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Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

Intercultural Dispute Resolution in Aboriginal Contexts

In the last twenty years, there has been a growing interest in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), as scholars and practitioners seek more effective, context-sensitive approaches to conflict. Where formerly conflict was tackled and “resolved” in formal legal settings and with an adversarial spirit, more conciliatory approaches – negotiation, mediation, problem-solving, and arbitration – are now gaining favour. These new methods are proving especially appropriate in intercultural contexts, particularly for Aboriginal land claims, self-government, and community-based disputes.

The essays collected here by Catherine Bell and David Kahane provide a balanced view of ADR, exploring its opportunities and effectiveness alongside its challenges and limits. The essays are international in scope, with examples of efforts at dispute resolution involving Inuit and Arctic peoples, Dene, Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en, Tsuu T’ina, Cree, Metis, Navajo, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and Torres Strait Islanders.

With contributions from Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal theorists and practitioners, Intercultural Dispute Resolution in Aboriginal Contexts presents an array of insightful perspectives. This book will appeal to students and scholars of Aboriginal law and alternative dispute resolution; legal and political theorists; dispute resolution practitioners; and anyone involved in struggles around land claims, treaty, and self-government agreements in Canada or abroad.


392 pages | © 2004

Law and Legal Studies: General Legal Studies


Table of Contents

Foreword / Paul Chartrand

Acknowledgments

Introduction / David Kahane and Catherine Bell

Part 1: Theoretical Perspectives

1 Learning New Dances: Finding Effective Ways to Address Intercultural Disputes / Michelle LeBaron

2 What is Culture? Generalizing About Aboriginal and Newcomer Perspectives / David Kahane

3 Perceiving the World Differently / Dale Turner

4 Paths to Intercultural Understanding: Feasting, Shared Horizons, and Unforced Consensus / Natalie Oman

5 Commentary: When Cultures Collide / Julie MacFarlane

Part 2: International Contexts

6 Navajo Peacemaking and Intercultural Dispute Resolution / Chief Justice Robert Yazzie

7 Cultural Conflict in Colonial Legal Systems: An Australian Perspective / Larissa Behrendt

8 The Waitangi Tribunal’s Role in the Dispute Resolution of Indigenous (Maori) Treaty Claims / Morris Te Whiti Love

9 Commentary: Indigenous Dispute Settlement, Self-Governance, and the Second Generation of Indigenous Rights / Jeremy Webber

Part 3: Canadian Contexts

10 Weche Teachings: Aboriginal Wisdom and Dispute Resolution / Elmer Ghostkeeper

11 Who Gets to Say What Happened? Reconciliation Issues for the Gitxsan / Val Napoleon

12 Reconciliation Devices: Using the Trust as an Interface Between Aboriginal and State Legal Orders / Richard Overstall

13 Parallel Justice Systems, or a Tale of Two Spiders / Dale Dewhurst

14 Commentary: Reconciling Our Memories in Order to Re-Envision Our Futures / N. Bruce Duthu

Part 4: Issues of Design and Implementation

15 Indigenous Dispute Resolution Systems Within Non-Indigenous Frameworks: Intercultural Dispute Resolution Initiatives in Canada /

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