Surviving as Indians : the challenge of self-government / Menno Boldt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boldt, Menno, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indians of North America--Canada--Politics and government.

Indians of North America.

Indians of North America--Canada--Social conditions.

Indians of North America--Canada--Government relations.

Canada.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (405 p.)

Place of Publication:

Toronto, [Ontario] ; Buffalo, [New York] ; London, [England] : University of Toronto Press, 1993.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is about a just future for Indians in Canada. It defines justice in terms of the survival and well-being of Indians as Indians, that is, defined by their traditional principles and philosophies, not by the Indian Act or by their experience of colonialism. Menno Boldt calls for social action, not theory, holding that unless Indians revitalize, adapt, and develop their traditional philosophies and principles for living and surviving in the context of Canadian society, polity, and economy, they will become extinct as Indians; they will survive only as a legal-racial category created by the Indian Act. Moreover, Boldt argues, so long as the mass of Indians continue to live in conditions of degrading dependence, destitution, and powerlessness, Indian government will be a travesty.Surviving as Indians examines the roots in injustice to Indians, and then analyses Canadian Indian policies, Indian leadership, culture, and economy. Boldt stresses five imperatives: moral justice for Indians; Canadian policies that treat Indian rights, interests, aspirations, and needs as equal to those of Canadians; Indian leadership that is committed to eliminating the colonial political and bureaucratic structures on their reserves, and to returning Indian government into the hands of their people; revitalizing Indian cultures, languages, and social systems that are adapted and developed within the framework of traditional philosophies and principles; and economic self-sufficiency and independence to be achieved through employment in the Canadian mainstream.The Indians' future must inevitably be worked out with Canadians. Surviving as Indians intends to open a dialogue between the two groups.

Contents:

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PROLOGUE

1 Justice

Contemporary Injustice

Guilt Management

The Just Society

Parameters and Instrumentalities of Justice

Conclusion

2 Policy

The National Interest

Institutional Assimilation

Pan-Indianism

Indian Government

The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

The End of Indian Policy

3 Leadership

Leadership Characteristics

Indian Self-Government

4 Culture

Cultural Crisis: Causes

Cultural Crisis: Consequences

Cultural RevitalizationResistance to Change

Political Dimensions

5 Economy

Government Policy

Indian Goals

Economy and Self-Government

An Alternative Design

EPILOGUE

APPENDICES

NOTES

SELECTED REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

W

Y

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-281-99723-4

9786611997236

1-4426-8027-X

OCLC:

288092894