Resurrecting the peace: Separate justice and the invention of legal tradition in the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation.

The intensification of Canadian amerindian self-determination movements, combined with the recent publication of a series of government reports detailing the mistreatment of amerindians in the Canadian criminal legal system, has placed the creation of separate, amerindian criminal legal systems at the centre of many self-determination campaigns. As alternatives to involvement in the Canadian legal system, many of these proposed alternative structures purport to embody a return to traditional modes of dispute resolution which are offered as both rationale and blueprint for their modern counterparts. Focusing upon proposals for a separate, traditional legal system offered by two groups within the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation of Quebec, the dissertation juxtaposes these proposals with the traditions of dispute resolution extant in the period of initial contact between Iroquois and European. The early traditional lifestyle of the Kahnawake Mohawks is examined, as is the chronicle of contact and acculturation which eroded their original traditional structures. Replete with gaps, the documented history and "legal traditions" of these Mohawks are revealed to differ significantly from those histories postulated by the competing factions, each of which adopts a history which reinforces both its own position on "legal traditions" and in the proposed "post-internal colonial" context. To the degree that these histories and the "traditions" they legitimate and empower are consciously manufactured, their legitmacy in the eyes of Kahnawake people and the Canadian state is diminished. Concentrating upon what appears to be a consciously manufactured, rather than genuine, link between the "old" and "new" traditions, the proposed traditional legal systems are examined through Hobsbawm's theory of the invention of tradition. This examination leads to the conclusion that, while these "traditional systems" and their supporting histories do contain some invented elements and may thus be criticised as invented rather than genuine, such invention need not constitute a fatal compromise to the integrity of the modern traditional legal form nor to the self-determination aspirations of their proponents

Transcriptomic analysis supports similar functional roles for the two thymuses of the tammar wallaby

Background: The thymus plays a critical role in the development and maturation of T-cells. Humans have a single thoracic thymus and presence of a second thymus is considered an anomaly. However, many vertebrates have multiple thymuses. The tammar wallaby has two thymuses: a thoracic thymus (typically found in all mammals) and a dominant cervical thymus. Researchers have known about the presence of the two wallaby thymuses since the 1800s, but no genome-wide research has been carried out into possible functional differences between the two thymic tissues. Here, we used pyrosequencing to compare the transcriptomes of a cervical and thoracic thymus from a single 178 day old tammar wallaby.Results: We show that both the tammar thoracic and the cervical thymuses displayed gene expression profiles consistent with roles in T-cell development. Both thymuses expressed genes that mediate distinct phases of T-cells differentiation, including the initial commitment of blood stem cells to the T-lineage, the generation of T-cell receptor diversity and development of thymic epithelial cells. Crucial immune genes, such as chemokines were also present. Comparable patterns of expression of non-coding RNAs were seen. 67 genes differentially expressed between the two thymuses were detected, and the possible significance of these results are discussed.Conclusion: This is the first study comparing the transcriptomes of two thymuses from a single individual. Our finding supports that both thymuses are functionally equivalent and drive T-cell development. These results are an important first step in the understanding of the genetic processes that govern marsupial immunity, and also allow us to begin to trace the evolution of the mammalian immune system

Iati-Onkwenhonwe: Blood quantum, membership and the politics of exclusion in Kahnawake

The decades since the 1970s have seen an 'explosion of interest' in the concept of citizenship, both as means to elucidating the compromises over demands of justice and membership which underlie communities and feed into definitions of citizenship, and the increasing instability of those communities and ideals in the modern era. While there have been as many contexts of the negotiation of citizenship as there are nations (whether real or imagined), within Canada some of the most intriguing discourses around belonging have occurred within First Nations. This article is an attempt to elucidate the struggles over citizenship and membership within one Canadian Aboriginal community, the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake. Here, intertwined with issues of blood, 'Indian status' and entitlement, Kahnawake has been riven by contests over the meaning of 'belonging' and who should belong in this First Nation

Whither restorativeness? restorative justice and the challenge of intimate violence in aboriginal communities

The issue of partner and family violence in Aboriginal settings has long presented unique challenges for communities and criminal justice. Dissatisfaction with conventional legal responses, and especially with mandatory charging policies, whose implications for victims and families are, at best, mixed, has initiated a shift toward restorative justice, which is perceived to be more culturally appropriate and respectful of Aboriginal families. However, there are significant challenges arising from issues of c

By Law or In Justice The Indian Specific Claims Commission and the Struggle for Indigenous Justice

The Indian Specific Claims Commission (ICC) was formed in 1991 in response to the Oka crisis. Its purpose was to resolve and expedite specific claims arising out of promises made to Indigenous nations in treaties, the Indian Act, and the larger set of legal and ethical obligations flowing from the Crown to those nations. Had those promises been kept, these claims would not exist. By Law or In Justice traces the history of Indigenous claims in Canada and the work of the ICC from 1991 until it was decommissioned by the Harper government in 2009. An insider’s account, it is written by long-standing ICC commissioner Jane Dickson who looks critically at the development and implementation of Canada’s specific claims policy. Drawing upon the records of the commission and a wealth of research and experience with Indigenous claims and communities, she provides an unflinching look at the inquiry process and the parties involved as they struggled to achieve just resolution of specific claims. By Law or In Justice provides a balanced, careful analysis of Canada’s claims policy, the challenges faced by Indigenous claimants, and the legacy of the commission. By documenting the promises made and broken to Indigenous nations, this book also makes a passionate plea for greater claims justice so that true reconciliation can be achieved. The book is intended for the wide range of readers who want or need to know more about how the claims process works and how the state met, or failed to meet, its promises to Indigenou

