This thesis addresses the issue of aboriginal representations in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Canadian Television (CTV) news coverage of the Caledonia land dispute. The theoretical framework derives from the scholarly work done in the field of media and minority studies. The methodology that will be used to address the issue of aboriginal representations in the media is a socio-semiotic analysis of news clips generated by the CBC and CTV. The medium of television was selected for analysis because of its reliance on sound and image to convey meaning, which allows for a visual and a conventional textual analysis of how the aboriginal identity is represented by the media coverage of aboriginal land claim disputes. The results of this study suggest a possible biased representation of the aboriginal identity, one which is primarily based on their status as a minority within Canada.

Aboriginal women and their concerns are largely underrepresented in most political arenas in Canada. In order for their preoccupations to be adequately addressed by governing bodies, these must first be identified and better understood. An exploration of how Aboriginal women resist and challenge oppression is thus needed. In this thesis, I examine a selection of academic works, authored by three prominent Aboriginal women activists in Canada: Sharon Donna McIvor, Patricia A. Monture and Kim Anderson. Their writings address the multiple injustices faced by Aboriginal women. The authors' methods for claiming individual and collective rights range widely, from awareness spreading, to reviving traditional ways, to taking legal action. They all express the difficulties and contradictions they face as indigenous women, though they diverge in their opinions concerning possible solutions. This, as well as their decisions to label themselves feminists or not, is perhaps due to their personal backgrounds and histories.

Recent evidence suggests an association between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and type 2 diabetes. In two First Nations communities of high wild food consumption, specific objectives were formulated to: (1) compare POP levels between diabetics and non-diabetics; (2) investigate the association between POPs and insulin resistance in non-diabetics; and (3) determine the effects of POPs on certain inflammatory markers. Results indicated significantly higher age-adjusted plasma concentrations of some POPs in diabetics as compared to non-diabetics. Body mass index was found to be the most significant predictor of insulin resistance. There was a positive association of Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF)-alpha with oxychlordane and mono/di-ortho substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Positive associations were detected between adiponectin and mono/di-ortho substituted PCBs as well as some pesticides. Results indicate that diabetics have higher levels of some POPs than non-diabetics. In non-diabetics, POPs are unrelated to insulin resistance although some are positively associated with inflammatory markers.

<p> This dissertation explores the artistic expressions of Native womanhood by Native women artists. The intention is to offer further examples of creative acts of resistance that strengthen Native identities, reinforce female empowerment, and reclaim voice, and art. This qualitative study utilized the narratives and the artwork of six Native women artists from diverse artistic practices and tribe/nation affiliations. Visual arts examples included in this study are digital images, muralism, Ledger art, beadworks, Navajo rugs, and Navajo jewelry. Through Kim Anderson&rsquo;s theoretical Native womanhood identity formation model adopted as framework for this study, the results revealed three emergent themes: cultural connections, motherhood, and nurturing the future. Native women artists lived experiences shaped their visual expressions, influencing their materials, approach, subject matter, intentions, motivation and state of mind. This dissertation discloses Native womanhood framework is supportive of visual expressions created by Native women.</p><p>

The high incidence of obesity and obesity related diseases have been well-documented within First Nations communities across Canada. Therefore, examining current dietary choices and then altering and managing alternative healthier choices are essential in the treatment of obesity and its related diseases. The present article describes a dietary study looking specifically at the dietary choices of women living in a First Nation's community in northwestern Ontario. An ethnography was conducted over a three-week period in which the researcher attended community events and interviewed twenty six women. Experiences in women's lives led them on different life courses. Family involvement and age of women influenced transmission of informal knowledge and feelings of self worth. These and other factors influenced the life course and the resultant "dietary trajectory" from which women made choice. Considering individuals in changing social, cultural and historical climates deemed the life course perspective applicable in this study. Findings suggest that solutions to the "health epidemic" can be found by looking to the women in the community who are making nutritious choices. From this point, formal and informal programs that facilitate reintroduction of traditional knowledge into lives of younger community members can be developed.

This study examines the representations of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis geographies within a contemporary grade-nine Canadian geography textbook. Although First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples have lived on the territory now known as Canada for thousands of years, in the past two hundred years, with the exception of some place names, colonialism has worked to largely remove evidence of their presence from the landscape and to exclude them from the dominant narratives of Canadian geography. In this study, I conduct a critical discourse analysis of a textbook currently approved by the Ontario Ministry of Education's Trillium List for the compulsory grade-nine applied-level Canadian geography course: Canadian Geography: A Sense of Place. First, I consider how the textbook creates knowledge of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples and their geographies. Next, I examine how this creation compares to the textbook's representation of Canadians. Finally, I explore what an Aboriginal geography might look like and how Aboriginal perspectives could be incorporated into the text. The grade-nine Canadian geography course is the only mandatory geography course for students in the applied stream. If students do not continue with geography, the text they use in this course or used by the teacher to organize this course will be their last exposure to geography texts and formal discussions of Aboriginal geographies. This textbook is important because for many students, it will be the only time in their lives that they are systematically exposed to knowledge about First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples. While there are attempts at inclusion, old misrepresentations appear again in new forms within this textbook. A major task of this textbook is constructing the nation and presenting a nationalized geography.

