Commissions & Inquiries

Film criticism which discusses Lightning’s movie as an act of resistance to colonial backlash to reconciliation, and to settler narratives regarding Indian Residential Schools.

Note: The title and description of this document uses wording that was common to mainstream society of that time period in history. As such, it contains language that is no longer in common use and may offend some readers. This wording should not be construed to represent the views of the Indigenous Studies Portal or the University of Saskatchewan Library. This file contains a variety of documents pertaining to the Halfbreed Scrip Commission in the Saskatchewan District of the North West Territories following the Northwest Resistance. It also contains documents referring to the scrip issued to scouts who took part in suppressing the 1885 uprising.

A photograph of the Half-Breed Commissioners sitting in their mess tent with some female visitors (wives?) at Duck Lake, NWT during their visit to that area in 1900.

Historical note:

A photograph of the Half-Breed Commissioners sitting in their mess tent at Duck Lake, NWT during their visit to that area in 1900.

Historical note:

Discusses six investigations which provided Colonial and Imperial officials with overview of Indian conditions, advice on policy issues, and suggestions on how to improve departmental administration. They were: the Darling report; the Executive Council of Lower Canada's report; Justice James Macaulay's report on Upper Canada; legislative committee of the Upper Canada Assembly's report; the Bagot study; and the Pennefather study.

Discusses the following identified topics: recognition/certainty, constitutional status of lands, governance, co-management throughout traditional territories, fiscal relations, and fisheries.

New edition of report provides overview of original and looks at relevant issues in the same countries including demographics, policy, fiscal information, legal framework, land rights and other important issues.

Paper given at the Sharing the Land, Sharing a Future Forum, dialog and conference marking the 20th anniversary of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, November 2-3, 2016.

Illustrates how two countries deal with historical legacies of violence and repression.

Establishment of mandate, by Order-in-Council P.C. 1991-1329, of an agency to consider and conduct inquiries into certain matters related to land claims by First Nations in Canada. The mandate also spells out the end for the Indian Claims Commission by asking for final reporting March 31, 2009. [This file has been saved and made available online with permission from the Indian Claims Commission website before it closed down in March 2009.]

Anthropology Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Florida, 2008.

Conducts an overview of the different definitions of the term "Métis", plus a review of events leading up to the enactment of the Métis Legislation in the province.

Investigates how the state facilitated railway construction through First Nations reserves as a framework of colonialism.

Book review of: Constructing Crime edited by Janet Mosher and Joan Brockman.

Comments on the Australian Government's 2008 Stolen Generations apology and notes where it has failed.

Article from 1993 Conference proceedings, discussing Metis rights to self-government, lands, and how these pertain to law and justice. Excerpt from Continuing Poundmaker & Riel's Quest: Presentations Made at a Conference on Aboriginal Peoples and Justice compiled by Richard Gosse, James Youngblood Henderson, Roger Carter.

File note: First Dominion of Canada court enquiry in the far north.

Book review of: Coranderrk by Giordano Nanni and Andrea James. Scroll down to page 189 to read review.

Statement by Charles Coffey, on behalf of the Royal Bank, explores the impact Aboriginal economic development on the national economy and corporate sector.

Looks at the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care Recommendations and efforts to address problems relating to children.

Province believes JRC contributed to understanding justice from First Nation and Métis perspectives, and factors contributing to the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the mainstream justice system. Province's action plan will address socioeconomic issues, crime reduction and victimization.

Lengthy review (100 pages), is a background study for the Law Reform Commission of Canada's report on Aboriginal Peoples and Criminal Justice; covers wide range of topics, both historical and contemporary, concerning the Canadian justice system's treatment of Aboriginal peoples.

Looks at how issues surrounding the request for a national inquiry were represented in The National Post, Canadian Broadcasting Centre (CBC), The Vancouver Sun and the Canadian Television News (CTV) between 2010 and 2014.

Interview focuses on issues with respect to mandate and scope of the Commission, and the history of genocide of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Duration: 18:35.

Shows how processes and restrictions of government affected the inclusion/exclusion of certain information based on interviews of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who worked for the Commission.

Reports on the outcome of the symposium which was energized by simultaneous release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) release of the Executive Summary of the Final Report in Ottawa.

Examines the controversy of the 1862 Dakota Conflict in Minnesota, followed by the execution of 38 Sioux men, and questions whether military tribunals can balance civil liberties and state necessities.

Traces the ideological foundations of the residential school system back to the 1820s.

Discusses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's position on residential schools, UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide and the Canadian government's position.

Discusses how the forced introduction of European culture and values to Aboriginal societies began a cycle of social, physical, and spiritual destruction in Native communities.

Paper given at the Sharing the Land, Sharing a Future , dialog and conference marking the 20th anniversary of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, November 2-3, 2016.

Concludes that gender justice is an essential element in the process and the outcomes of reconciliation.

USE FIREFOX FOR BEST VIEWING AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THIS RECORD. Consists of historical documents, submissions, correspondence/letters, transcripts, treaties, legal documents and the Final Report in English and French. [These files were created and compiled by the ICC and provided to the Indigenous Studies Portal in 2009 to make widely available in online format.]

Historical background and submissions to Indian Claims Commission (ICC) regarding the unlawful surrender of 22,080 acres of reserve land. ICC concluded that Canada is responsible for the loss of use of the land since 1891, breach of Treaty and fiduciary duty, and recommends negotiation of settlement under Canada's Specific Claims Policy. Commissioners include: Renée Dupuis and Alan C. Holman. [This file has been saved and made available online with permission from the Indian Claims Commission website before it closed down in March 2009.]

Presents a podcast that is part of the Embodying Empathy Project. Duration: 1:04:32.

Argues that Canada has no policy or tools to deal with Aboriginal groups and that Canada needs a direction for Aboriginal recognition policy.

A photocopy of Richard C. Daniel's paper, "A History of Native Claims Processes in Canada, 1867-1979," prepared for Research Branch, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, February, 1980. Report mainly outlines numbered treaties of the Canadian North-West after 1871.

Argues that despite government rhetoric, Australia has failed to confront the racism shown in its past and current treatment of Aboriginals, and little progress has been made toward creating a new relationship.

Comments on the alleged slaughter of Inuit sled dogs by the RCMP, in the 1950s to the 1970s, and the Qikiqtani Truth Commissions' investigation of the allegations.

Attempts to understanding how survivors felt after giving their statements to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Focuses on the history of the State/Church relationship in terms of the administration of Canadian schools and the reparations for survivors. Compares the Australian experience. Entire issue on one pdf. To access article scroll to p. 59. Paper presented at "ACSANZ (Association for Canadian Studies in Australia and New Zealand) 08".

Overview of residential boarding school history as an instrument of genocide and the lack of governmental response to this system.

Supporters of Harriet Nahanee are calling for a public inquiry as to why the elder was jailed even though she was in a weakened physical state.

Entire issue on one pdf. To access article scroll to p.8.

Reports on concerns with pesticides, children's health and mental illness in adults.

Focuses on the failure of the Australian Royal Commission to address gender issues arising from deaths of Aboriginal women in custody.

Political Studies Thesis (M.A.)--University of Manitoba, 2005.

Examines the apology and the TRC's capacity to bring about effective reconciliation due to a colonial attitude that creates potential problems.

Looks at the intellectual, structural and political attributes of the British Columbia Treaty Commission (BCTC) process in order to see why it failed. Provides recommendations for future collaboration between governments and Indigenous Nations. Paper from Indigenous Peoples in the International Sphere.