Breathing New Life into Treaties: History, Politics, the Law, and Aboriginal Grievances in Canada’s Maritime Provinces
Abstract The 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision in the case of R. v. Donald Marshall Jr. brought about a dramatic change in Aboriginal (First Nations) fishing and harvesting rights in Canada’s Maritime Provinces. Marshall argued that a series of eighteenth-century treaties signed between the Mi’k...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00021482-77.2.333 https://read.dukeupress.edu/agricultural-history/article-pdf/77/2/333/1496074/3744839.pdf |
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crdukeunivpr:10.1215/00021482-77.2.333 2024-06-02T08:06:42+00:00 Breathing New Life into Treaties: History, Politics, the Law, and Aboriginal Grievances in Canada’s Maritime Provinces Coates, Ken 2003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00021482-77.2.333 https://read.dukeupress.edu/agricultural-history/article-pdf/77/2/333/1496074/3744839.pdf en eng Duke University Press Agricultural History volume 77, issue 2, page 333-354 ISSN 0002-1482 1533-8290 journal-article 2003 crdukeunivpr https://doi.org/10.1215/00021482-77.2.333 2024-05-07T13:15:19Z Abstract The 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision in the case of R. v. Donald Marshall Jr. brought about a dramatic change in Aboriginal (First Nations) fishing and harvesting rights in Canada’s Maritime Provinces. Marshall argued that a series of eighteenth-century treaties signed between the Mi’kmaq and the British government guaranteed his right to fish for commercial purposes. The British and, later, the Canadian governments accorded little priority to these treaties, despite repeated protests by the Mi’kmaq. The Supreme Court’s decision caught most observers by surprise, particularly because of the sweeping provisions it made for Aboriginal participation in the commercial fishery. Political controversy followed, sparked by the absence of decisive action by the federal government, by the First Nations’ determination to commence commercial fishing, and by growing anger at "judicial activism" by the Supreme Court. The resulting tensions exacerbated long-standing ethnic tensions in the region. The Marshall decision represented a major turning point in Aboriginal harvesting rights in Canada. The Supreme Court’s judgment gave new power to treaties that non-Aboriginal governments had chosen to ignore. At the same time, the decision provided Aboriginal Maritimers with assured access to important fisheries (particularly the lucrative lobster trade) and therefore a key role in the evolving regional economy. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Mi’kmaq Duke University Press Canada Agricultural History 77 2 333 354 |
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Abstract The 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision in the case of R. v. Donald Marshall Jr. brought about a dramatic change in Aboriginal (First Nations) fishing and harvesting rights in Canada’s Maritime Provinces. Marshall argued that a series of eighteenth-century treaties signed between the Mi’kmaq and the British government guaranteed his right to fish for commercial purposes. The British and, later, the Canadian governments accorded little priority to these treaties, despite repeated protests by the Mi’kmaq. The Supreme Court’s decision caught most observers by surprise, particularly because of the sweeping provisions it made for Aboriginal participation in the commercial fishery. Political controversy followed, sparked by the absence of decisive action by the federal government, by the First Nations’ determination to commence commercial fishing, and by growing anger at "judicial activism" by the Supreme Court. The resulting tensions exacerbated long-standing ethnic tensions in the region. The Marshall decision represented a major turning point in Aboriginal harvesting rights in Canada. The Supreme Court’s judgment gave new power to treaties that non-Aboriginal governments had chosen to ignore. At the same time, the decision provided Aboriginal Maritimers with assured access to important fisheries (particularly the lucrative lobster trade) and therefore a key role in the evolving regional economy. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Coates, Ken |
spellingShingle |
Coates, Ken Breathing New Life into Treaties: History, Politics, the Law, and Aboriginal Grievances in Canada’s Maritime Provinces |
author_facet |
Coates, Ken |
author_sort |
Coates, Ken |
title |
Breathing New Life into Treaties: History, Politics, the Law, and Aboriginal Grievances in Canada’s Maritime Provinces |
title_short |
Breathing New Life into Treaties: History, Politics, the Law, and Aboriginal Grievances in Canada’s Maritime Provinces |
title_full |
Breathing New Life into Treaties: History, Politics, the Law, and Aboriginal Grievances in Canada’s Maritime Provinces |
title_fullStr |
Breathing New Life into Treaties: History, Politics, the Law, and Aboriginal Grievances in Canada’s Maritime Provinces |
title_full_unstemmed |
Breathing New Life into Treaties: History, Politics, the Law, and Aboriginal Grievances in Canada’s Maritime Provinces |
title_sort |
breathing new life into treaties: history, politics, the law, and aboriginal grievances in canada’s maritime provinces |
publisher |
Duke University Press |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1215/00021482-77.2.333 https://read.dukeupress.edu/agricultural-history/article-pdf/77/2/333/1496074/3744839.pdf |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
First Nations Mi’kmaq |
genre_facet |
First Nations Mi’kmaq |
op_source |
Agricultural History volume 77, issue 2, page 333-354 ISSN 0002-1482 1533-8290 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1215/00021482-77.2.333 |
container_title |
Agricultural History |
container_volume |
77 |
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2 |
container_start_page |
333 |
op_container_end_page |
354 |
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1800751657241280512 |