Description
Finding Dahshaa: Self-Government, Social Suffering, and Aboriginal Policy in Canada by Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox, a non-Indigenous scholar who worked as negotiator for the Dehcho, DÚl¯nÛ, and Inuvialuit and Gwich'in peoples in the Northwest Territories, offers a unique perspective and analysis of self-government negotiations. Using the metaphor of dahshaa, a rotted spruce wood essential in moose-hide tanning, the author examines three case studies to demonstrate the need for reconciliation and justice through self-government. By examining Dehcho Resource Revenue Sharing, DÚl¯nÛ Child and Family Services, and Inuvialuit and Gwich'in Culture and Language, the book seeks to explain why self-government requires much patience and hard work. Government policy and bureaucrats involved in self-government negotiations much acknowledge the concepts of Indigenous suffering in the past as well as Indigenous knowledge and ways of life. Injustice is not simply something from the distant past, it clearly remains a present factor in the here and now. The colonial-based relationship must be acknowledged and changed if true self-government initiatives are to flourish. The book contains a bibliography, index, maps, and historical and contemporary photographs. First Nation Communities Read 2012 title.