First Year Law Guide

Can Canada claim to be a just society for Indigenous peoples? To answer the question, and as part of the process of reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission urged a better understanding of Aboriginal law for all Canadians. Aboriginal Peoples and the Law responds to that call, introducing readers with or without a legal background to modern Aboriginal law and outlining significant cases and decisions in straightforward, non-technical language. Jim Reynolds provides the historical context needed to understand relations between Indigenous peoples and settlers and explains key topics such as sovereignty, fiduciary duties, the honour of the Crown, Aboriginal rights and title, treaties, the duty to consult, and Indigenous law. He also discusses key international developments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He concludes by considering major questions that need to be resolved, including balancing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal rights and interests and the benefits and drawbacks of using either litigation or negotiation to resolve Indigenous issues.

This comprehensive casebook surveys the most important issues in Canadian law concerning Aboriginal peoples, contextualizing them within their larger cultural, political, and sociological framework. Extensively updated, this edition covers new pertinent Aboriginal case law from the Supreme Court of Canada, information about the development and passsage of the Indigenous Languages Act proposed by the federal Trudeau government, the change in judical approach towards Aboriginal treaty interpretation, and a section about spirituality and development of the duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal rights. This edition also contains questions relating to the material to encourage academic discourse and engage the reader.

Canada's Indigenous Constitution reflects on the nature and sources of law in Canada, beginning with the conviction that the Canadian legal system has helped to engender the high level of wealth and security enjoyed by people across the country. However, longstanding disputes about the origins, legitimacy, and applicability of certain aspects of the legal system have led John Borrows to argue that Canada's constitution is incomplete without a broader acceptance of Indigenous legal traditions. With characteristic richness and eloquence, John Borrows explores legal traditions, the role of governments and courts, and the prospect of a multi-juridical legal culture, all with a view to understanding and improving legal processes in Canada. He discusses the place of individuals, families, and communities in recovering and extending the role of Indigenous law within both Indigenous communities and Canadian society more broadly. This is a major work by one of Canada's leading legal scholars, and an essential companion to Drawing Out Law: A Spirit's Guide.

Stemming from the Indigenous Bar Association Conference held in 2018, this special edition of the Canadian Native Law Reporter features rewritten decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada, now reimagined and issued from the “Indigenous Nations Court”. The creation of the fictitious Indigenous Nations Court stems from years of frustration felt by Indigenous peoples with the Supreme Court of Canada decisions written by judges who, due to their backgrounds and training in Canadian law, do not have sufficient understanding of the history and contemporary experiences of Indigenous peoples and the importance of having their jurisdiction and legal orders respected. To respond to such concerns, the Indigenous Nations Court is comprised of individuals felt to possess such knowledge.