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Appendices and References for “Ghost Dancing with Colonialism: Decolonization and Indigenous Rights at the Supreme Court of Canada” Woo, Grace Li Xiu

Abstract

Canada earned a place among other so‐called postcolonial states when the Constitution Act, 1982 formally recognized Aboriginal and treaty rights. Nearly thirty years later, however, Indigenous leaders and activists continue to argue that they are subject to ongoing colonization. Grace Li Xiu Woo assesses the truth of this claim by using a binary model to distinguish colonial from postcolonial legality in Anglo‐Canadian history and at the Supreme Court. Part 1 demonstrates how two legal paradigms governed the expansion of the British Empire, one based on popular consent, the other on conquest and the power to command. Part 2, which focuses on 65 Supreme Court decisions concerning Aboriginal rights, shows that although twentieth century international law rejected the law of command in favour of democracy, the beliefs and practices of the colonial age continue to haunt judicial decision making, despite the best intentions of legislators and judges. Compelling and innovative, 'Ghost Dancing with Colonialism' not only draws attention to the underlying paradigms that inform ongoing tensions between Canada and Indigenous peoples. It also offers solutions to complete the decolonization process, bridge the cultural divide, and arrive at a truly postcolonial justice system.

Item Metadata

Title	Appendices and References for “Ghost Dancing with Colonialism: Decolonization and Indigenous Rights at the Supreme Court of Canada”
Creator	Woo, Grace Li Xiu
Publisher	UBC Press
Date Issued	2011
Description	Canada earned a place among other so‐called postcolonial states when the Constitution Act, 1982 formally recognized Aboriginal and treaty rights. Nearly thirty years later, however, Indigenous leaders and activists continue to argue that they are subject to ongoing colonization. Grace Li Xiu Woo assesses the truth of this claim by using a binary model to distinguish colonial from postcolonial legality in Anglo‐Canadian history and at the Supreme Court. Part 1 demonstrates how two legal paradigms governed the expansion of the British Empire, one based on popular consent, the other on conquest and the power to command. Part 2, which focuses on 65 Supreme Court decisions concerning Aboriginal rights, shows that although twentieth century international law rejected the law of command in favour of democracy, the beliefs and practices of the colonial age continue to haunt judicial decision making, despite the best intentions of legislators and judges. Compelling and innovative, 'Ghost Dancing with Colonialism' not only draws attention to the underlying paradigms that inform ongoing tensions between Canada and Indigenous peoples. It also offers solutions to complete the decolonization process, bridge the cultural divide, and arrive at a truly postcolonial justice system.
Subject	Law; Native studies; Postcolonial studies; Aboriginal rights; Treaty rights; Supreme Court; British Empire; International law; Democracy; Colonization; Decolonization; Indigenous peoples
Genre	Report
Type	Text
Language	eng
Date Available	2011-05-30
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI	10.14288/1.0108019
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/34959
Affiliation	Non UBC
Peer Review Status	Reviewed
Scholarly Level	Researcher
Rights URI	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository	DSpace

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Woo_Appendices.pdf -- 437.52kB

Woo_References.pdf -- 166.34kB

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Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International