Abstract
Many indigenous people have been deprived of their lands and resources by military domination, unlawful and fraudulent settlements, forcible removal and relocation, and illegal expropriation. Since about 1950, a growing international movement has led to recognizing and protecting the specific rights of indigenous peoples by both international agencies and through national legislatures. This study analyzes the indigenous land claims process in Canada. It covers the evolution of a legal land claims process, focusing on specific claims before the Indian Claims Commission and the comprehensive claims with respect to the common types of claims in Canada, the methods of compensation/restitution, and the effectiveness of the present system. In addition, this study reports on and analyzes outcomes and suggests policy recommendations for other countries that are developing a process for indigenous peoples’ land claims.
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Notes
- 1.
Indigenous peoples are the descendants of the original inhabitants of any land (UN 1992). Indigenous people are people sharing the same language, race, religion, culture and customs, occupying a specific territory long before a foreign State began to rule the land and its inhabitants. This term mainly refers to those communities that underwent colonization and were subjected to the legal and social orders of foreign States (Ceccherini 2005).
- 2.
Terra nullius is a Latin expression from the Roman law, which means no man’s land or empty land.
- 3.
A First Nation is a legally undefined term that came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the term “Indian band”. (www.wikepedia.com).
- 4.
The department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), defines treaties between the Crown and Aboriginal people to be solemn agreements that set out promises, obligations and benefits for both parties – www.inac.gc.ca
- 5.
Land claims are unresolved grievances between Indian Bands – also called First Nations – and the Government of Canada relating to land and resources.
- 6.
The Indian Specific Claims Commission in Canada is also referred to as the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) in some literature, but in this paper Indian Claims Commission (ICC) refers to the claims commission in the USA.
- 7.
As per Article 342 of the Indian Constitution there are some 573 communities recognized by the government as Scheduled Tribes.
- 8.
Land claims are unresolved grievances between Indian Bands – also called First Nations – and the Government of Canada relating to land and resources.
- 9.
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a “tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band.” The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band, which is not vested in the Crown (for example, Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve on Manitoulin Island) is also subject to the Indian Act provisions governing reserves (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_reserves 2006).
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Simons, R.A., Pai, S.H. (2008). Indigenous Land Claims in Canada: A Retrospective Analysis. In: Simons, R.A., Malmgren, R., Small, G. (eds) Indigenous Peoples and Real Estate Valuation. Research Issues in Real Estate, vol 10. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77938-6_5
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