This thesis is focused on Aboriginal Education Workers (AEWs) who work with, support and care for Indigenous students in schools in South Australia. AEWs work in the ‘border zones’ (Giroux 2005) between the values of schools and the expectations of Indigenous communities. This thesis highlights how AEWs experience indirect discrimination in the workplace as a result of their complex racialised position. In particular, there is a general absence of recognition of AEWs’ caring role by non-Indigenous staff in schools. AEWs are not only marginalised in schools, but also at an institutional level. While AEWs’ working conditions have improved, the ‘redistribution’ (Fraser & Honneth 2003, p. 10) of better working conditions has not eliminated indirect discrimination in the workplace. Furthermore, there is little research regarding AEWs in Indigenous education. Thus at three levels, namely school, Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS) and academia, there is a cyclical pattern that perpetuates an absence of recognition of AEWs. This thesis uses whiteness theory (Frankenberg 1993) as a theoretical framework to examine this lack of recognition and the consequent low status of AEWs in schools. The thesis emerges from research, experience working as a teacher in a remote Aboriginal school with AEWs, and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 AEWs who are working in South Australian state schools. Standpoint theory (Collins 2004; Harding 2004) is used as both a method and methodology in order to understand and map AEWs’ position in schools. A common theme raised by all of the AEWs in the interviews is the absence of recognition of their work in schools by non-Indigenous staff and the consequent feeling of marginalisation in the workplace. In this thesis the site-specific contexts of the interviewees and the effects of whiteness are examined. The findings that emerged from the in-depth semi-structured interviews with AEWs were concerned with Indigenous ethics of care models. The narratives from the interviewees who were AEWs revealed how white ethics of care practices in schools de-legitimise Indigenous ethics of care. Furthermore, the discursive regimes that govern school policy and protocol often limit AEWs’ ability to respond effectively to Indigenous student needs. This thesis highlights the complexities and contradictions of AEWs who are working in the border zones. As a result, AEWs often feel caught between school expectations and community protocols. This thesis advocates equality of recognition of Indigenous ethics of care practices to address the indirect discrimination that AEWs experience. It concludes with a map for recognition of AEWs' care practices on an institutional level in relation to academia and DECS, and in schools in order to overturn the continual marginalisation of AEWs in South Australia. It argues for a values shift for non-Indigenous teachers and staff in schools and at the institutional levels in DECS and academia. In particular, this involves a values shift by non-Indigenous teachers, academics and policy makers towards an understanding of whiteness. Recommendations are provided in the concluding chapter that signpost possible moves towards equality of recognition of Indigenous ethics of care practices by non-Indigenous staff in schools.

