Canadian economic development is heavily reliant on natural resources in the north, which is home to many indigenous communities. Canada is facing increasing pressure to accommodate the cultural distinctiveness of indigenous peoples, and recognize their rights to self-determination within the boundaries of the state. This thesis investigates the customary land use system of Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario in the context of a community-led land use planning and resource management process, and explores the legacy and contemporary relevance of the Ontario trapline system which was introduced in 1947. Traplines represent the first intervention by the modern state in spatial organization of resource management by First Nations people outside reserves in northern Ontario. For this study, mixed methods were employed, including mapping, life history interviewing, observation in the field, and archival research. Results indicate that Pikangikum's access to resources and decision-making authority has continued to operate according to customary institutions that pre-date the traplines. While traplines were found to reduce flexibility of movement which characterized the customary system, they secured fur harvesting rights for First Nation groups, buffering Euro-Canadian encroachment on Pikangikum's traditional harvesting areas. Recent forestry activity on traplines held by Pikangikum residents indicated that traplines were no longer a sufficient buffer to intrusions. The planning initiative mandated the creation of novel community-level institutions. This process has in turn created new community-level management dilemmas, yet has had important consequences in terms of planning and management authority for Pikangikum vis-à-vis state resource management. The main theoretical contributions of this thesis relate to the commons literature, and pertain both to strategic territorial robustness to interventions of the state and outside intruders, and to moral economic dimensions of community-managed commons undergoing rapid change.

Aboriginal communities in Canada are increasingly involved in land use planning initiatives to promote community-led economic renewal and advance self-determination. As analyzed by political ecologists elsewhere, international and national civil society organizations are also increasingly important actors in environmental governance in Canada. However, nascent conflicts due to the role of civil society organizations in influencing planning policy development, and its effects on Aboriginal–state relationships, have not yet been explored. Through community-based fieldwork with Pikangikum First Nation, interviews with Provincial Ministries and conservation organizations, and in-depth document analysis, this thesis analyzes the roots of contentious politics for land use planning in the Far North Region of Ontario. Specifically, it analyzes 1) the evolution of land use planning policy development between 1975 and 2010 in the region; 2) the role and strategies of civil society organizations in influencing planning policy development, and 3) the impacts that different planning approaches have for enabling Aboriginal decision-making authority in their territories. Results show that during four different planning processes held between 1975 and 2010, Aboriginal communities and organizations in the Far North actively resisted state-led land use planning and resource allocation, and developed partnerships with the Ontario Government to enable community-led planning in their traditional territories. Since 2008, Aboriginal organizations have condemned new comprehensive legislation for opening the Far North Region to development and setting a restrictive conservation target, without clarifying substantive issues of jurisdictional authority, sharing of resources, and consultation protocols. These changes were the result of international and national civil society organizations's actions to strategically mobilize public and political support. The planning approaches that emerged from different planning policies were found to directly influence how Aboriginal–state relations are developed; who sits at the decision-making table; how resources are distributed; and how knowledge systems are balanced. Without careful attention to how power is distributed across levels of governance and where accountability lies, multi-level governance—and the bridging role that is promoted for civil society organizations—may lead to patterns of scale dominance, and become a way to justify continued control by the state, corporations, and international civil society organizations on Aboriginal territories.

The First Nation community of Poplar River in Northern Manitoba is using a UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination to assist with meeting local needs. Going beyond the expected, non-renewable resource development, Asatiwisipe First Nation is taking control over its own developmental plans, and forging an ecologically sustainable vision of community-controlled economic and political development. This initiative is an escape from the ‘progress trap’ where Indigenous resource stewardship practices will guide sustainable community economic development. This thesis explores the application of intangible cultural heritage as a lens for looking at the culture/nature discussion, food sovereignty, Indigenous resource management as well as Aboriginal and treaty rights. Based on longitudinal research over the past eight years, this dissertation is a collection of interviews and narratives from community members, personal experiences and policy research. Despite systemic Eurocentrism and many challenges, permanent protection of the Poplar River Community Conserved Area through the World Heritage Site nomination is perhaps the best solution for the community as it is an initiative that has been instigated by the First Nation itself.

