The purpose of this research is to identify models of Indigenous governance: that respects Indigenous women’s ability to govern, are grounded in a sacred relationship with the land and water, and engage language and culture to guide the process. Focusing on two distinct land-based resurgence movements, including the Áse Ti Tewá:ton Program in the Onkwenhonwe (Mohawk) community of Akwesasne; and the Hui Mālama ike Ala ‘Ūlili Program in the Kanaka community of Koholālele in Pa‘auilo (Hāmākua, Hawai‘i), it is the intention of this research to understand how these communities are consciously and critically engaging ways that restore their sacred relationship to the land and water; the manner in which they are developing sustainable practices that restore traditional food and educational systems; and methods of developing the critical skills needed to address a contemporary colonial reality. Research considers existing scholarship, community-based practice and Indigenous knowledge to create an understanding of the traditional/ancestral governance practices being generated through these land-based resurgence movements. Through a comparative analysis, this research reveals how each of these communities is using Indigenous language, culture and their relationship to the land as a foundation for restoring ancestral ways of thinking, being and doing, that underlie a traditional governance model. The teachings I have gained through doing this research have given me an understanding of community-based strategies that we can use to move away from an external, violent, dependency-creating style of governance that is consistent with western political approaches to a system of Indigenous governance that upholds Indigenous traditions of agency, leadership, decision-making and diplomacy. / Graduate / 2021-03-31

Cette recherche vise à offrir un portrait de la pratique de l’aménagement urbain d’une communauté autochtone, Wendake, selon un cadre d’analyse tenant compte du contexte colonial dans lequel elle a évolué et évolue toujours. L’imposition de la juridiction de la Couronne fédérale sur les terres indiennes et les politiques subséquentes de la Loi sur les Indiens font partie d’un cadre politique colonialiste de peuplement qui est toujours bien en place, tel que démontré par le pouvoir limité de gestion sur la planification urbaine de leurs communautés qu’exercent les conseils de bande en vertu de la Loi sur les Indiens, ainsi que par les règles du ministère des Affaires autochtones et du Développement du Nord du Canada, qui posent de sévères contraintes à toute volonté de développement ou d’amélioration. / This research describes specific urban planning practices in the aboriginal community of Wendake, while acknowledging the colonial context in which they were created and are still exercised. It argues that the imposition of Crown jurisdiction on Indian land and the subsequent Indian Act policies are part of a settler colonialist framework that is still largely at play, as demonstrated by the limited management power that band councils do have over their communities’ urban planning according to the Indian Act, and by the rules set out by the Canadian Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, which pose severe constraints on any development or improvement measures.

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