Finding Dahshaa
Self-Government, Social Suffering, and Aboriginal Policy in Canada
Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Customs & Traditions, Native American Studies
| Author: | Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox | ISBN: | 9780774858915 |
| Publisher: | UBC Press | Publication: | January 1, 2010 |
| Imprint: | UBC Press | Language: | English |
| Author: | Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox |
| ISBN: | 9780774858915 |
| Publisher: | UBC Press |
| Publication: | January 1, 2010 |
| Imprint: | UBC Press |
| Language: | English |
The social suffering and self-determination of Indigenous peoples are important public policy issues in Canada today. This book asks a fundamental question regarding Canadian-Aboriginal relations: Are self-government agreements an effective path to self-determination?
Finding Dahshaa describes self-government negotiations between Canada and the Dehcho, Délînê, and Inuvialuit and Gwich'in peoples in the Northwest Territories. It contrasts boardroom negotiating sessions with moosehide-tanning camps and community meetings in small northern communities to show that Canada's Aboriginal policy has failed because injustice and social suffering have become part of the process itself. Moosehide-tanning practices, which embody values central to Dene self-determination, offer an alternative model for negotiations. Through parallel narratives, the author shows how attaining self-determination is akin to finding dahshaa, a rare type of dried, rotted spruce wood essential for achieving success in this core cultural process.
An informed and passionate account, with a foreword by Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus, Finding Dahshaa is the first ethnographic study of self-government negotiations in Canada.
The social suffering and self-determination of Indigenous peoples are important public policy issues in Canada today. This book asks a fundamental question regarding Canadian-Aboriginal relations: Are self-government agreements an effective path to self-determination?
Finding Dahshaa describes self-government negotiations between Canada and the Dehcho, Délînê, and Inuvialuit and Gwich'in peoples in the Northwest Territories. It contrasts boardroom negotiating sessions with moosehide-tanning camps and community meetings in small northern communities to show that Canada's Aboriginal policy has failed because injustice and social suffering have become part of the process itself. Moosehide-tanning practices, which embody values central to Dene self-determination, offer an alternative model for negotiations. Through parallel narratives, the author shows how attaining self-determination is akin to finding dahshaa, a rare type of dried, rotted spruce wood essential for achieving success in this core cultural process.
An informed and passionate account, with a foreword by Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus, Finding Dahshaa is the first ethnographic study of self-government negotiations in Canada.
