Unit 5

Question 1

Define assimilation

Answer 1

policy of integrating minority groups into mainstream

Question 2

Define comprehensive claim

Answer 2

land claim based on tradiitonal use and occupancy not dealt with by treaty or other legal means

Question 3

Define fiduciary responsibility

Answer 3

duty owed by one party to another over which it has power

Question 4

Define First Nations

Answer 4

Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples

Question 5

Define Indians

Answer 5

commonly used to refer to Aboriginal peoples

Question 6

Define Indian Act

Answer 6

statute passed in 1876 that consolidated existing laws pertaining to Indians

Question 7

Define Inuit

Answer 7

term used to describe people formally known as Eskimos

Question 8

Define Metis

Answer 8

descendants of the original Red River Metis Nation

Question 9

Define reserve

Answer 9

piece of land set aside, usually by treaty for the use of a particular group of First Nations people

Question 10

Define Royal Proclamation

Answer 10

King George III, 1763, recognizing Aboriginal land claims, first recognition by Crown of Aboriginal rights in Canada

Question 11

Define self-determination

Answer 11

right of a nation of people to determine their own status, fate, and course of action

Question 12

Define self-government

Answer 12

any arrangement by which people cna decide and consent to the way in which they will be governed

Question 13

Define status/ non-status Indians

Answer 13

Status subject to benefits of the Indian Act and its application

Question 14

Define systemic discrimination

Answer 14

institutional arrangements that, when applied to everyone, have a greater impact on a particular group of people than the general population

Question 15

What is meant by the phrase “jurisdictional limbo”?

Answer 15

Aboriginal people can’t negotiate agreements with federal and provincial governments that would give them right to self-government because they don’t have negotiating rights already

Question 16

Where does fiduciary responsibility flow from? (3)

Answer 16

historic occupation of the land and notion that Crown must act honourably

Question 17

Why is fiduciary significant?

Answer 17

It forces disempowerment of Aboriginal people to the forefront

Question 18

Define treaty federalism

Answer 18

nation to nation relationships between the Crown and Aboriginal nations, based on treaties as fundamental consitutional documents

Question 19

What role do Aboriginal associations play in intergovernmental relations? What are the difficulties in fitting them into the process?

Answer 19

• some represent groups of people (i.e., women) and some represent types of Aboriginal groups (i.e., Metis)
• typically Aboriginal leaders do not represent geographic territories, which is a requirement of federalism status in Canada

Question 20

What competing visions have been revealed by the treaty-making process in BC?

Answer 20

1 - Status. One view is that it is “government” and a “minority” group, competing with view that it is two equal governments negotiating
2 - Law. One view that legal rights are indefined, a vague constitutional reference. Another view that they are well-defined in Aboriginal tradition
3 - Reconciliation. An end state. An ongoing process.

Question 21

What are 4 recommendations to improve relations?

Answer 21

1 - urgent need for institutional development
2 - end jurisdictional shell-game
3 - more processes based on local successes (micro efforts) in contrast with high-level constitutional discussions
4 - public dialogue and exchange of narratives