This thesis addresses questions of how development planning theory has influenced policymaking
for Indians in Canada and how it could be improved for making better policies in
the future. These questions are considered around a nexus of central state-Indian
relations. There is a focus on the multi-dimensional problems of poverty faced by many
reserve communities, especially of those located in more rural and remote regions. The
thesis criticizes the serious dualism within and between prevailing development doctrines
and proposes remedies through a 'relational' approach.
An original typology categorizes 'substantive' development planning theories into two
opposing doctrines. The more dominant liberal assimilationist doctrine centers on
modernization theory and internalizes blame on Indians for their "own" problems, but is
challenged by radical autonomist doctrine which centers on underdevelopment theory
(UDT) and its 'internal colony' variant, and contrarily externalizes blame onto the state. A
third body of reformist planning is grounded in the practices of welfare statism.
Relational analysis of the history of Indian policy shows that underdevelopment of Indian
communities has been caused by the interaction of both external and internal causes.
Liberal doctrine strongly influenced the central state's assimilative agenda during the
'traditional' era of Indian policy, including its oppressive 'reserve system' and landmark
1969 White Paper. It is agreed that radical criticism properly reveals the racism and economic exploitation underlying state-sponsored process of 'internal colonization,' and
also helps to explain the consequent rise of Indian ethnic nationalism. However, it is
concluded that radical criticism does not adequately explain events in the 'contemporary
era' where Indian leaders have more influence over policy-making, but have expended
much of their energies pursuing a 'modernist' nationalist agenda in a power struggle with
the central state. The resulting policy vacuum between the deadlocked liberal state and
radical Indian positions has been filled by default with misguided reformist programs of
welfare statism, with terribly destructive effects in many reserve communities.
The criticism of current development theories when applied in practice is reinforced by
their criticism as theories. The deficiencies of current 'substantive' development theories
are shown to be endemic because of shortcomings in their underlying 'process' planning
theories. In particular, the reductionist dualism of extreme liberal and radical development
doctrines, which contributes to polarization in practice, is revealed. Instead of the current
practice of applying single explanations and prescriptions to Indian policy-making, a
relational approach is advocated which selectively combines liberal, reformist, and radical
perspectives.
The thesis concludes with an exposition of how a relational approach can be applied to
examine widespread poverty and dependency in reserve communities as an interconnected
'external/internal' problem, and, leading from this, to propose mutually-reinforcing state
and community actions. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/6303 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Cunningham, Alain MacAlpine |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 14984684 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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