Canadian History: Native Americans/Aboriginals And The Legal Construction Of Race Essay Examples

The James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Claims Settlement Act established a compact between the indigenous peoples known as the Inuit and the Crees who resided in Quebec regarding land settlement patterns in 1975. Indeed, the treatment of Native Americans by Canadians mirrored that of the United States. The agreement largely pertains to the economic development of certain areas as well as issues related to property in the northern part of Quebec. It also establishes a litany of social cultural, and political institutions for these indigenous populations that were involved in the creation of this agreement. In order to understand its significance, it is important to know the historical context in which this agreement materialized. This agreement touches on many diverse subjects related to indigenous rights and underscores the centrality of land to nation-building. The ancestral lands of the indigenous populations were categorized by their specific use. One category reserved certain land solely for the use by natives in Quebec. Another category was created solely for the natives to be able to hunt, fish and trap. The final category is predicated on a joint agreement, as natives can engage in their hunting and fishing activities but they must coexist with other anthropogenic activities such as mining, forestry, and tourism. This act also appeased to the Native Americans by offering both social and environmental protections that would curtail any government activity that would harm the sacred ancestral lands cordoned off for the indigenous peoples in the region. It also calls for the financial compensation from the Canadian government to the indigenous people in order to promote economic development. Indeed, structural racism can be found in patterns of land resettlement for the indigenous, as natives are often forced to relocate to lands that are not feasible for agriculture. Thus, this provision is imbued with certain power dynamics in which the Canadian government fosters the dependency in the natives. Nonetheless, it is unequivocal that this agreement was reached in order to procure land for the Canadian government while seemingly allowing and even encouraging the indigenous to preserve their way of life and cultural rituals. Spatial projects are often racial projects and vice versa, and this agreement underscores how laws are used to construct certain ideas about race.

Works Cited

James Bay and Northern Québec Native Claims Settlement Act, 1975 http://www.gcc.ca/pdf/LEG000000006.pdf