Finding law about life: a cross-cultural study of indigenous legal principles in Nishnawbe Aski Nation

• Main Author: Daniel, Meaghan
• Other Authors: Borrows, John
• Format: Others
• Language: English; en
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Indigenous; legal principles
• Online Access: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca//handle/1828/9354

This is a cross-cultural study of Indigenous legal traditions in Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), a political territorial organization in northern Ontario. By analyzing NAN’s resolutions (passed by NAN Chiefs-in-Assembly to direct NAN’s mandate), I identify legal principles. As law arises from worldviews, law’s function is to protect the values of that worldview. This study discusses two values (creation and interdependence) as analytic tools, used to recognise legal principles. Context grounds the conclusions, as they relate to specific people and land. Four legal principles are identified: earthbound need, sacred/natural supremacy, gifted responsibility and relational jurisdiction. These principles together reveal that law in NAN is focused on the protection of life. Overarching the results is a broader purpose, to take up the educative work previously shouldered by NAN alone. The duty to learn is more than political obligation, but as I argue, is a matter of life itself. === Graduate === 2019-05-11