This paper argues for the utilisation of Critical Discourse Analysis to analyse the Australian governments disaster risk frameworks and plans to find if their depiction, or lack thereof, of indigenous knowledge and people can be traced parallel to their historical treatment of indigenous Australians. Focusing on matters of inequality which plague the indigenous people of Australia, I discuss how indigenous people and their knowledge have been disregarded within the drafting of Australia’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management plans and frameworks, resulting in a lack of inclusion and consideration of the benefit of their indigenous communities and their knowledge. The need for this study lies in the fact that the field of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management is focused upon an epistemologically scientific form of study, often subsuming other avenues of knowledge attainment which can prove helpful in reducing and managing disaster risk. To do this, the study considers the historical treatment of indigenous Australians to contextualise the meanings of words, sentences, and statements within the documents, focusing on matters of ethnic inequality, to answer the question: How can the Australian governmental discourse surrounding indigenous people and their knowledge within Australia’s disaster preparation frameworks exemplify the ongoing issue of indigenous inequality globally?

Indigenous people (IP) and minorities (IM)have similar problems of political, economic, and social marginalisation. The Nigerian government (hiding behind the veil of the African Union) does not recognise the indigenous status of deserving ethnic groups. This has left indigenous minorieties unprotected. Considering the situation in Africa generally, and in Nigeria specifically, this research work is aimed at answering the following questions: (1) Will the protection and promotion of the rights of IP in Africa not be effective if they are considered as IM; thereby giving the dominant majority a place in the ‘indigeneity’ of the country? (2) How can the IP of the minority tribes in the Niger Delta be entitled to legal protection from non-recognition of their status by the government? (3) Assuming, but not conceding, that everyone in Nigeria is indigenous to the country and to every region of the country, does this deprive IM in an age-long marginalised region a special attention by means of affirmative action? (4) What legal protection is accorded to minorities among IP? (5) Are there negative implications for ethnic minorities in the different regions of a country by the blanket recognition of all natives of that country as IP? (6) How can the available legal framework under the United Nations and the African Union for the protection of IP and minorities be effectively utilised to the advantage of IP despite the current position of the African Union on IP? / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Mr. Angelo Matusse, of the faculty of law, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This study examines the concept of coloniality in relation to states' approach to indigenous people's rights, through the perspective of decoloniality. The two countries being compared are Bolivia and Sweden, two countries that differ in many ways. Indigenous peoples are living in the present time and have struggled since modern/Western interference in claiming their position and rights in the part of a reality of existing together. The states’ positioning towards indigenous peoples' rights is evidently contradicting depending on the context. Although international indigenous rights regimes are encouraging as well as setting new standards and norms, the challenges to fully implement them on a national level continue to exist.  Through a semi-systematic literature review, this study aims to analyze and compare how the two states (Bolivia and Sweden) position themselves towards indigenous rights. The theoretical framework for this study is based on decolonial reasoning and indigenous rights regimes, to determine what processes of coloniality are present. In Bolivia and Sweden, the context of indigenous challenges is markedly different, but this study strives to point to some similarities as also incongruencies and gaps when it comes to the state´s approach towards indigenous rights in the two countries.

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One cannot begin to understand the nature of Hul’qmi’num legal tradition without first acknowledging and understanding the relationship between culture and law. The Coast Salish people have a vibrant culture, influenced heavily by the nature of their relationships with their ancestors, their kin and their lands. These relationships permeate their legal tradition. Influencing not only regulatory aspects of law, but also dispute resolution processes. Trying to understand and appreciate this tradition outside of this worldview would be detrimental to the tradition itself, as I believe it would result in a transformation of the laws and practices. In thinking about the relationship between law and culture, this research has identified two fundamental categories of law within the Hul’qumi’num legal tradition: 1) snuw’uyulh and 2) family laws. Snuw’uyulh refers to a condition generated by the application of seven teachings: 1) Sts’lhnuts’amat (“Kinship/Family”); 2) Si’emstuhw (“Respect”); 3) Nu stl’I ch (“Love”); 4) Hw’uywulh (“Sharing/Support”); 5) Sh-tiiwun (“Responsibility”); 6) Thu’it (“Trust”); and 7) Mel’qt (“Forgiveness”). Accordingly, universal teachings seek to foster harmony, peacefulness, solidarity and kinship between all living beings and nature in the world. In a sense, snuw’uyulh is a state or condition and Hul’qumi’num legal tradition encompasses all the animating norms, customs and traditions that produce or maintain that state. As a result, Hul’qumi’num law functions as the device that produces or maintains the state of snuw’uyulh. There is another fundamental category of law present within the Hul’qumi’num world – family laws. Family laws encompass the norms, customs and traditions, or customary laws, which produce or maintain the state of snuw’uyulh. Law is a practice – an activity. Arguably, much of the practice of law takes places in the form of regulation and conflict and dispute resolution. Similar to how law cannot be separate from its surrounding culture, nor can the processes developed to resolve conflicts in the law. Since time immemorial the Hul’qumi’num Mustimuhw have utilized processes and practices to resolve conflicts and disputes both within their communities and with other communities in the Coast Salish world. Although the processes and practices have varied over time, it is possible to identify several inherent standards of conflict resolution which the Hul’qumi’num people continue to utilize in resolving their disputes. / Graduate / Sarah.Morales@uottawa.ca