It is acknowledged that part of the failure to improve Indigenous health is due to the lack of participation of Indigenous people in national policy and decision making processes. In this three part study I investigated the nature of Indigenous people’s participation in national Indigenous health policy processes. I combined quantitative and qualitative methods through the perspective of policy networks. / The first part of the study was directed at the prominence of informal networks in the evolution of Indigenous affairs policy. I aimed to determine and describe the structural location of Indigenous people in an informal network of influential people. I administered a network survey questionnaire during the period 2003/04. In a snowball nomination process influential people nominated a total of 227 influential people. Of these, 173 people received surveys of which 44 people returned surveys, a return rate of 25 per cent. I analysed the data to detect the existence of network groups; measure the degree of group interconnectivity; measure the characteristics of bonds between influential people; and I used demographic information to characterise the network and its groups. I found a stable pattern of relationships in the three features of the informal network: the whole network was diverse, and the Indigenous people were integrated and embedded in the network. It would not have existed without Indigenous people due to a combination of their greater number, their distribution throughout the network groups, and the interconnections between the groups. I argued that the findings showed that Indigenous people were fundamental in this informal network of influential people. / The second part of the study was directed at the role of national health committees in engaging with advice about Indigenous health. I aimed to describe the structural location of Indigenous people in national health committees. Using internet sites I identified 121 national health committees at the end of 2003, and obtained information from 77 committees or 64 per cent of all committees. I calculated the proportion of members who were Indigenous within each committee; the proportion of committees which were Indigenous health committees; and constructed a visual representation of the formal reporting relationship between all the committees and Cabinet. I then determined the importance of each committee in terms of a committee network using eigenvector centrality scores. Finally, I identified the linking people between the informal network and the national health committees. I found that in a traditional hierarchical view that Indigenous people and Indigenous health committees were small in number and distant from Cabinet. In contrast a network view assumes that the importance of a committee depends on the combination of the number of interlocks, comembership, and betweenness with other committees. In this network view, Indigenous health committees were similarly located to other committees. A small number of elite knowledge brokers linked the informal networks and the national health committees. I argued that the findings showed a formal systemic deficiency in the strategic location of Indigenous people. / The third part of the study was directed at the significance of inter-personal bonds between influential people in influencing policy processes. I aimed to describe the interpersonal relationships between influential people through a semi-structured interview. The interview questions were designed to elicit responses in the broad context of knowledge and influence in national Indigenous health policy processes. From a list of 47 potential interviewees I obtained 34 interviews (a response rate of 72 per cent), transcribed 32 interviews and coded them thematically. I found that underlying the episodic meetings of national health committees was the constant activities of informal networking. The influential non-Indigenous people had to pass some rules of entry in order to engage in and utilise informal processes. The interviewees demonstrated a value of connectedness in interpersonal relationships through agreement with principles such as social models of health. However, advice about Indigenous health issues may need to be continually rediscovered as it remains anchored to local contexts in a macro context where advice faces pathways that are confusing and convoluted. I argued that the findings indicated a meta-level vacuum in conceptualising the relationship between the concepts of participation and advice in national Indigenous health policy processes. / The findings from the three parts indicated three characteristics of an ongoing meta-process (informal network), absence of a meta-perspective (national health committees), and a meta-concept of participation (interviews). I suggest that they form a meta-frame of participation. In this frame the energy dispersed in the many efforts at improving Indigenous peoples‟ participation are unfocussed because of multiple and uncoordinated policy origins. Therefore I concluded that the nature of participation of Indigenous people in national Indigenous health policy processes is one of unfocussed energy.

The Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP) officially came into existence in April of 1980. The program is designed to recognize a unique and distinctive cultural group in Western ,Canada. Students in the programs a,re expected to acquire knowledge and to develop teaching skills responsive to the needs of Native students in urban communities in Saskatchewan. The SUNTEP program therefore is a specialized training in Native Studies and Cross Cultural Education, and as such, has an emphasis on language development and an extended field component. <p>This thesis examines the nature of the specialized training requirements; the historical development and the outcomes of this specialized training. The perceptions are from those who are responsible for delivery of the program, those who teach and oversee the components and those who receive the training. The study reviews the literature pertaining to Native teacher education in Canada and United States up to the present and gives the description of the SUNTEP program as the setting for the study. <p>The study adds to the body of knowledge on the subject of teacher training for Native North Americans. There is a growing realization that more emphasis must be given to this process. Effectiveness of Native teachers in creating an educational system in which Native children will succeed with their unique culture and heritage intact requires more than their "nativeness." To succeed Native teachers must:(1) achieve a sense of self fulfillment (2) develop skills which will meet the needs of the communities they serve (3) acquire certain knowledge which they must pass on. Educators who provide this training must understand the stresses of this particular group and this way, assist Native teachers in understanding these stresses in order to find ways of dealing with them. Educators involved in Native teacher training must acknowledge the aspirations of the communities served by this endeavor and provide the knowledge and skills which Native teachers will require to do their work. <p>Lastly, the educational organizations and systems involved must support Native teachers beyond training and make possible by whatever action is necessary the realization of their impor~ant role in creating an environment where Native children will succeed. In the case of SUNTEP, Saskatchewan and the Native people then should benefit from this special program of training Native teachers.

