Ghost Dancing With Colonialism

by Woo, Grace Li Xiu

• ISBN13: 9780774818889
• ISBN10: 0774818883
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-07-19
• Publisher: Univ of British Columbia Pr

Summary

Some assume that Canada earned a place among postcolonial states in 1982 when it took charge of its Constitution. Yet despite the formal recognition accorded to Aboriginal and treaty rights at that time, Indigenous peoples continue to argue that they are still being colonized. Grace Woo assesses this allegation using a binary model that distinguishes colonial from postcolonial legality. She argues that two legal paradigms governed the expansion of the British Empire, one based on popular consent, the other on conquest and the power to command. During the twentieth century, international law formally rejected the conquest model. However, despite the best intentions of lawyers and judges, the beliefs and practices of the colonial age continue to haunt Supreme Court of Canada rulings concerning Indigenous rights. The binary analysis applied inGhost Dancing with Colonialismcasts explanatory light on ongoing tensions between Canada and Indigenous peoples, suggesting new ways to bridge the cultural divide and arrive at a truly postcolonial justice system. Grace Li Xiu Woois a retired member of the Law Society of British Columbia. She has taught in the Program of Legal Studies for Native People at the University of Saskatchewan.