Reconstitutionalizing Indigeneity: Restoring the "Sovereigns Within"

In: Canadian review of studies in nationalism: Revue canadienne des études sur le nationalisme, Band 27, Heft 1-2, S. 111-130

Abstract

It is contended that indigenous people in Canada, New Zealand, & Australia face a paradox in attempting to create political relations with the aforementioned states. The respective governments have addressed indigenous people's sovereignty claims by attempting to create multicultural societies. However, these governments have also started to consider eliminating certain aspects of their colonial relations with indigenous groups. It is asserted that indigeneity possesses a discursive function & is used to create novel forms of belonging between sovereign political communities. Nevertheless, the restructuring of colonizer-indigenous relations has proved extremely difficult because state governments are unwilling to abandon their position as colonial authority. Despite the persistence of certain colonizing institutions in the aforementioned nations, it is suggested that indigenous people's novel approaches to establishing belonging possess the potential to improve state-indigenous relations.