In its review of international law, court decisions and federal legislation and policy, this paper confirms that the Crown is not meeting international standards of respect for the connection between Indigenous peoples and the land, is consistently in breach of the Constitution and recommendations from the Canadian Courts to reconcile the rights of Indigenous peoples with the sovereignty of the Crown, excludes First Nation peoples from environmental decision making, and rejects a fundamental principle of most First Nation peoples' traditional cultures; the interconnectedness of all things. This attack on First Nation peoples' inherent rights to self-determination and self-government undermines their capacity to sustain their traditional cultures, which in turn frustrates the preservation of biological diversity. This paper recommends the inclusion of First Nation governments, as equals to the Crown, in environmental governance, thereby facilitating the exercise of traditional laws of respect for the land as a means to help sustain biological diversity.

In October 1869, the fledgling Canadian federation was preparing for the transfer of Rupert's Land and the Northwestern Territory when the Metis set up a Provisional Government in order to resist what they saw as a unilateral annexation of their homeland. Although there were multiple references made to 'republicanism' during the Resistance, no scholar has ever explored whether republican conventions were actually present in political discourse in the District of Assiniboia prior to the Resistance and whether they were effectively activated during the Resistance. Working from the Cambridge School approach of discourse analysis, it first identifies the conventions of democratic rhetorical republicanism, which includes positive and negative liberty, the rule of law, the mixed and balanced constitution and citizenship, which in turn involves virtue, the militia and real property. It then looks at the gradual introduction in Assiniboia of republican discourse from multiple sources, including the United States, Lower Canada, Upper Canada, Ireland, France and Great Britain and its circulation throughout several practical political struggles during the period from 1835 to 1869. In doing so, it shows that certain 'organic intellectuals' acted as 'transmission belts' of republican conventions and that institutional structures were a factor that rendered the activation of such conventions almost inevitable. By the time the Resistance took place in 1869, a more or less fully developed republican paradigm formed part of the linguistic matrix and was available to political actors in Assiniboia. Finally, the thesis shows that republican discourse was effectively mobilised by identifying fragments of republican conventions that were harnessed in various speech-acts during the Resistance. It is argued that republican language was fundamental to the success of the ideological and political manoeuvres of the leaders of the Resistance as it was particularly effective both as an instrument of anti-colonialism and as a pragmatic ideal of self-government that sought to correct the iniquities of colonial government.

My research is a study of the perspectives of resilience by survivors of domestic violence (DV) in three Aboriginal communities. The Executive Directors (EDs) of the women's shelters on these reserves were interviewed, as well as three DV survivors who were identified by the EDs. The meanings articulated by interviewees is intended to provide educators and those in anti-violence efforts with an increased understanding of resilience as defined by Aboriginal DV survivors. The interpretations that were voiced are different from those that are understood according to prevailing Western tradition. Among Aboriginal populations, internally-derived perspectives of resilience, I contend, are foundational in developing curricula aimed at reducing DV and its traumatic manifestations. DV is often deceptively and simplistically construed as the conduct and dynamics of two people within a home. However, my investigative study that includes a comprehensive literature review, exposes the fallacy of this assumption as it pertains to Aboriginal communities: DV has historic origins that are strongly grounded in colonialism. DV is, as well, socially constructed in power hierarchies that sustain patriarchal supremacy, and a devastating social and psychological plague in all reserve communities. My research recognizes that community-based interventions in Aboriginal communities can only be effectively operationalized with the knowledge of the intricacies of colonialism as they pertain specifically to DV. Drawing on traditional beliefs and community principles such as meaningful participation, integration of cultural and spiritual practices, recognition of historical injustices by colonizing forces, consensus-derived decision-making involving women and youth all help inform educational offerings about the actionable content and delivery of resilience teachings. Keywords: Aboriginal, colonialism, domestic violence, resilience, well-being

<p> Tribal governments&rsquo; capacity to implement land use controls within their Nations is limited by the United States Constitution and federal law; however, tribal governments have inherent sovereignty to protect, guide, and govern the lands under their jurisdiction to protect and enhance the safety, health, and welfare of their members.</p><p> The aim of this thesis was to investigate and identify (1) the extent to which tribal Nations have sovereignty over their lands and authority to regulate land use within their jurisdiction and (2) the present status and extent to which Native American tribal governments use their sovereignty over land use development concerning oil and natural gas development within their jurisdiction.</p><p> The study was qualitative in nature and focused on a comprehensive archival review and a one-case case study. Constitutional law, federal Indian law, environmental law, and tribal law were considered. The thesis first examines the results of the archival review, which demonstrates that tribes, while limited by federal law, have sovereignty and authority to control land use within their territories.</p><p> The Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation were also examined. The Tribes were chosen based on location, level of oil and natural gas production, and accessibility of information. The most current information available was used for the study. The data for the study was obtained from the Internet. The research suggests that tribes are implementing land use controls and participating in land use and comprehensive planning; however, they are not doing so to the extent of their sovereignty.</p><p> This study demonstrates that tribal governments do indeed have authority over their lands and resources and cannot fully take advantage of their sovereignty without practicing self-governance over their natural, built, and human environments. Questions remain regarding the reasons that tribal governments are not implementing land use controls and engaging in land use planning to the extent of their sovereignty. Further research is needed to understand the reasons that tribal organizations are not taking full advantage of the existing sovereignty of their lands and resources.</p>