Exam (elaborations)
INST 203 UNIT 2 SECTION 1-5 EXAM 2024/2025
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INST 203 UNIT 2 SECTION 1-5 EXAM 2024/2025
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INST 203 UNIT 2 SECTION 1-5 EXAM 2024/2025In the first section of Unit 2, we trace the development of the debate
over Aboriginal rights from the fifteenth century, when European
powers began exploring the Western Hemisphere. Those involved were
European monarchs, religious leaders, biblical scholars, philosophers,
and jurists who sought grounds on which to base their treatment of the
peoples indigenous to what are now North and South America. We also
present an outline of the historical development of the treaty system in
the part of North America that later became Canada, from the eighteenth
century.
Section 2 begins with a discussion of the Royal Proclamation of 1763.
The Proclamation was the primary document that established procedures
for negotiating the elimination of Aboriginal title to land, but it is also
viewed by many Indian people as the "Magna Carta"of their rights. The
article by Robert Surtees introduces the process by which land
surrenders wer - Precise Answer ✔✔Section 3 of the unit is devoted to a
consideration of the interpretation of treaties in the courts. The reading
by Delia Opekokew gives a legal interpretation of the treaties from an
Indigenous perspective, which stands in sharp contrast to the European
interpretation offered by certain scholars, the Canadian federal
government, and the courts.
In Section 4, we consider the numbered treaties, beginning with a
reading by John Andrew Kerr on the treaties of 1876. Articles by Peter
Barkwell and David Knoll allow us to consider the importance of
judicial decisions and legislation pertaining to aspects of the numbered
treaties in various jurisdictions in Canada.
Finally, in Section 5, we consider how Indigenous people understand the
meaning and intent of treaties. The article by Harold Cardinal interprets
,treaties as sacred and inviolable agreements that promote a special
relationship between Her Majesty and First Nations peoples. This view
reflects the oral tradition passed on by Elders about the meaning and the
spirit of the treaties, as understood by the Indian people who signed
them. In the material presented by Richard Price, this tradition is
demonstrated in several transcripts of interviews given by Indian Elders
whose forebears negotiated treaties in Alberta.
Note: Be sure that you understand the basic terms and issues presented
in each section before moving on in the unit. Test yourself by answering
the study questions at the end of each section. You are encouraged to
discuss the material in each section with your tutor to confirm that you
understand it. A brief glossary is given in Section 5.
More than any other issue affecting relations between the Indian nations
and the federal government, the nature of Indian treaty rights generates
heated debates and provokes protests by treaty Indian people who fear
erosion of the treaty relationship they enjoy in with Canada.
Interpretations of what these rights entail are continually sought in
Canadian courts by treaty Indian people and by various levels of
government.
To help you gain a better understanding of some of the contentious
points raised in discussions about Indian treaties, this section traces the
historical development of the treaty system, and examines some of the
legal interpretations handed down by the courts on various issues
mentioned in the treaties. - Precise Answer ✔✔
The Concepts of Aboriginal Title and Aboriginal Rights
,A discussion of the nature and significance of Indian treaties necessarily
includes an exploration of the concepts of Aboriginal title and
Aboriginal rights. Aboriginal title is a legal concept, recognized by the
Anglo-American judicial system, which refers to Indian, Inuit, and Métis
claims to land. Aboriginal rights can be defined as claims of Indigenous
peoples to land, self-government, and hunting and fishing rights, among
others. The full meaning of these concepts, from a European point of
view, can be gained by analysing how European powers justified their
imposition of rule over the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. -
Precise Answer ✔✔In a broader context, the term "Aboriginal rights"
has been used internationally to refer to the rights Indigenous people
possess by virtue of being indigenous to their lands and territories.
While some of the rights this understanding includes were addressed in
the paragraph above, advocates for Indigenous groups and the Canadian
justice system do not agree on the extent and nature of those rights in
many instances. The meaning and extent of the term "Aboriginal title"
are similarly controversial. In a Canadian legal context, Aboriginal title
has been defined as one type of right existing on a continuum of
Aboriginal rights. Importantly, some Aboriginal rights have been
acknowledged and secured in the process, negotiation and writing
related to treaties.
Doctrine of Discovery and Right of Conquest
From the fifteenth century onward, European powers engaged in
voyages of "discovery" throughout the world. An international doctrine
known as the "doctrine of discovery" emerged from the rivalries
produced by these voyages. This doctrine declared that a European
discoverer of lands previously unknown to Europeans was entitled to
claim the exclusive right to acquire those lands from the indigenous
inhabitants. The first European powers to occupy North America
acknowledged the existence of Aboriginal property rights or Aboriginal
, title mainly because the early European settlements and colonies were
militarily weak compared with the Indian nations. To acquire Aboriginal
lands, the Europeans had to negotiate treaties for land cession.[1] The
doctrine of discovery was considered a claim, and therefore did not
affect Aboriginal title. To the European powers, it merely limited the -
Precise Answer ✔✔Church officials and European monarchs had to face
the question of how to treat the Aboriginal inhabitants of the New
World. Should they be treated as beasts, slaves, or human beings with
natural rights? Should their social institutions and customs be respected?
Should European rule be imposed on them and title to their land be
stripped from them because they were not Christians?
One result of the consideration of these issues was the encomienda
system established in parts of what is now South America. Spanish
colonists and settlers were given tracts of land by the king of Spain. The
Aboriginal people who lived on a tract of land (known as an encomienda
in Spanish) that was claimed by a colonist were entrusted to the colonist
for conversion to Christianity. The colonist (encomendero) could
demand forced labour from the Aboriginal people in return for his
efforts to Christianize them.
Justifying European Claims
One of the European scholars who dealt with the matter of Indian self-
determination and title to land was Francisco de Vitoria, Professor of
Theology at the University of Salamanca. In his De Indis Noviter
Inventis, published in 1532, de Vitoria dismissed the claim of the pope
as the overlord of all discovered lands.[3] Nevertheless, he had to
provide justification for claims made by European monarchs to
territories in the New World.
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