Background: Cancer incidence is increasing among Aboriginal peoples in Canada. The semi-isolated conditions of Northern Saskatchewan provide challenges for both health care workers and patients receiving cancer care. Since limited information exists on the way cancer is perceived and experienced, the purpose of this study was to explore the views of cancer, health and illness among the Woodland Cree in Northern Saskatchewan. </p><p>Methodology: Woodland Cree participants from the Lac La Ronge Band included 6 Elders, 8 cancer survivors, and 12 family members from five northern communities. Being a member of the band and fluent in the traditional language, the principal investigator used a narrative inquiry approach. Perceptions of cancer, health and illness were elicited through 18 personal interviews and two group interviews. Composite story creation and thematic analysis were the two methods used to analyze the data. </p> <p>Findings: Four broad themes were generated from the data. The concepts of health and illness among the Woodland Cree show that there is a complex intertwining of Western and traditional belief systems. Knowledge systems of the Woodland Cree represent the ways of knowing and being, including the seminal role Elders have within the communities as teachers and knowledge keepers. Cancer as experienced by the Woodland Cree reflects the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of having cancer or having a family member with cancer, including the challenges of receiving timely diagnoses and cancer care in isolated northern communities. Straddling both worlds was a theme that meandered throughout the data. The Woodland Cree have the capacity to pick the best from both the Western and traditional worlds, by accessing their inherent survival mechanisms. </p> <p>Discussion: Reluctance to talk about cancer seemed to be a deterrent from participating in the study. Family members need specific support mechanisms apart from the cancer patient and this may not be readily available. Challenges and opportunities for more culturally sensitive ways of providing cancer prevention and care are discussed. Further research is needed to investigate if the findings are reflected among other First Nations.

This study examined the role and characterization of the Indian depicted in the western comic book using the research method, content analysis. The sample of 44 comic books contained two Indian characters, one with a major speaking part. <p> The guidelines of Berelson (1952) were used to develop the categories utilized and the procedures and categories applied by Agogino (1950), Katz and Braly (1933), and Spiegleman, et al. (1953) were modified to suit the purposes of this study. The pictorial and verbal data stated as the greatest percentage of attributable characteristics, were analyzed by the application of 141 items. Validation preceded the study; the percentage coder and intercoder agreement was 75% to 100%.<p> The Indian; clad in loincloth, leggings, and moccasins, subsisting in a raiding and hunting economy was depicted as cowardly and having an evil character. He was grim expressioned, treacherous, sneaky, cruel, dependent and untrustworthy. His stature was medium as was his physique; his skin was pink, bordering on red. His hair was shoulder length, adorned with a few feathers or full headdress. Wrist and arm bands, necklaces, and war paint were worn. Bows and arrows, tomahawks, knives, and guns were evident. The Indian occupied a tipi and was transported by horse. He most often instigated acts of violence, primarily shooting and beating. In a historical time set in a domestic locality he was rarely the main character and hero but largely the submajor character and villain. Vengeance, hatred and revenge, and solution to immediate problems were the Indians' dominant goal orientation; his methods of attainment were physical violence or threats of physical violence and dependence, 'deceit, cunning and trickery. Barriers to his achievement were interpersonal violence or personal industry on the part of others. "Injun," "redskin," "squaw," "savage," and "warrior" denoted the Indian. The comic books analyzed depicted the Indian in a negative role perpetuating common stereotypes and generalizations.

The 1992 Charlottetown Accord attempted to constitutionalize the inherent Aboriginal right of self-government. The Accord was the result of a long series of public consultations and intense political negotiations which resulted in a document that was rejected by a majority of Canadians. The Aboriginal government provisions of the 1992 Charlottetown Accord do not represent the majority of essential elements for Aboriginal peoples to recognize and implement the inherent right of self-government. However, the Accord represents a major change in thinking for the federal and provincial governments in Canada in that the inherent right was recognized. As well, many of the principles contained in the Accord provide a bench mark for future constitutional discussions regarding self- government. Aboriginal governments must be given a substantive legislative and fiscal base if self-government is to be realized. The Accord failed to meet these fundamental needs.

