Description
Journeying Forward: Dreaming First Nations' Independence is a powerful and thoughtful discussion of First Nations and self-government in Canada. Patricia Monture-Angus is a noted Mohawk legal scholar and activist. Her most recent book details her personal argument for First Nations' independence rather than self-government. The author's experiences as a law professor combined with personal discovery of her Haudenosaunee culture have served to influence her current position. She makes her arguments in a readable and accessible style. The book begins by explaining her background and what forces have brought her to this current thinking. Seven chapters allow for development of her argument. Beginning with a search for a much-needed definition of self-determination, the first chapter examines the meaning and context of First Nations and their search true governance. Chapter two discusses the theoretical foundations and the challenge of Aboriginal Rights in Canada. The importance of legal decisions and their precedents is explored in the next three chapters. Cases prior to 1990 demonstrate the way judicial decisions serve to enhance the Crown's ability to deny responsibility. Legal cases include St. Catherines Milling (1888), Calder 1973), Guerin (1984), Sparrow (1990), and Delgamuukw (1998). The author also discusses the issues of rights, the Charter, and women's rights (Lavell and Bedard 1974). In rejecting the colonialism associated with the Indian Act, the author rejects the notion that self-government can be achieved through Indian Act band councils and the Assembly of First Nations. Her arguments offer a challenge as well as stimulating reading for anyone interested in Native issues, sovereignty, self-government, and Canadian politics.