Episode 4 – Treaty Promises: Indigenous Laws
Summary
TLDRThe script discusses the enduring presence and authority of Indigenous laws and governance systems, which are deeply connected to the land and waters. It emphasizes the importance of oral traditions and ceremonies in treaty relationships, viewing the environment as an ancestor rather than an object. The speaker calls for a shift in perspective to recognize Indigenous sovereignty and inherent rights, advocating for the revitalization of Indigenous law to guide sustainable living and stewardship of the land for future generations.
Takeaways
- 📜 Indigenous peoples had sophisticated and legitimate legal and governance systems in place before contact with colonial powers, which still hold authority today.
- 🌿 The oral traditions and ceremonies, such as the offering of tobacco and the smoking of the pipe, are integral to treaty relationships and reinforce the sacred and legally binding nature of agreements.
- 💧 Indigenous perspectives often view natural elements like water as ancestors, suggesting a deep relational connection that should inform environmental protection and care.
- 🏞️ Indigenous nations possess inherent rights and sovereignty within their territories, regardless of the presence of treaties with the Crown, emphasizing the need for nation-to-nation relationships.
- 🌱 The revitalization of Indigenous law aims not only to decolonize existing legal systems but also to rethink human existence and relationships with the natural world.
- 🕊️ Indigenous knowledge systems provide comprehensive policies, procedures, and principles that guide conduct and should be considered in modern environmental practices.
- 🌳 The collective desire for clean water, air, and sustainable land use can be advanced by incorporating Indigenous practices and knowledge.
- 🛡️ Indigenous people are often at the forefront of environmental protests, enacting their original instructions to be stewards of the land.
- 📚 Coast Salish laws, like other Indigenous legal systems, were comprehensive and sophisticated, and their oral tradition does not diminish their reality or value.
- 🧶 Indigenous governance and law are deeply rooted in the land and the relationships Indigenous people have with it, which have been operating since time immemorial.
- 🌐 Recognizing Indigenous forms of governance is crucial for acknowledging the long-standing relationships Indigenous peoples have maintained with lands and territories, and for restructuring decision-making to prioritize the environment and future generations.
Q & A
What were the indigenous systems of law and governance like prior to contact with other cultures?
-The indigenous systems of law and governance were legitimate and authoritative, existing very much still today, although they may be less visible due to being overshadowed by other layers of legal systems.
How do Indigenous people view the importance of oral versions of treaties?
-Indigenous people consider oral versions of treaties essential for a full understanding of the treaty relationship, as they include sacred promises confirmed through ceremonies and other legal elements like the offering and smoking of tobacco.
What is the significance of the environment, water, or other natural elements in Indigenous perspectives?
-In Indigenous perspectives, these elements are not just objects to be protected but are considered in relational terms, often as ancestors or intimate relatives, which influences the level of care and protection offered to them.
What does it mean for Indigenous nations to have inherent rights within their territories?
-Indigenous nations having inherent rights means they are sovereign and self-determining within their territories, with responsibilities and relationships that need to be built on a nation-to-nation basis.
How does the concept of revitalizing Indigenous law relate to decolonizing Canadian law?
-Revitalizing Indigenous law is not just about decolonizing Canadian law but also about rethinking existence in the world and living in relationship with all surroundings, which is central to Indigenous law.
Why is there a deep-rooted connection to lands and waters in Indigenous cultures?
-The deep-rooted connection stems from ancestral responsibilities to these lands and waters, which have never been relinquished throughout history and are considered inherent rights.
What are 'original instructions' in the context of Indigenous practices and knowledge?
-'Original instructions' refer to the ancestral knowledge systems that guide Indigenous people to act as caretakers of the land, which includes principles and practices for sustainable living.
How do Indigenous people enact their original instructions in modern environmental movements?
-Indigenous people enact their original instructions by being on the frontlines of protest movements for environmental causes such as pipelines and water protection, fulfilling their role as caretakers of the land.
Why is it important to acknowledge and respect Indigenous forms of governance and law?
