During the latter half of the 20th century, the term sovereignty has become a pivotal concept for describing the political goals of Indigenous movements. The term has come to stand for the general rights of Indigenous peoples to be self-governing and describe efforts to reverse and resist processes of ongoing colonization, dispossession and assimilation. The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold. First, it explores the role of planning in the erosion of Indigenous sovereignty and the creation of conflicts over urban land use and development. More specifically, it examines the role of planning in the project of securing, aggrandizing and normalizing Canada’s sovereignty claims, and illustrates how the idea of sovereignty influences the configuration of relations between Canada and Indigenous peoples. While the concept of sovereignty is not commonly discussed in planning literature or planning policy, it is argued that concepts such as property, jurisdiction, and Aboriginal rights serve as a cipher for sovereignty in the context of planning. This dissertation research finds that the practices and principles of planning aid in the narration of a political imaginary and the creation of a legal geography which affirms Canada’s territorial and moral coherence. This examination of planning is placed against the backdrop of broader historical tendencies in Canadian Aboriginal policy. The second purpose of this dissertation is to consider how taking Indigenous political authority seriously can present new ways of thinking about both planning and sovereignty. It is argued in this dissertation that Indigenous understandings of sovereignty originating in Indigenous law and Indigenous interpretations of Canadian law must be placed in the foreground in planning theory and practice. In the past, the interventions and alternatives advocated by planning both theorists and policy makers to improve the position of Indigenous peoples in planning processes have largely emphasized the recognition and inclusion of Indigenous peoples and reduced Indigenous struggles over territory to the realm of identity politics. As an alternative, foregrounding Indigenous political authority can present new ways of thinking about both planning and sovereignty.

Between 1760 and 1812, the fertile lands around Lake Champlain's Missisquoi Bay were bisected by an international boundary. During this intense period of settlement, these lands were also subject to competing claims by various individuals, states, empires, and Native nations, all of who used grants, leases, surveys, and titles to further their claims. However, this copious property creation did not result in a coherent landscape, governed by authoritative states. Instead, participants used competing titles and overlapping grants to negotiate a spectrum of territorial claims. In many cases, the political, geographic, and economic ambiguities of property were seen as opportunities, rather than liabilities, by the diverse parties who claimed and occupied Missisquoi land. / Entre 1760 et 1812, les terres fertiles situées autour du lac Champlain, plus précisément de la baie Missisquoi, ont été coupées en deux par une frontière internationale. Durant cette période intense de colonisation, l'endroit fut également l'objet de revendications par divers états, empires, personnes et nations autochtones qui utilisèrent différents titres, baux, plan d'arpentages et concession pour faire avancer leurs demandes. Cependant, la création de ces nombreuses propriétés n'a pas abouti au façonnage d'un paysage cohérent, politiquement stable et soumis à l'autorité claire d'un état. Au contraire, les participants ont utilisé les titres litigieux pour négocier un spectre des demandes territoriales. Dans de nombreux cas, les ambiguïtés politiques, géographiques et économiques du concept de propriété furent considérées comme des opportunités plutôt que des inconvénients par les différents partis qui ont demandé et qui ont occupé les terres du Missisquoi.

Historical trauma has affected the lives of all Aboriginal people in Canada. This thesis argues that Aboriginal art has the potential to contribute to recovery from trauma on an individual and a communal level but that its continued analysis through the Western gaze may take away from this restorative impact. The main purpose of this research is therefore to explore how historical trauma theory and the Aboriginal ethos can be viewed together to create a new hybridized lens though which to interpret Aboriginal art. This lens has been named the Spirit Mender Model. The thesis explains and illustrates how this model provides a useful Aboriginal lens through which to understand, interpret, and appreciate Aboriginal art in it restorative impacts.

This thesis examines the role played by America and its native inhabitants in John Locke's Two Treatises of Government. It begins by examining the large collection of travel books written by explorers to the new world in Locke's library. Locke uses the information from these sources selectively, employing those facts which support his view of natural man and ignoring those which do not. His reasons for using the Indians in his Two Treatises goes beyond simply providing empirical evidence. Locke, steeped in the colonial zeal of his patron, the Earl of Shaftesbury, is, particularly in the chapters on property and conquest, arguing in favour of the rights of English colonists. While it has been recognized that Locke's political philosophy reflects the domestic political needs of Shaftesbury, very little has been written in previous scholarship about the Earl's colonial aims. Locke, as secretary to both the Lords Proprietors of Carolina and the Council of Trade and Plantations, was immersed in the colonial questions of his day. Following in the steps of Hugo Grotius, whose notions of property and war were shaped by his employment In the East Indies Company, Locke uses natural law to defend England's colonization of America. His chapters on property and conquest delineate a very English form of settlement. By beginning property In a very specific form of labour, namely agrarian settlement, and denying the right to take over land by virtue of conquest, Locke creates the means by which England can defend its claims in America with regard to both other European powers and the native Indians. The strength of this argument Is demonstrated by the extent to which it was used by ministers, politicians and judges in the early years of the American republic. In particular, Thomas Jefferson's powerful attempts to transform large groups of nomadic Indians into settled farmers can be traced back to Locke's ideas of the natural state and civil society.

The 1992 decision of the High Court of Australia to uphold the claim of the Meriam people was welcomed as beginning a new era where the unique status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would gain recognition. Intense debate and activity ensued with federal parliament adopting a legislative framework to recognise native title and the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation considering its broader constitutional implications. Fourteen years on though much of the promise of Mabo lies unfulfilled. This thesis draws upon the work of Canadian philosopher James Tully. He writes of contemporary constitutionalism in Western society and its inability to give more than superficial recognition to cultural difference. He locates the problem as lying with the dominant language of modern constitutionalism. This language provides for two main forms of recognition: the equality of self-governing nation states and the equality of individual citizens. Tully locates a way forward through the presence of another constitutional language. Common constitutionalism has enabled an accommodation of cultural differences guided by its three conventions of mutual recognition, continuity, and consent. Moreover, it is beneficial to analysing other studies about the ability of common law to recognise the claims of Indigenous people. Tully’s contribution is applied to an examination of the Mabo events in a way that takes account of Australia’s constitutional traditions. The aim is to clarify the languages employed by the representatives of Australia’s institutions of governance and whether this places obstacles in the way of recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The inquiry considers the events prior to the High Court’s decision, the Keating government’s response, and the Howard Government’s native title changes. Other chapters examine the constitutional language used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the significance of the Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation. The central argument of this study is that once it is accepted that the claims of Indigenous people in Australia are constitutional, it becomes possible to appreciate that these were largely voiced through the language of human rights and common constitutionalism. In contrast, when the claims were considered by the High Court and federal parliament significant aspects were articulated through the modern constitutional language. Another thread running through the events was a desire to confront and overcome the influence of the language of White Australia. The thesis concludes by considering the significance of the findings for a settlement between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2007. / Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Law, University of Sydney. Degree awarded 2007. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (M.A.)--Duquesne University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-67) and abstract.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 143-157).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-113).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 143-157). Also available in print.