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My thesis is that Indigenous peoples, as distinct people, are entitled to the full affirmation and explicit recognition of the right to self-determination in the context of the draft U N Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and in international law generally. The international community, and in particular, the nation-state members of the United Nations must uphold their legally binding international obligations in this regard. My methodology has been to utilize the human rights framework and approach, as well as rights discourse to advance this thesis. In addition, I am relying upon my direct participation in this important standard setting process, as well as the writings of various publicists. The right of peoples to self-determination is considered by numerous international authorities to be jus cogens or a peremptory norm. Similarly, the prohibition of racial discrimination is considered by numerous authorities to be a peremptory norm. Throughout the draft Declaration debate, a number of states have proposed wording that would dramatically alter the scope and content of the right to selfdetermination, thereby limiting, qualifying or modifying this right in the context of indigenous peoples. Any state proposals to qualify, limit or modify the right of indigenous peoples to self-determination would be racially discriminatory. If Article 3 of the draft Declaration were to be altered - even to include the same or similar notions as might currently exist under international law - it would invite interpretations to be applied to indigenous peoples' right to self-determination that are different from those of other peoples. It might also have the effect of wrongfully freezing the interpretation of this indigenous human right, in such a manner as to prevent or otherwise stifle its natural evolution under international law. If there is no equality of application of the rule of law in the context of international law and states succeed in introducing discriminatory double standards in connection to indigenous peoples and their fundamental right to self-determination, then the failure of the human rights framework, the United Nations system and nation-states themselves will seriously erode the very concepts of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

By comparing the novels of William Faulkner and Patrick White, this thesis reconsiders modernism's elitism and solipsism by revealing within them a critical interest in liberating minority perspective. Theoretical debates which continue to insist on modernism's inherent distance from the identity politics which front the postmodernist movement are overlooking modernism's deeply embedded evaluative mechanisms which work to expose and criticize the activity of psychic and social co-optation. Faulkner and White are both engaged in fictionally tracing the complexities of a failing patriarchy which can no longer substantiate its primary subjects — the white, upper class male. As representatives of modernism we can see that Faulkner and White, perhaps unwittingly, initiate the awareness that the 'failure' of their chosen subjects is in large measure due to processes of marginalization which both created the authoritative power structures within which they are constructed and helped serve to collapse them. The classic isolation of the modernist subject can be looked at not simply as an isolation predicated on endless self-referentiality, but rather on a desperate social outreaching for which he or she is not psychically equipped. By following the trajectory and perspective of specific novels and characters it becomes clear that it is precisely this handicap which clears the textual space for diversity of representation, just as it overturns the notion of modernism's functioning separatism. Chapter one concentrates on the double-edged representation of the female subject constructed as always-already 'guilty' within the psychologically, emotionally and physically repressive terms of the dominant male power structures within the context of Faulkner's Requiem for a Nun and White's A Fringe of Leaves. Chapter two investigates the psychological parameters of the morally disenfranchised modern subject whose disillusionment results from prejudicial social practices promoted by virulent racial anxiety as exemplified in Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and White's Voss. The third and final chapter discusses Light in August and Riders in the Chariot with attention to modernism's own investigation of the exclusion of minority voices from collective social imagining. The thesis posits that literary modernism is interested less with reconciling its literary subjects within a self-contained totalizing project than it is with invoking new social and psychological paradigms that stress the necessity of external, not internal, represented multiplicity, and that what has been (mis)recognized as modernism's self-closure is, in fact, the key not only to its own continuing relevance, but to the contemporaneous literary injunction to let all voices be heard.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the hypothesis that in order to provide equal educational access and outcomes for all students, an emphasis on teacher sensitivity and clarity of instruction is required in a multicultural classroom. This study offers an in-depth look at varying levels of narrowly defined dominant cultural capital between two different cultural groups within a grade 12 Economics classroom, during May and June of 1996. And if differences in the quantity of narrowly defined cultural capital do, in fact exist, can 'bridging' these knowledge gaps be achieved through clarity of instruction, so that all groups, after receiving the requisite cultural capital, can construct new knowledge effectively. Since the research was exploratory, a qualitative case study design drawing on ethnographic approaches was employed. Interviews were the primary tool chosen for data collection; the secondary tools were documents and the researcher's field notes. This study has revealed that the levels of narrowly defined cultural capital were different between cultures, and that the 'playing field' in a multicultural classroom may be levelled to a significant extent with minimal explanations of the necessary cultural capital. This research highlights the importance of teachers' ongoing assessment of their students knowledge in areas that are non-traditional, and where the knowledge is assumed by the teacher to already be in place. The study concludes with some suggestions for teacher practice and for future research in the field.

