Russians: does that mean he also opposed Native
>> Americans?
>
> This comparison is trivializing genocide -- Stalin didn't kill them for
> being Russians but for their individual positions or acts.
>
> If American Natives would receive adequate (i.e. large) compensations,
> restitutions and official apologies, people worldwide would wonder why
> Palestinians don't get the same from Israel. Also, the extent of the
> American genocide has to be kept from entering global public awareness
> in order not to dwarf the Holocaust.
>
> Chris
>
>
>
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