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Canadian courts have defined Aboriginal title as a sui generis blend of common law and Aboriginal conceptions of land ownership. This lesson explores the source, nature and importance of Aboriginal property rights in Canada.
The lesson revolves around the central case of Delgamuukw, which we will start discussing on Friday, 21 October 2011. Although we'll cover the case over several classes, I need you to read the whole thing up front: pages 386-411 before Friday's class, please.
On Monday, 24 October 2011 at 16h00, in all wings of FTX 147, we'll have another in our series of all-group lectures. This one will be delivered by Professor Cameron, speaking about the rights of Aboriginal Peoples of Canada, including property but also rights of self-government and more. UPDATE: In Professor Cameron's absence, we viewed "Honour of the Crown," an NFB documentary about the challenges of negotiating treaty land claims. The film provides a perspective that you simply can't get from reading cases. It highlights the socio-legal, cultural, political and economic context in which treaty negotiation issues are debated. It also conveys the easy-to-overlook point that Aboriginal land rights about more than simply litigating Aboriginal title cases in the Courts. More about the treaty at the heart of the negotiations covered in the documentary is online at Treaty8.org. Also, more documentaries, including "Is the Crown at War with Us," can be streamed and watched online at the NFB's site on land claims and aboriginal rights.
While Friday's class will have focussed on the "what" and the "why" of Aboriginal title (what is it, and why is it recognized?), our class the following Wednesday, 26 October 211, will elaborate on the "how" of this topic (how is Aboriginal title proven, and how can it be infringed or extinguished?). The latter questions require reading not only Delgamuukw, but also the cases on pages 411-425 of the casebook.
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