Indigenous Peoples and the Future of Federalism

Canada's claims to sovereign control over territory are contested by Indigenous claims to land and self-determination. This collection aims to advance reconciliation by developing jurisprudence on a nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous nations and Crown sovereignty. It offers innovative ways for Canada to move forward from this challenge using existing constitutional mechanisms to give life to a plurinational Canadian federalism inclusive of the jurisdiction of Indigenous peoples.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 18 January 2024
Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Canada, as a settler state, faces ongoing challenges to its claims of sovereign control over territory. These challenges come from Indigenous claims to land and self-determination, which assert their historical and cultural connections to the land and seek to assert their autonomy and control over their own affairs.

Indigenous Peoples and the Future of Federalism is a collection of legal analyses that explore the potential for federalism to accommodate multiple and divided sovereignties. The book aims to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada and elsewhere by developing jurisprudence on the possibilities for a nation-to-nation relationship between Indigenous nations and Crown sovereignty.

Contributors to the book use legal creativity to explore how federalism can be structured to include the constitutional jurisdiction of Indigenous nations. Several chapters are grounded in the Canadian context, while others connect the issues to international law and other settler colonial jurisdictions. The book recognizes how Indigenous resistance to settler laws and government decisions can at the same time be the enactment of Indigenous legalities and constitutional cultures.

Ultimately, Indigenous Peoples and the Future of Federalism offers innovative ways for Canada to move forward from this challenge using existing constitutional mechanisms to give life to a plurinational Canadian federalism inclusive of the jurisdiction of Indigenous peoples. The book emphasizes the importance of recognizing and respecting Indigenous rights and the need for meaningful engagement and collaboration with Indigenous communities to achieve reconciliation and a just and sustainable future for all Canadians.

Weight: 466g
Dimension: 151 x 229 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781487555719