Sustainability is not a contemporary concept, rather it was a guiding principle all cultures lived by to maintain balance with the natural world and more importantly survive. Evidently architecture was a tangible expression of a way of life as indigenous people developed place specific vernacular that adapted to various climates, exploited local raw materials and created comfortable living conditions that were responsive as much to the inner environment of culture and social interaction as they were to the external environmental forces. Natus ??? Cultus ??? Civis explores the significance of place in developing a contemporary sustainable architecture and the potential for a new and authentic regional expression rooted in a relationship between the knowledge, technologies and traditions of Native and Euro-Canadian people. These two distinct models of vernacular reveal considerable differences in the worldviews of the people they represent but together they offer a rich source of sustainable strategies and dynamic responses to the diverse environmental conditions of Canada. Situated within a context plagued by imposed and often problematic Eurocentric models and furthermore isolated on Christian Island in Georgian Bay, Ontario, the Beausoleil First Nation community has fallen victim to unemployment, substance abuse, distressing high school completion rates and a disappearing cultural identity. The residents recognize the need for a community plan and are committed to nurturing and protecting resources in a sustainable manner in addition to creating opportunities for economic growth and cultural nourishment. As such the thesis culminates in a holistic community plan and the design of a learning centre, to be developed in collaboration with the Beausoleil First Nation, which aspires to empower the community economically and culturally. Rooted in the discussion of sustainability, region and tectonics, the learning centre will be designed by referencing local vernacular traditions, exploring new technologies and encompassing the contextual landscape, history, culture and climatic conditions of the site.

Canadian economic development is heavily reliant on natural resources in the north, which is home to many indigenous communities. Canada is facing increasing pressure to accommodate the cultural distinctiveness of indigenous peoples, and recognize their rights to self-determination within the boundaries of the state. This thesis investigates the customary land use system of Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario in the context of a community-led land use planning and resource management process, and explores the legacy and contemporary relevance of the Ontario trapline system which was introduced in 1947. Traplines represent the first intervention by the modern state in spatial organization of resource management by First Nations people outside reserves in northern Ontario. For this study, mixed methods were employed, including mapping, life history interviewing, observation in the field, and archival research. Results indicate that Pikangikum's access to resources and decision-making authority has continued to operate according to customary institutions that pre-date the traplines. While traplines were found to reduce flexibility of movement which characterized the customary system, they secured fur harvesting rights for First Nation groups, buffering Euro-Canadian encroachment on Pikangikum's traditional harvesting areas. Recent forestry activity on traplines held by Pikangikum residents indicated that traplines were no longer a sufficient buffer to intrusions. The planning initiative mandated the creation of novel community-level institutions. This process has in turn created new community-level management dilemmas, yet has had important consequences in terms of planning and management authority for Pikangikum \emph{vis-à-vis} state resource management. The main theoretical contributions of this thesis relate to the commons literature, and pertain both to strategic territorial robustness to interventions of the state and outside intruders, and to moral economic dimensions of community-managed commons undergoing rapid change.

Members of the Gitga’at First Nation are committed to supporting the ecological integrity of their territory, as well as the vitality of their community and way of life, through carefully selected and implemented local development initiatives. This case study focuses on community member perspectives on ecologically supported cultural tourism. The first objective was to describe aspects of the local context shaping perspectives on tourism development. The second objective was to synthesise perspectives on the appropriate use of resources and on the appropriate application and sharing of local and elders’ knowledge for tourism. The third objective sought to identify services and linkages with other institutions considered important for a business aligned with local development priorities. There is potential for eco-cultural tourism to support local needs and interests if its development is directed and controlled by the Gitga’at and is based on a process of deliberation within the community.

Aboriginal communities in Canada are increasingly involved in land use planning initiatives to promote community-led economic renewal and advance self-determination. As analyzed by political ecologists elsewhere, international and national civil society organizations are also increasingly important actors in environmental governance in Canada. However, nascent conflicts due to the role of civil society organizations in influencing planning policy development, and its effects on Aboriginal–state relationships, have not yet been explored. Through community-based fieldwork with Pikangikum First Nation, interviews with Provincial Ministries and conservation organizations, and in-depth document analysis, this thesis analyzes the roots of contentious politics for land use planning in the Far North Region of Ontario. Specifically, it analyzes 1) the evolution of land use planning policy development between 1975 and 2010 in the region; 2) the role and strategies of civil society organizations in influencing planning policy development, and 3) the impacts that different planning approaches have for enabling Aboriginal decision-making authority in their territories. Results show that during four different planning processes held between 1975 and 2010, Aboriginal communities and organizations in the Far North actively resisted state-led land use planning and resource allocation, and developed partnerships with the Ontario Government to enable community-led planning in their traditional territories. Since 2008, Aboriginal organizations have condemned new comprehensive legislation for opening the Far North Region to development and setting a restrictive conservation target, without clarifying substantive issues of jurisdictional authority, sharing of resources, and consultation protocols. These changes were the result of international and national civil society organizations's actions to strategically mobilize public and political support. The planning approaches that emerged from different planning policies were found to directly influence how Aboriginal–state relations are developed; who sits at the decision-making table; how resources are distributed; and how knowledge systems are balanced. Without careful attention to how power is distributed across levels of governance and where accountability lies, multi-level governance—and the bridging role that is promoted for civil society organizations—may lead to patterns of scale dominance, and become a way to justify continued control by the state, corporations, and international civil society organizations on Aboriginal territories.

