This article considers how governance can transform relationships of power between Francophone minority communities and the state through a case study of the Fransaskois. Using a multi-methods framework that combines historical institutionalism and empowerment theory, this study draws attention to the transformative and constitutive power of governance in shaping relationships between Francophone communities and the state. By examining how the Fransaskois claim power from above and build power from below through governance, the study posits governance as a tool for the collective empowerment of Francophone minority communities in their quest to faire communauté. In so doing, it draws attention to the Fransaskois as active agents in generating gradual change through ongoing struggles within and over institutional arrangements.
In 1996, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, the Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan embarked on an ambitious project: they wanted to abandon the colonial legacy of the Indian Act and instead develop a governance framework based on partnerships between self-determining nations. Grounding negotiations in treaties, this "made in Saskatchewan" solution proposed to develop a province-wide system of First Nation governance representing over 115,000 members and seventy communities. Despite efforts to build a novel treaty-based governance framework, negotiations eventually failed. In assessing the gap between the dream and the reality of treaty-based governance in Saskatchewan, this article argues that the failure of the "made in Saskatchewan" solution lies in the parties' inability to break away from Canada's colonial path and fully embrace the reality that "we are all treaty people."
The association of sovereignty with control over territory is being challenged both internally and externally in modern societies. Demands for political autonomy from sub-state minorities undermine the natural link between nation, state and territory from within, while the movement of capital, goods and information across borders contests the relationship between these concepts from without. Scholars of international relations, law, philosophy and political science have already suggested that the sovereignty of nation-states is under attack; however, scant attention has been paid to the way in which changes in the relation between nation, state, and territory affect the normative weight associated with each of these concepts in discussions about sovereignty and self-government. The objectives of this article is to examine the way in which nation, state, sovereignty, and territory are addressed in normative justifications of indigenous self-government and to better understand how these notions are being treated in its implementation.
The association of sovereignty with control over territory is being challenged both internally and externally in modern societies. Demands for political autonomy from sub-state minorities undermine the natural link between nation, state and territory from within, while the movement of capital, goods and information across borders contests the relationship between these concepts from without. Scholars of international relations, law, philosophy and political science have already suggested that the sovereignty of nation-states is under attack; however, scant attention has been paid to the way in which changes in the relation between nation, state, and territory affect the normative weight associated with each of these concepts in discussions about sovereignty and self-government. The objectives of this article is to examine the way in which nation, state, sovereignty, and territory are addressed in normative justifications of indigenous self-government and to better understand how these notions are being treated in its implementation.
Cet article cherche à mieux comprendre comment les pratiques d'inclusion peuvent contribuer à favoriser l'agencéité des communautés en situation minoritaire, c'est-à-dire leur capacité à réaliser leurs projets collectifs. Notre analyse des mouvements de résistance patriote (1837) et métis (1869) révèle que les pratiques d'inclusion des leaders de ces mouvements, qui passaient principalement par la formation d'alliances avec d'autres groupes de la société, doivent compter au nombre des facteurs qui ont contribué à l'avancement de leurs projets politiques. L'inclusion s'impose ainsi comme un outil politique qui peut être mobilisé par les communautés en situation minoritaire pour élargir leur base de pouvoir vis-à-vis de l'État.
RésuméDepuis l'arrêtPowleyde la Cour suprême du Canada en 2003, les études métisses se sont fortement politisées dans la mesure où les conclusions des chercheurs qui servent d'experts dans les causes portées devant les tribunaux ont le potentiel d'avoir une influence concrète sur les jugements rendus. Cet article cartographie les réseaux intellectuels formés par les publications en études métisses à partir d'une analyse de réseaux qui utilise le logiciel UCINet. Notre analyse révèle la présence de deux paradigmes distincts qui proposent des conceptions opposées de l'identité métisse. D'une part, les chercheurs du paradigme de l'hybridité présentent le Métis comme étant issu d'une ascendance mixte. D'autre part, les chercheurs du paradigme de l'ethnogenèse conçoivent le Métis comme appartenant à une nation autochtone distincte. Notre analyse des réseaux en études métisses met en lumière les relations de pouvoir qui animent les débats politiques, juridiques et culturels sur l'identité métisse.
AbstractFor the Métis Nation in Canada, self‐government remains the 'essence of the struggle' for which their political leader, Louis Riel, sacrificed his life in 1885. As one of Canada's founding peoples, the Métis have sought to reclaim their Indigenous right to self‐government by establishing democratic governance bodies, enhancing their economic capacity and pursuing state recognition of their rights. In addition to these efforts, the Métis have been developing a national constitution, which is anticipated to form the basis of a government to government relationship between the Métis Nation and the Canadian state. Through a case study of the Métis, this article explores the role of contemporary constitution‐building in rebuilding Indigenous nations from within and reclaiming self‐government in settler societies. We conclude that the Métis Nation's pursuit of these goals through constitutionalism will depend on its ability to build legitimacy internally amongst its citizens and externally with state decision‐makers.
Abstract.Disagreement over how and between whom power should be shared has led to competing conceptions of federalism in Canada. The model of federalism adopted in theConstitution Act 1867divides power between the provinces and the federal government to the exclusion of Aboriginal peoples. However, pre-Confederation documents such as the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the early treaties suggest that federalism is founded on the coexistence of self-governing nations. This paper presents a case study of how one Aboriginal people, the Métis, are reviving the pre-Confederation vision of federalism founded on mutual recognition by carving out a space for themselves in Canada's political and institutional landscape. We argue that by delivering an expanded array of programs and services to their citizens, creating innovative governance structures, adopting legislation in key areas of Métis interest and fostering economic self-sufficiency, the Métis are reshaping federalism from the bottom up.Résumé.Deux visions antagoniques du fédéralisme canadien existent en raison de conceptions divergentes de la séparation des pouvoirs. Le modèle de fédéralisme adopté par la Loi constitutionnelle de 1867 divise les pouvoirs entre les provinces et le gouvernement fédéral, en dépit des peuples autochtones. Or, la Proclamation royale de 1763 et les premiers traités proposent une vision du fédéralisme fondée sur la coexistence de nations autonomes. Cet article présente une étude de cas qui démontre comment un peuple autochtone, les Métis, fait renaitre la vision originale du fédéralisme fondée sur la reconnaissance mutuelle en se taillant une place au sein du paysage politique et institutionnel canadien. Les Métis prennent une approche ascendante pour façonner le fédéralisme canadien à cette image par le biais du développement de programmes et services, la création de structures de gouvernance innovatrices, l'adoption de politiques dans des domaines clés et la poursuite de l'autosuffisance économique.