-Acknowledging and respecting Indigenous forms of governance and law is crucial because they represent sophisticated, comprehensive systems that have been maintained for millennia and are integral to Indigenous sovereignty and identity.
How can the recognition of Indigenous laws and governance influence modern decision-making and environmental care?
-Recognizing Indigenous laws and governance can lead to a shift in priorities in decision-making, placing the land, water, and future generations at the center, and promoting a more holistic and sustainable approach to environmental care.
What is the role of ceremony and tradition in reinforcing the sacredness and legal binding of promises in Indigenous cultures?
-Ceremony and tradition play a significant role in reinforcing the sacredness and legal binding of promises by providing a procedural and cultural context that validates and sanctifies the agreements made during negotiations.
Outlines
🏞️ Indigenous Law and Sovereignty
The first paragraph emphasizes the enduring presence and authority of Indigenous laws and governance systems that existed prior to contact with colonial powers. It discusses the importance of oral traditions and ceremonies in treaty relationships, highlighting the sacred and legally binding nature of promises made during negotiations. The speaker advocates for a relational understanding of the environment, suggesting that viewing water as an ancestor could inspire greater care and protection. The paragraph also asserts the inherent rights and sovereignty of Indigenous nations over their territories, regardless of treaties with the Crown, and calls for nation-to-nation relationships. The revitalization of Indigenous law is presented as a means to decolonize and rethink human existence in harmony with the natural world, with a focus on ancestral knowledge systems that guide sustainable living and stewardship of the land.
🌿 Indigenous Governance and Environmental Stewardship
The second paragraph delves into the opportunity to acknowledge and integrate Indigenous forms of governance, which have been historically overlooked by the Crown. It suggests a shift in perspective to prioritize the land, water, and future generations in decision-making processes, potentially leading to more sustainable and respectful relationships with the environment. The speaker reflects on the importance of understanding and living by Indigenous laws, which place the natural world at the center of their worldview. This approach challenges the anthropocentric focus common in modern governance, proposing a more holistic and earth-centered way of life that could guide both personal actions and broader societal structures towards a more sustainable future.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Indigenous systems of law and governance
💡Treaty relationship
💡Ceremony
💡Relational terms
💡Inherent rights
💡Decolonizing
💡Ancestral knowledge systems
💡Sustainability
💡Original instructions
💡Indigenous governance
💡Sovereignty
Highlights
Indigenous systems of law and governance existed on these lands prior to contact and remain legitimate and authoritative today, despite being overshadowed by other legal systems.
Oral versions of treaties are essential for a full understanding of treaty relationships, with ceremonies and offerings like the smoking of the pipe reinforcing the sacred and legally binding nature of promises made.
Indigenous perspectives often view the environment, water, and land in relational terms, considering them as ancestors or relatives, which can inspire greater care and protection.
Indigenous nations have inherent rights and sovereignty within their territories, whether or not a treaty with the Crown is in place, emphasizing the need for nation-to-nation relationships.
Revitalizing Indigenous law involves decolonizing Canadian law and rethinking existence and relationships with the world around us, including land, waters, and all living beings.
Indigenous law is deeply connected to the land and waters, with rights never relinquished throughout history, and ancestral responsibilities to these elements are inherent.
Indigenous knowledge systems are sophisticated, with comprehensive policies, procedures, guidelines, and principles that should guide conduct.
Indigenous practices and knowledge can inform sustainable living for current and future generations, emphasizing the need for clean water, air, and land.
Indigenous peoples are the original instructions or caretakers of the land, with a duty to protect and maintain the natural world, often demonstrated through activism and protest.
Indigenous laws, like those of the Coast Salish, were comprehensive and sophisticated, and their oral tradition does not diminish their reality or value.
Indigenous governance and law are deeply rooted in the land and the relationships Indigenous people have with it, operating since time immemorial.
Recognizing and respecting Indigenous forms of governance is crucial, as they have maintained relationships with lands and territories for millennia.
Indigenous laws often prioritize the land, water, or future generations in decision-making, de-centering humans and focusing on holistic care and sustainability.