Treaty 7 First Nations, who have occupied the South Saskatchewan River Basin since time immemorial, have water rights protected by s.35 of the Constitution, Treaty 7, and the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement, 1930. This thesis suggests that Alberta has devised a legal regime that circumvents the treaty relationship between the Crown and Treaty 7 First Nations. Section 52 of the Constitution and the principles of constitutionalism and the rule of law require that Crown legislation and action must be consistent with the Constitution. Because Aboriginal and treaty rights are protected under s.35(1) of the Constitution, Albertas consultation guidelines must address the protection of existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. This thesis examines whether the treaty or any subsequent Crown legislation or Crown action has extinguished the Aboriginal and treaty rights of Treaty 7 First Nations and draws the conclusion that the Aboriginal rights of Treaty 7 First Nations not only continue to exist, but are afforded additional protection by Treaty 7 and the Natural Resources Transfer Agreement. This leads to the conclusion that Albertas consultation policy fails to recognize and affirm Aboriginal and treaty rights in their entirety as they currently exist. To the extent that Albertas Aboriginal consultation policies and regulations are inconsistent with s.35(1) they are null and void.

This thesis is an examination of the place of restorative justice in the practice of criminal law in Canada generally and in Saskatchewan in particular. It takes as its focal point the fundamental tension between traditional Anglo-Canadian Law in this area, and the newly founded practices of restorative justice.<p> This project accepts that retribution, vengeance and proportional justice are important components of current practice. It argues that these imperatives find their place not only in practice, but also in justice system structure. This space is made both culturally and legislatively. Earlier societies are examined to develop a sense of the connection between societal norms and punitive paradigms, and an argument is made that Canada is no different from earlier societies in the way its legal values reflect the social values of the dominant settler culture. Into this analysis is then added reflections concerning the effect of colonialism on aboriginal people generally and on Canada in particular.<p> The thesis then goes on to situate this tension specifically in current criminal justice by analysing legislation, policy, courts and practice. It examines restorative justice, and demonstrates that it has significant potential to ameliorate the deleterious effects of the colonial project on aboriginal peoples. However, it remains a marginalised practice precisely because it is an anti-colonial force in a powerful colonial justice structure. It concludes that the forces that have the inclination to change this situation have not acted to do so, and the justice system actors with the power to effect change have proven themselves to be similarly disinclined.<p>

This thesis focuses on issues of the growing level of violence that continues to be leveled at two groups of women in Canada; Aboriginal women and African Canadian women. I propose that a combination of State racism, sexism, colonialism, poverty and societal indifference are responsible for the marginalization and oppression that both these groups of women are facing in Canada today. I will make use of three key tenets of sociological discourse that are built on the theoretical frameworks of anti-colonial, Indigenous and Black Feminism. These frameworks describe ways in which the interlocking systems of oppression maintain a Eurocentric, colonial hegemony that continues to perpetuate violence against Aboriginal and African Canadian women. This comparative approach opens an investigative lens into the ways that ideologies (including cultural representations in the media) demean both Aboriginal and African Canadian women.

This thesis focuses on issues of the growing level of violence that continues to be leveled at two groups of women in Canada; Aboriginal women and African Canadian women. I propose that a combination of State racism, sexism, colonialism, poverty and societal indifference are responsible for the marginalization and oppression that both these groups of women are facing in Canada today. I will make use of three key tenets of sociological discourse that are built on the theoretical frameworks of anti-colonial, Indigenous and Black Feminism. These frameworks describe ways in which the interlocking systems of oppression maintain a Eurocentric, colonial hegemony that continues to perpetuate violence against Aboriginal and African Canadian women. This comparative approach opens an investigative lens into the ways that ideologies (including cultural representations in the media) demean both Aboriginal and African Canadian women.