The nation-state has for a long time appeared to have eluded the attempts of scholars to encapsulate its essence in theory. Rather than propose another attempt at encapsulation, this dissertation represents a form of geographical supplementation to these efforts. As a work of geography it focuses on the negotiation of nation-states, and, in doing so, traces a double displacement of encapsulation. Primarily, the four major studies comprising the dissertation represent geographical research which, using a wide range of archival and contemporary media material, makes manifest the irreducible complexity of the negotiations in, over and between nation-states at the end of the twentieth century. Focused on Canada and the USA, these studies trace how a diversity of cultural as well as political-economic processes come together in the inherently geographical negotiations of First Nations struggles, Canadian constitutional politics, continental free trade developments, and American patriotism. These are negotiations where no one process fully encapsulates an explanation of the events and where their collective but contested territorialization calls out for an open-ended and anti-essentialist analysis. Secondarily, while the dissertation's first and more central work of displacement is enabled by poststructuralist critiques of essentialist explanation, its other displacing effect comes in the form of a geographical deconstruction of so-called poststructuralist theory itself. This represents an attempt to turn the elusive nature of the nation-state vis-a-vis theory into a living and politicized site for investigating the limits of poststructuralist theorizing. Overall, the geographical investigations of the dissertation illustrate the value of anti-essentialist arguments for furthering geographical research into the nation-state while simultaneously calling these epistemological innovations into geographical question. Using such questioning to critique the limited geographical representation of the nationstate, it is concluded that geographers cannot not persistently examine such limits.

The phrase 'Covenant Chain' is unique in the English language and along with its antecedents---'linked arms', 'the rope', and the 'iron chain'---the Haudenosaunee established relationships with the Europeans. The 'Covenant Chain' has been the subject of extensive discussion since the mid-1980s when a group of scholars in Iroquois Studies published several volumes on the diplomacy of the Haudenosaunee during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Most studies focus on the political aspects of the Covenant Chain and the role it played in creating and sustaining alliances. This study examines the meaning of the word 'covenant' and related ideas in the context of Haudenosaunee cosmology, history, culture and religious traditions. The numerous metaphors employed by the Haudenosaunee in council oratory and the many meanings associated with these different metaphors are discussed with a view to better understanding the Covenant Chain in relation to what Mohawk scholar Deborah Doxtator calls 'history as an additive process'. / In order to facilitate this discussion, the religious dimensions of covenant in European thought during this period are examined. While the basis of post-Reformation covenant theology differs radically from Haudenosaunee ideas of covenant, points of convergence do exist particularly in the area of political theory making. Johannes Althusius' (1557-1638) concept of 'symbiosis' is one such example. Surprisingly, Europeans who were involved in or who had knowledge of the Covenant Chain provide no theological discourse on it. Philosophical and theological discussions of the chain come from the Haudenosaunee themselves. / These relationships went well beyond contractual obligations and along with the idea of the 'middle line' which separates people and at the same time joins them together. Contrary to the widely accepted scholarly view that the chain---either the 'Covenant Chain' or the 'Iron Chain'---was associated only with alliances between the Haudenosaunee and the British, this study shows that the Haudenosaunee used the same expressions in their alliances with the French as well.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1993. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [340]-348).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-125).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Georgetown University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-125). Also available in print.

This thesis traces the development of political action by the Indians of British Columbia. The Europeans who occupied British Columbia in the nineteenth century placed the natives under a colonial style of administration. Without citizenship or representation in the federal or provincial government for many years, the Indians tried to present their grievances to the government mainly through protest organizations. The effectiveness of Indian protest organizations was weakened by the inability of the natives to unite in one provincial association. The diversity of cultural, religious, and economic factors in the Indian population caused persistent divisiveness. Regional political organizations were formed to resolve local problems. Finally, the prospect of the removal of the Indian Act provided a catalyst for the formation of a single provincial Indian political organization. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

The nation-state has for a long time appeared to have eluded the attempts of scholars to encapsulate its essence in theory. Rather than propose another attempt at encapsulation, this dissertation represents a form of geographical supplementation to these efforts. As a work of geography it focuses on the negotiation of nation-states, and, in doing so, traces a double displacement of encapsulation. Primarily, the four major studies comprising the dissertation represent geographical research which, using a wide range of archival and contemporary media material, makes manifest the irreducible complexity of the negotiations in, over and between nation-states at the end of the twentieth century. Focused on Canada and the USA, these studies trace how a diversity of cultural as well as political-economic processes come together in the inherently geographical negotiations of First Nations struggles, Canadian constitutional politics, continental free trade developments, and American patriotism. These are negotiations where no one process fully encapsulates an explanation of the events and where their collective but contested territorialization calls out for an open-ended and anti-essentialist analysis. Secondarily, while the dissertation's first and more central work of displacement is enabled by poststructuralist critiques of essentialist explanation, its other displacing effect comes in the form of a geographical deconstruction of so-called poststructuralist theory itself. This represents an attempt to turn the elusive nature of the nation-state vis-a-vis theory into a living and politicized site for investigating the limits of poststructuralist theorizing. Overall, the geographical investigations of the dissertation illustrate the value of anti-essentialist arguments for furthering geographical research into the nation-state while simultaneously calling these epistemological innovations into geographical question. Using such questioning to critique the limited geographical representation of the nationstate, it is concluded that geographers cannot not persistently examine such limits. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

The psychological, cultural, social and economic problems of Indian communities have been widely publicized. In spite of this there exists a lack of documentation of the conflicts between our aboriginal natives and the Federal government. This study has identified some of these conflicts by focusing on: 1) The current inter-governmental relationship between the Department of Indian Affairs (a client centred administrative bureaucracy) and the Indian Band Council (local government) and its effect on planning and administration at the local level. 2) The planning and administrative process at the local government level. The main purpose of the study is to propose a policy of self-reliance for the Indian people. A gradual phasing out of the Department of Indian Affairs is a means towards achieving this policy. Though this is not a study about aboriginal rights it is suggested that any proposed Federal government policy would be unworkable if it did not acknowledge the significance of the aboriginal rights issue for the Indian people. The study is an analysis of material gathered over a three year period during which the author was serving as a Social Service Consultant to the Squamish Indian Band. The material drawn on includes inter-office memoranda, related published documents, information gained as a result of attendance at meetings, and personal discussions in the course of the consulting work. Use is made of applicable theory and practice to help understand the administrative and organizational relationships that exist at the bureaucratic and local level. This study has identified various administrative and behavioral changes that are required in order to correct faults in the current administrative and planning process. These faults must be corrected if the program of self-reliance is to succeed. Case study material of the Squamish Indian Band is used to illustrate conflict areas between an Indian Band and the Department of Indian Affairs. The resulting observations and recommendations may be useful to planning personnel and to Indian communities in pursuing their future developmental objectives. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

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