Thesis (M.A.)--University of British Columbia, 2008. / Title from .pdf title page (viewed on May 20, 2010). Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Anthropology, Jun. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Project Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-218).

Project Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Seminary, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-218).

The thesis seeks to understand the differences between the indigenous and the non-indigenous populations in Mexico in terms of poverty and to analyse what explains these differences. The thesis departs from the official multidimensional poverty measure that has been adopted in Mexico. The thesis distinguishes from the official results in at least four areas: 1) the main poverty indicator and how it is estimated; 2) a deeper understanding of the indigenous and non-indigenous; 3) the analysis of robustness and redundancy across dimensions and; 4) the use of standard errors to compare groups and across time. This dissertation then focuses on remoteness, since a high percentage of the indigenous population live in small isolated rural communities, and there is a relationship between the locality size and the standard of living. In order to quantify the remoteness, and to be able to compare indigenous and non-indigenous populations, a measure of remoteness is proposed. Then also explores how different the social mobility for the indigenous is, compared to non-indigenous. While there are studies that allow comparisons of indigenous and non-indigenous in relation to social mobility, this thesis suggests a measure of absolute social mobility that uses the framework of the Alkire-Foster methodology for multidimensional poverty. Finally, this thesis explores the role of ethnic discrimination using the Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions. Also, an innovative method to study discrimination is also presented, based on the propensity score match techniques. At the end, this dissertation argues there is a vicious cycle of indigenous poverty in Mexico. In a nutshell, the fact that the indigenous are poorer means they rely more on state intervention while being discriminated against in the labour markets. Discrimination is an incentive to remain geographically isolated and lowers their intergenerational social mobility. As a result, the indigenous live in remote rural localities, where harder and more expensive for the state to reach. Thus, the indigenous have less access to state support. The thesis follows a mixed-methods approach, that combines quantitative analysis based on information at national level with analysis of data collected during fieldwork in 2011.

This thesis attempts to illuminate and problematize the marriage of capitalism and colonialism that results in the widespread appropriation of Indigenous expressions of culture, and in particular, totem poles. This project complicates our understanding of totem poles as they have been presented in the marketplace and restores some of the intricate legal meaning to these incredible works. First, I examine Canadian intellectual property law and colonial policies of cultural erasure like the potlatch ban. Next, I explore the use of rights discourse, or legalism, as a potential route for solutions to this issue. I then conduct case studies of three totem poles. I examine one totem pole as a commodity, one functioning as a piece of art and someone's livelihood, and one as part of a Tlingit legal tradition. This last totem, as a materially appropriated object, provides an opportunity to explore the treatment of totem poles in proper context and also functions as a suggested solution to Indigenous art appropriation more broadly. My intervention on this last totem reframes these issues in a non-Western legal cannon to attempt to address these difficult legal questions. My examination of these three totems serves to destabilize our understanding of totem poles sold in the marketplace, and to broaden our understanding of totems as manifestations of Indigenous laws. / Graduate

In 1951 British Columbia public schools opened their doors to First Nations children furthering federal government goals of assimilation. First Nations learners entered provincial public schools as a "billable commodity" while newcomers flooded British Columbia seeking opportunities in a province rich in natural resources in forests, mines, fisheries and land. Sadly the public schools' curricula contained colonization history but no curriculum to describe First Nations existence and history. Locally, there was no recognition of the existence of the Coast Salish people as distinct and prosperous Saltwater People. The indifference to the history of indigenous peoples left newcomers with gaps in their understanding of First Peoples Hostilities and resentments grew as immigration multiplied the numbers and pressure of homesteaders encroaching on traditional indigenous homelands paired with increasing intrusion and restrictions under the Indian Act and shrinking of traditional territories to small contained reserves. / Graduate

In this thesis, I draw attention to how representations of indigenous peoples and knowledges in the rhetoric of bioprospecting weave the people into multiple coordinates of discursive control. Bioprospecting, or the exploration of biological resources in search of valuable genetic and chemical material for commercial use, is portrayed by proponents as an ideal project which benefit all of its stakeholders. I challenge such perception by exposing the power relationships underlying bioprospecting proposals as well as the various interests built into their rhetoric. My particular interest lies in exploring the implications for indigenous peoples whose appearances in bioprospecting proposals are less than voluntary. I make three claims: (1) that the representation of indigenous peoples as stewards of the environment is a role assigned to them, which is then circulated and mobilized within the bioprospecting rhetoric in order to support its arguments concerning biodiversity conservation; (2) that indigenous knowledges of the environment, of medicinal plants in particular, are taken out of their original socio-cultural contexts, utilized, appropriated, and valorized by bioprospectors who construct the rhetoric; (3) that the visibility of indigenous peoples and knowledges, which was heightened as a result of the increased interest taken in controlling them, opens up new opportunities for the people to resist misappropriation and struggle for self-definition. In short, this project takes indigenous peoples and knowledges as the intersection of forces and interests comprising an intricate web of power relationships, within which any participant can attempt to empower oneself either by resisting or manipulating the control to which one is exposed. / Master of Science

Since colonial contact, settlers have been targeting the Indigenous female reproductive body. They attempted to severe the inherent connection between the Indigenous female body and the land through extreme resource extraction. This project investigates the impacts of colonization on Indigenous birthing practices and the current Indigenous birth resurgence happening within the colonial confines of Canada. In this context Indigenous birth resurgence is defined as the honouring and reclaiming of Indigenous teachings that support sovereignty over the Indigenous female body. This investigation is presented through semi-structured interviews with seven Indigenous birthworkers residing and practicing on Ktunaxa and Sinixt land. Three key themes were observed throughout these interviews the first being that each birthworker had a very hard time finding any traditional teachings surrounding birth from their communities due to colonization displacing this vital information, secondly all of the birthworkers had to go through Western Eurocentric education in order to be granted “qualifications” to practice birthwork, and finally each of the birthworkers stated that if Indigenous birth resurgence is fully realized it would have a profoundly positive effect on Indigenous families and Indigenous health in general.. The interviews and key findings are further investigated through a podcast entitled Reclaiming Birth in a Settler State / Graduate

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