1982, ISBN: 9780802005038

In the nineteenth century canadians were fond of commenting on this country's liberal treatment of Indians. For those who still cling to that soothing fantasy, Sidney L. Harring set the r… Mehr…

In the nineteenth century canadians were fond of commenting on this country's liberal treatment of Indians. For those who still cling to that soothing fantasy, Sidney L. Harring set the record straight. In this sweeping re-investigation of Canadian legal history, Harring shows that Canada has historically dispossessed Aboriginal peoples of even the most basic civil rights.Calling on scores of nineteenth-century legal cases, Harring reveals that colonial and early Canadian judges were sublimely ignorant of British policy concerning Indians and their lands. A great strength of the study is its account of the remarkable tenacity of First Nations in continuing their own legal traditions despite obstruction by the settler society that came to dominate them.The recognition of 'pre-existing Aboriginal rights' in the Constitutional Act of 1982 has shown that Aboriginal legal traditions have a dear place in contemporary Canadian law. This study leaves no doubt that Canadian Native legal culture requires further study by scholars and more serious attention by courts in rendering decisions. Media > Book, [PU: University of Toronto Press]<