Incomplete Sovereigns: Unpacking Patterns of Indigenous Self-Governance in the United States and Canada |
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Authors: | Adrienne M Davidson |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Political Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canadaadrienne.davidson@queensu.ca |
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Abstract: | ABSTRACTIn the early 1970s, both the Canadian and United States federal governments introduced modern land claim agreements as a first step forward in the states’ recognition of Indigenous goals for self-determination. Since then, both the United States and Canadian federal governments have incrementally expanded their recognition of Indigenous rights to include Indigenous goals for political self-determination. Yet, despite the fact that both countries began implementing broadly similar policies at approximately the same time, the degree to which Indigenous political and economic self-determination has been realized varies considerably both within and between the two countries. The variation in Indigenous self-governing power and authority suggests that the policy shift towards Indigenous self-determination is incomplete and has faced important barriers to implementation. This paper investigates two key aspects of this variation in Indigenous self-determination in the United States and Canada: (1) institutional histories embedded in geography, and (2) the temporal nature of policy frameworks. I argue that the full realization of Indigenous self-determination has been shaped in different ways and, ultimately, is limited by the intersection of embedded institutional legacies and federal political dynamics. |
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Keywords: | Indigenous self-determination policy change institutional legacies |
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