There is an opportunity to acknowledge and integrate Indigenous governance and law, allowing Indigenous peoples to step into roles where these forms can take shape again.
Indigenous law and governance provide a framework for living respectfully and sustainably, with a focus on the well-being of the land, water, and future generations.
Transcripts
There were lndigenous systems of law and governance that were on these lands
prior to contact, that those are legitimate and authoritative,
you know those laws have authority in that they exist very much still today. They're there
although we don't always see them, because they’re buried under all these other layers of things.
Indigenous people have raised oral versions of the treaty as being essential to the full
understanding of the treaty relationship is that those promises that are made,
those sacred promises that are confirmed through ceremonies, through offering of tobacco, through
the smoking of the pipe, all of those things, those are procedural, legal elements that come to
reinforce the sacredness and the legally binding promises that were made in the context of those
negotiations. Most times the environment or water or something is object right, something that's to
be protected or whatnot. But to speak of it in relational terms where water is literally our
first ancestor or something that we're related to in a very intimate and particular way,
I think can, I hope anyways, create a shift. I think if we understood things in that way we'd be
more inclined to offer more care and protections than we currently do.
Regardless of whether you were in a territory where there's treaty or if there isn't an
agreement that's in place with the Crown, the fact remains that Indigenous nations
are the ones responsible for their territories. They have inherent rights
within their territories. They are sovereign and self-determining and that relationships need to
be built on a nation-to-nation basis. Our work on revitalizing Indigenous law really tries to think
about not just decolonizing Canadian law, for instance, but rethinking what does it mean to
exist in this world and to live in relationship with all that's around us. Because that's really
how I'm trying to think of Indigenous law and what that is all about. There is a very
deep-rooted connection to these lands and waters and at no point throughout history were the rights
entitled to these lands relinquished in any way or fashion. Our ancestors were buried on
this land. Their responsibilities to these lands and waters are inherent.
We have very sophisticated ancestral knowledge systems that hold, you know,
invery comprehensive sets of policies and procedures and guidelines and principles and
we need to conduct ourselves in accordance with those. We all want clean water.We all want clean
air. We all want land that is sustainable for us and for future generations. How do we get there?
Part of that is looking to Indigenous practices and knowledges to help inform how we're going to
conduct ourselves. We call this our original instructions. We come to the natural world,
we come to the Earth, with these instructions that we are to be caretakes of the land.
And so when you see Indigenous people on the front lines of these protest movements for gas and
pipelines and waters, that's what we're doing.iWe are enacting our original instructions. That's
what we're here to do. Our Coast Salish laws were here and they were very much of value and they
were very comprehensive and sophisticated, and just because they weren't written in a book in
black and white in, you know, a colonized fashion does not mean they were not present and that they
are not real. These were holders of knowledge. These were our laws. They're held in this weaving.
You know, I look around and I say, okay, in these spaces, there's already Indigenous
governanc.eThere's already Indigenous law. There's stories, like, this all comes out of the land
itself and Indigenous people's relationships with the land that, you know, that have been
operating for, you know, since time immemorial. And it's been, you know, these well-developed
systems of governance and law and, you know, the world views and all of that. And so it's saying
that's the sovereignty of this place, is all of those things, and then how do I fit within it?
How do I live in a way that respects those things, you know, where I learn about those
things and then I try to live within them in the most respectful way that I can? Where the Crown
has generally failed to recognize Indigenous forms of governance, there's an opportunity
now to flip and acknowledge the importance of how Indigenous people have maintained relationships
with lands and territories for extended periods of time, millennia. You can start to structure
your life in the way that makes sense to you to follow and to uphold those elements of care,
and also to try and create space where Indigenous peoples can step into as well,
where some of these forms of law and governance can take shape again. You know, in certain world
views and Indigenous laws, you're placing at the center not humans, but you're placing right at the
center the land or the water and those things-- or future generations--you're placing those in
in places of priority in decision making. And I think that removing that human element becomes
incredibly important in thinking about how we're going to navigate these relationships.
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