Aboriginal Economic Development Corporations (AEDCs) have changed the approach to First Nations economic development. These agencies are set up and owned by Aboriginal governments to create economic opportunity for their communities. AEDCs enhance the economic and political capital in First Nation communities, acting as representatives for the people they serve, as Wilson and Alcantara (2012) have argued. The governance of these organizations has been a source for much debate with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development calling for a separation of business and political institutions. This thesis will engage these ideas and explore the questions of how political and economic institutions interact in the context of First Nation economic development. Research for this thesis has demonstrated that Aboriginal economic development in Canada is an inherently political process that requires political and business leaders in AEDCs to ensure the interests of their communities are represented in the public and private sectors. This argument will be demonstrated in the context of three components of the thesis: an exploratory analysis of AEDCs, outlining their general governance structures, impact on local economies, and opportunities for public policy; discussion of the policy environment surrounding AEDCs; and discussion of the governance of AEDCs and other relevant themes in the Aboriginal economic development literature. The concluding recommendations in the final chapter of the thesis suggest that national and sub-national governments create a greater enabling atmosphere for AEDCs, local governments implement mechanisms that produce good decisions, and governments across Canada work together to create stronger relations and opportunities.

According to W̱SÁNEĆ oral history, the W̱SÁNEĆ people have lived on their territorial homelands back to the time of creation. The W̱SÁNEĆ way of life has been passed on to each succeeding generation through an educational way, centered in large part on the W̱SÁNEĆ Reef Net Fishery. This fishing practice formed the backbone of W̱SÁNEĆ culture and society. Despite being protected by the Douglas Treaty of 1852, over the next 163 years of colonization, the knowledge, ceremony, practice, and educational way of the SX̱OLE (Reef Net) was nearly lost. Using a framework for Indigenous Resurgence, this dissertātiō or path focuses on the revitalization and restoration of the SX̱OLE. This resurgent path described herein tells the story of how the “researcher” pulled together the disappearing knowledge of the SX̱OLE, reinvigorated cross border cooperation between the W̱SÁNEĆ and their Xwelemi relatives, and how after being named ȻWENÁLYEN, or the Reef Net Captain through ceremony was able to coordinate the community based creation and fishing of the first SX̱OLE on Canadian waters in 100 years. This resurgent path is just the beginning of a long and endless journey forward by looking backward, where the W̱SÁNEĆ people can be a proud people of the SX̱OLE once again. / Graduate

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This dissertation examines why healing among the Yoruba people remained a successful popular institution in the colonial period between 1922 and 1955. The factors that allowed the Yoruba healing system to flourish were diverse. The Yoruba’s indigenous and colonial political structures provided some outlets for continued healing practices. Additionally, the purely physical perspectives of western medical and religious competitors were unappealing to many Yoruba. Importantly, the Yoruba healers’ systematic and in-depth knowledge of medicinal remedies was attractive to patrons. Furthermore, Yoruba healers’ use of religious tools and/or the expansive use of spirituality reinforced this healing system as holistic, thus keeping the appeal of the system broad. Lastly, healers’ alliances, standards, certifications and publicity thereof bestowed greater credibility upon the system and its practitioners in an increasingly impersonal region. While changes within Yoruba healing are revealed in this study, additional objectives of this work are to: illustrate the first known history of this institution; situate Yoruba healing as a legitimate system; include female healers in this investigation of Yoruba healing; and present a normal view of an ‘alternative’ medicine. The period of 1922 to 1955 is ideal to explore because various aspects that allowed the Yoruba healing system to thrive developed during this time. / text