"This is my history, I know who I am": History, factionalist competition, and the assumption of imposition in the Kahnawake Mohawk nation

It is my intention to muddy the waters of discussions of factionalism in the modern Mohawk Iroquois community of Kahnawake (Quebec) by dissecting a historic incident that stands at a crossroads of the history of factionalism in the community. The event concerns the arrival of the council government system in Kahnawake in 1889, which is construed by modern Kahnawake factions as resulting from a simple act of imposition of that system on the community by the Canadian state. This assumption of imposition, which is undermined somewhat by the extant records describing the incident and its aftermath, appears to be an important area of agreement between Mohawk (those characterized as traditional) and Mohawk (those deemed to have embraced the council system and thus moved away from tradition). That a single historical event, the 1889 imposition of council government, should be viewed so similarly and yet inform such apparently radically different political visions, hints at the complexity of history and the factionalist activity that it informs and encourages in Kahnawake. It also raises doubts about the oversimplification of Kahnawake factionalism in terms of the event and perception of imposition itself and its putative dichotomization of Kahnawake politics between those Mohawks who accepted council government and their Mohawk brethren who rejected it. It also suggests that the so-called lessons of history may tell us less about the past than about how past events may be shaped to reinforce or challenge a particular view of the future. In this light, "historical facts" may contribute more to an understanding of modern politics than a traditional past

The history of native Americans and the misdirected study of organised crime

Conventional chronologies of the history of organised crime in America tend to focus on the arrival of large numbers of Italian immigrants in the 1890s as the catalyst for organised crime. However, analysis of the history of interactions between colonists and aboriginal peoples in North America suggests a much earlier incipience of organised criminal activity marked by the arrival of different groups of immigrants, namely, Dutch, French and British colonists to the American north-east. Drawing upon primary documents describing the practices of early trading companies and their representatives, as well as of later land transactions, the authors will present evidence and argument asserting not only a longer history of organised crime in North America but also an explanation for the inadequacy of the paradigm that governs much current organised crime and transnational organised crime research

Aboriginal organized crime in Canada: Developing a typology for understanding and strategizing responses

The present study explores the theory and, to the greatest degree possible given the limitations of the data, the reality of aboriginal participation in what may be defined as 'organized crime' in Canada, engaging the possibility of a definition of 'aboriginal organized crime' and the proposal of a 'typology' of participants. In the development of both the definition and typology, the researchers build upon Beare's definition of organized crime to include the dimension of motivations-whether social, political or economic-which theorists agree are crucial in understanding organized crime activities, but which do not appear in current definitions of the term, as well as important contextual factors informing participation in aboriginal organized crime networks

Will the circle be unbroken?: Aboriginal communities, restorative justice, and the challenges of conflict and change

Embraced with zeal by a wide array of activists and policymakers, the restorative justice movement has made promises to reduce the disproportionate rates of Aboriginal involvement in crime and the criminal justice system and to offer a healing model suitable to Aboriginal communities. Such promises should be the focus of considerable critical analysis and evaluation, yet this kind of scrutiny has largely been absent. 'Will the Circle be Unbroken?' explores and confronts the potential and pitfalls of restorative justice, offering a much-needed critical perspective. Drawing on their shared experiences working with Aboriginal communities, Jane Dickson-Gilmore and Carol LaPrairie examine the outcomes of restorative justice projects, paying special attention to such prominent programs as conferencing, sentencing circles, and healing circles. They also look to Aboriginal justice reforms in other countries, comparing and contrasting Canadian reforms with the restorative efforts in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. 'Will the Circle be Unbroken?' provides a comprehensive overview of the critical issues in Aboriginal and restorative justice, placing these in the context of community. It examines the essential role of community in furthering both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal aspirations for restorative justice

Introduction to Legal Studies

Introduction to Legal Studies, 5e, is intended to provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of law and legal institutions for students in undergraduate university and college programs in legal studies. Like its four predecessors, the fifth edition is structured to reflect the diversity of approaches and perspectives employed within Legal Studies. The underlying theme of this collection of materials is that “law” cannot be understood simply as a set of formal rules, processes and institutions. Rather, law must be understood in its wider context, including the dynamic relations between “the written law”, legal processes, and the political, cultural, social and economic forces within society. Thus any study of law must engage its subject reflexively and critically, rather than accept without question legal rules, processes and institutions as natural, fixed or given. For this reason, most of the material in this collection engages in critical reflection on the purposes, effects and operation of law. The text examines such topics as Canadian legal culture and institutions; theories of law; law-making processes; the personnel of law; dispute resolution; access to justice; citizenship and social belonging; crime, social order and the criminal justice system; law, economy and society; and the relationship between law and social transformation. For courses: Many of the articles raise complex, and sometimes difficult, arguments that students may initially find difficult to fully appreciate. They are included to challenge students both academically and conceptually, and to acquaint them with many new and enduring debates in the field. The articles will encourage students to read and think more broadly, and critically, not only about what law is, but about the fundamental ambiguity of its roles, functions and even limits, in a wide range of societies. This book is usefully paired with a basic introductory text that outlines the pragmatic forms and structures of the Canadian legal system. (Publisher summary)</p