Indigenous Peoples, Lands, and Resources

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Lecture) The Canadian government is currently looking at privatizing indigenous peoples' land on-reserve. Some believe this will boost economic development and create jobs and opportunities. Others argue this will amount to nothing more than another assimilation project, with the potential to undermine indigenous cultures and communities. This course examines the unique relationship that indigenous people have to land and natural resources. It includes a study of national and international legal frameworks for indigenous resource and property rights and some of their implications in practice. Using this framework, the course includes a number of case studies involving national and international conflicts associated with resource development projects (hydro, mining, oil, etc.) in indigenous territories and explores the contradictions and possibilities for indigenous communities whether they choose to pursue these projects or not. Requisite Courses: IS-1016 (or HIST-1009) and IS-1017, or the former IS-1015 [prerequisite(s)].