Increasingly, nationalist ideals are being applied by large numbers of politically
unrecognized or unsatisfied ethnic communities. The appearance of movements demanding
ethnic autonomy in a number of different states worldwide has helped to renew scholarly
interest in nationalism. Even in Canada, there was a sharp rise in the political acumen and
influence of Aboriginal groups. The resurgence of ethnic nationalism has, indeed, become
one of the most striking political developments in recent decades.
As a result of these events, questions are being raised about how the relationships
between Aboriginal peoples and Canadian governments and society should be structured. At
issue are the challenges that ethnicity and nationalism pose. Yet in spite of a genuine
willingness amongst a majority of Canadians to reevaluate their place in Canadian society,
Aboriginal nationalist assertions have remained largely understudied by students of
nationalism. A new understanding of the roots, goals, and internal particularities of these
unique ethnic movements is needed.
From a survey of the scholarly literature of nationalism and Aboriginal peoples in
, Canada, new conceptualizations of ethnic nationalism must be developed, ones which
recognize that not all forms of assertion are destructive and dismembering to the larger
political community. If Canadians are to find meaningful ways of accommodating these
challenges, then incentives must be found and mechanisms developed to both preserve the
wider unity of the state and help facilitate the autonomous development of Aboriginal
nationalist communities. Recognizing that there are multiple ways of belonging to Canada
and realizing Aboriginal self-government are such forms of accommodation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/4626 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Didluck, David Lucien |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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