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Very few career models have been developed that provide counsellors with tools to facilitate First Nations' career development even though existing contributions to the literature state the need for culturally sensitive models and interventions. This thesis examines the appropriateness of the First Nations Career/Life Planning Model, developed by McCormick and Amundson (1997), when used with First Nations adolescents. The purpose of this study was to (a) receive feedback on the strengths of the existing model and (b) find out from participants how the model could be improved. The ultimate goal was to produce a model/intervention that would be sensitive to the unique challenges of First Nations career development. The viability of the model is based on how well the model addressed the career/life planning concerns of First Nations adolescents as portrayed by the literature and by the reports of First Nations participants themselves. The study examined the responses of 7 First Nations adolescents, their families and/or community members after taking part in the First Nations Career/Life Planning Model. All participants, except one, were from First Nations communities in the Vancouver, British Columbia area. After the career session, participants were interviewed to gain access to their experiences with the model. The feedback given by the young people, family and community members revealed that the First Nations Career/Life Planning Model was a positive experience for all the participants. The comments given by the participants related to five general themes: Increased self-awareness, input from peers, family and community members, cultural practices, recommendations for the First Nations Career/Life Planning Guide, and input on the counselling process.

This thesis consists of two parts. The first is a children's book titled "Son Of Two Tribes". The second part is this document which traces the two and a half year research journey taken by the author and subject in writing this book. This work is a marriage of images and text. "Son Of Two Tribes" and the accompanying research journey focus on the cultural heritage of one small child, Luther Tettevi. Luther is a member of two tribes, the Dakelh' ne First Nations in Northern British Columbia and the Anlo Ewe in Southern Ghana. The book and journey explore the untouched heritages of both tribes, when Luther's ancestors on both continents were living in harmony with nature. The European invasion of each tribal homeland is uncovered and issues such as slavery, residential schools and the Sixties' Scoop are explored as they directly impacted this child's family history. Images of First Nations and African people portrayed in the media are discussed and exposed visually. This work concludes with a discussion about the process of rebuilding, after a troubled past and the strength within this family to endure and survive.

The results of Vancouver’s 2008 municipal election led to critiques that South Asian candidates, and possibly all visible minority candidates, face reduced electability under Vancouver’s at-large electoral system than they would under a different municipal electoral system. This thesis employs numerous quantitative research methods to assess whether visible minority candidates do face reduced electability under the at-large system compared to a ward system proposed for Vancouver in 2004. The extent that Vancouver’s 2008 election results fulfill three U.S. Supreme Court conditions for establishing minority vote dilution is also assessed as part of this thesis research.

The results of Vancouver’s 2008 municipal election led to critiques that South Asian candidates, and possibly all visible minority candidates, face reduced electability under Vancouver’s at-large electoral system than they would under a different municipal electoral system. This thesis employs numerous quantitative research methods to assess whether visible minority candidates do face reduced electability under the at-large system compared to a ward system proposed for Vancouver in 2004. The extent that Vancouver’s 2008 election results fulfill three U.S. Supreme Court conditions for establishing minority vote dilution is also assessed as part of this thesis research.