Beyond RightsBeyond Rights

"In 2000, the Nisga'a treaty marked the culmination of over one hundred years of Nisga'a people protesting, petitioning, litigating, and negotiating for recognition of their rights and land title. Beyond Rights explores this ground-breaking achievement and its impact. Treaty making has long been an important element in relationships between the Crown and Indigenous peoples in what is now Canada, but modern treaties are more complex and multifaceted. Embodying the force of law, they are social and political compacts intended to create lasting reciprocal relationships between treaty partners. The Nisga'a were trailblazers in gaining Supreme Court recognition of unextinguished Aboriginal title, and the treaty marked a turning point in the relationship between First Nations and provincial and federal governments. By embedding three key elements--self-government, title, and control of citizenship--the Nisga'a treaty tackled fundamental issues concerning state sovereignty, the underlying title of the Crown, and the distribution of rights. Using this pivotal case study, Beyond Rights analyzes both the potential and the limits of treaty making as a way to address historical injustice and achieve contemporary legal recognition. It also assesses the possibilities for a distinct Indigenous citizenship in a settler state with a long history of exclusion and assimilation."--