The Marshall decision and native rights / Kevin S. Coates.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coates, Kenneth, 1956-

Series:

McGill-Queen's native and northern series ; 25.

McGill-Queen's native and northern series ; 25

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indigenous peoples--Fishing--Law and legislation--Maritime Provinces.

Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous peoples--Canada--Claims.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 246 p.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In The Marshall Decision and Native Rights Ken Coates explains the cross-cultural, legal, and political implications of the recent Supreme Court decision on the Donald Marshall case. He describes the events, personalities, and conflicts that brought the Maritimes to the brink of a major confrontation between Mi'kmaq and the non-Mi'kmaq fishers in the fall of 1999, detailing the bungling by federal departments and the lack of police preparedness. He shows how political, business, and Mi'kmaq leaders in the Maritimes handled the volatile situation, urging non-violence and speaking out against racism, in contrast to the way federal and regional leaders have responded in other parts of the country. Legal victories such as Marshall, argues Coates, are a double-edged sword that provide greater legal clarity but expand the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in Canada. Coates recounts the history of Mi'kmaq-white contact in the region and considers the impact of native rights on natural resources, showing that the costs will be borne mainly by rural Canadians. By placing the local and regional reaction to the Marshall decision in the broader historical, national, and international context of indigenous political and legal rights The Marshall Decision and Native Rights shows how little Canada has learned from three decades of First Nations legal conflicts and how far the country is from meaningful reconciliation.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Of Eels, Judges, and Lobsters: The Marshall Challenge and the Supreme Court Decision

Paying the Price for History: Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, and Colonists from Treaties to Irrelevance

Mi’kmaq and Maliseet Frustrations: Social Crises and Government Responses

Prelude to Marshall: Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Canada

Thomas Peter Paul and the Mi’kmaq Logging Dispute

The Marshall Crisis and East Coast Confrontations

Postlude to Marshall: Joshua Bernard, Lobster Licences, and the Refinement of Mi’kmaq Rights

What Does It Mean? The Marshall Decision, East Coast Fisheries, and Aboriginal Rights

Appendices

Maritime First Nations Communities: Population

Lobster Quotas and Mi’kmaq Fishing Rights

Treaty of 1760

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [223]-236) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-85894-7

9786612858949

0-7735-6877-8

OCLC:

697733002