First Nations Sacred Sites in Canada's Courts

By Michael Lee Ross
Categories: Indigenous Studies, Indigenous Law, History, Canadian History, Law & Legal Studies, Legal History
Series: Law and Society
Publisher: UBC Press
Hardcover : 9780774811293, 248 pages, March 2005
Paperback : 9780774811309, 248 pages, January 2006
Ebook (PDF) : 9780774851572, 248 pages, October 2007
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Table of contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: What First Nations Peoples Have at Stake

1 The Outlines of a General Theory of Sacred Sites

2 The Context in Which First Nations Carry Their Fight to the Courts

3 In Canada’s Courts: The Meares Strategy

4 In Canada’s Courts: The Haida Strategy

5 How First Nations Sacred Sites Have Fared in Canada’s Courts

6 Tima Kwetsi- Epilogue

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Description

The sacred sites of indigenous peoples are under increasing threat worldwide as a result of state appropriation of control over ancestral territories, coupled with insatiable demands on lands, waters, and natural resources. Of late, First Nations in Canada have taken their fight for these sites to the courts. Informed by elements of a general theory of sacred sites and supported by a thorough analysis of nearly a dozen cases, this book demonstrates not merely that the courts have failed to treat First Nations sacred sites fairly but also why they have failed to do so and suggests practical ways in which courts can improve their handling of the issues.

Reviews

This is a provocative book that is well worth assessing by trial lawyers interested in our aboriginal issues.

- Ronald F. MacIsaac