Legal status, laws, etc, Canada, Indigenous Peoples, First Nations 

"It has been twenty years ago since Aboriginal and treaty rights were included in Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982, and provided the basis for recognition of the unique status of Indigenous peoples within Canada. After four First Ministers’ Conferences on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters failed to produce any substantial agreement between Indigenous peoples and Canada, the precise meaning and content of Sec. 35 has remained unclear. As a result, Sec. 35 has been largely defined through a series of court cases. Despite these court cases, many Indigenous and non-indigenous people continue to have different visions of the possibilities and limitations of Sec. 35." -- back cover. 

Contents:

Introduction / Ardith Walkem and Hailie Bruce -- Building a box, finding storage space / Ian Waddell -- We were fighting for nationhood not section 35 / Mildred C. Poplar -- Petition to the Queen from Indian Nations -- The Mi'kmaq-Canadian Treaty relationship : a 277 year journey of rediscovery / Cheryl Knockwood -- Section 35 and Metis Aboriginal rights : promises must be kept / Mark Stevenson -- Aboriginal rights to repatriation of cultural property / Catherine Bell and Robert Paterson -- Douglas Treaty perspective (Tom Sampson) -- Offerings to an emerging future / Louise Mandell -- Indigenous territoriality in Canadian courts / Douglas Harris -- Constructing the constitutional box : the Supreme Court's section 35(1) reasoning / Ardith Walken -- Measuring a work in progress : Canadian, constitutionalism, citizenship and Aboriginal Peoples / John Borrows -- The struggles of Indigenous peoples for and of freedom / James Tully -- The operation was successful, but the patient died / Lee Maracle -- Aboriginal rights on the ground : making section 35 meaningful / Arthur Manuel -- Bringing our living constitution home / Halie Bruce and Ardith Walkem -- Lock, stock and barrel -- Box of treasures or empty box / L. June McCue. 

Includes bibliographical references.