The Spaces In Between: Indigenous Sovereignty within the Canadian State - Hardcover

Schouls, Tim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1487587414 ISBN 13: 9781487587413

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 2024

Synopsis

The Spaces In Between examines prospects for the enhanced practice of Indigenous political sovereignty within the Canadian state. As Indigenous rights include the right to self-determination, the book contends that restored practices of Indigenous sovereignty constitute important steps forward in securing better relationships between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state.

While the Canadian state maintains its position of dominance with respect to the exercise of state sovereignty, Tim Schouls reveals how Indigenous nations are nevertheless carving out and reclaiming areas of significant political power as their own. By means of strategically acquired legal concessions, through hard-fought political negotiations, and sometimes through simple declarations of intent, Indigenous nations have repeatedly compelled the Canadian state to roll back its jurisdiction over them. In doing so, they have enhanced their prospects for political sovereignty within Canada. As such, they now increasingly occupy what Schouls refers to metaphorically as “the spaces in between.”

The book asserts that occupation of these jurisdictional “spaces in between” not only goes some distance in meeting the requirements of Indigenous rights but also contributes to Indigenous community autonomy and well-being, enhancing prospects for reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian state.

About this title

About the Author

Tim Schouls is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Capilano University.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1487587414
• ISBN 13: 9781487587413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 436