Stories exist throughout S’olh Téméxw, the traditional territory of the Stó:lõ people in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, of subterranean tunnels connecting disparate locations. These stories, recounted in archival records and by contemporary Stó:lõ community members, provide a gateway into Stó:lõ spiritual connections to place. Through the tunnels, I will explore the complexities of a subterraneous spiritual geography – what is significant about the tunnel stories and what they can say about the way that Stó:lõ people relate to the place world of the valley. Central to this thesis is ideas of imagining and re-imagining space. Through the exploration of the tunnel stories, and the complex and often cross-cultural research relationships that they are recounted in, I hope to show that the connections the tunnels provide can bring distant places, both physical and mental, together in a social imagination. This thesis focuses on the relationships that the tunnel narratives describe – relationships between people and places, researchers and storytellers, physical and metaphysical landscapes, and cultural ways of imagining the space of the valley.

This research utilized Indigenous methodologies rooted in oral traditions, storytelling practices, and the Medicine Wheel teachings to examine how individuals, families, communities, social workers, and organizations can assist Indigenous youth who are aging-out of foster care and are transitioning into adulthood. The methods of inquiry included five one-on-one Story-Sharing Sessions with Indigenous adults who previously aged-out of care in British Columbia, and two Talking Circles comprised of ten Community Helpers including Elders, Mentors, Educators, and Foster Parents; and fifteen Delegated Aboriginal Agency Social Workers who worked directly and/or indirectly with Indigenous youth in and from foster care. This research was person-centered, strengths-based, and solutions-focused, and re-framed ‘aging-out of care’ terminology as ‘a transition into adulthood’ to honour the sacred life-cycle teachings of the Medicine Wheel. The core aim of this research was to aid in the development of a highly adaptive practical guide and theoretical framework for supporting Indigenous youth in and from care. / Graduate

This dissertation contains three essays in the economics of development. The first essay investigates the effects of the decentralization of governance over education to communities in terms of individual education outcomes. The next essay relates to the first by exploring the factors that drive communities to adopt decentralized governance, including forms of decentralized governance over education. The last essay returns to the topic of education by examining a policy aimed at decreasing the costs of post-secondary education for a minority group. Each essay probes these topics within the context of First Nations in Canada. The first essay examines the substantial impacts of education decentralization on high school attendance and completion through the analysis of First Nation education self-government agreements in Canada. These agreements are important institutional arrangements that transfer the authority over education from the federal government to First Nations. I exploit confidential microdata and exogenous variation in the implementation of education self-government agreements to perform the analysis. My results indicate that self-government agreements focused exclusively on education increase high school attendance by 5 to 9 percentage points and high school completion by 3 to 5 percentage points. However, the effects on high school completion rates under multi-sectoral self-government agreements implemented together with comprehensive land claim agreements and for self-government agreements that focus on education alone differ dramatically for women and men. High school completion improves by 8 to 11 percentage points for women, but drops by a staggering 17 to 25 percentage points for men. These results have important policy implications for education decentralization in general, along with implications for the particular case of First Nation education self-governance in Canada. The second essay identifies the determinants of decentralized governance by exploring the First Nation self-government agreement claim and implementation processes. I use a novel dataset on self-government agreements and confidential microdata to perform the analysis. My results support the notion that we can treat self-government treatment variables as exogenous, when controlling for reserve fixed effects. This is not an onerous condition to impose. Specifically, I do not find any factors of economic or statistical significance for claims for my richest and most-preferred specification, which includes controlling for reserve fixed effects. Contrary to the results for claims, I find that education and income are important factors for implementation, but only conditional on a reserve having previously made a claim. However, this significance disappears, once I relax this condition and compare the determinants of implementation against reserves that may or may not have made a claim. The third essay examines the substantial impacts of a targeted policy that provides postsecondary tuition and living expense subsidies for Aboriginal Canadians. To identify the effects of the policy, I exploit a reform of the policy's eligibility requirements in 1985 that lead to a large increase in the number of individuals with access to the subsidies. My results indicate that the reform lead to economically and statistically significant increases in the likelihood of attaining any post-secondary education for a group of women whose eligibility was particularly targeted by the reform and for women generally. These increases range from about 4 to 7 percentage points. The effects for men are positive, but much smaller and not significant.