For the Gitksan and Witsuwit’en peoples of northwest British
Columbia, the land is invested with meaning that goes beyond simple
notions of property or sustenance. Considered both a food box and a
storage box of history and wealth, the land plays a central role in
their culture, survival, history, and identity. In Our Box Was Full,
Richard Daly explores the centrality of this notion in the
determination of Aboriginal rights with particular reference to the
landmark Delgamuukw case that occupied the British Columbia courts
from 1987 to 1997. Called as an expert witness for the Aboriginal
plaintiffs, Daly, an anthropologist, was charged with helping the
Gitksan and Witsutwit’en to “prove they existed,” and to make
the case for Aboriginal self-governance. In order to do this, Daly
spent several years documenting their institutions, system of
production and exchange, dispute settlement, and proprietorship before
Pax Britannica and colonization. His conclusions, which were
originally rejected by Justice MacEachern, were that the plaintiffs
continue to live out their rich and complex heritage today albeit
under very different conditions from those of either the pre-contact
or fur trade eras. Our Box Was Full provides fascinating insight into
the Delgamuukw case and sheds much-needed light on the role of
anthropology in Aboriginal rights litigation. A rich, compassionate,
and original ethnographic study, the book situates the plaintiff
peoples within the field of forager studies, and emphasizes the
kinship and gift exchange features that pervade these societies even
today. It will find an eager audience among scholars and students of
anthropology, Native studies, law, and history.
Les mer
An Ethnography for the Delgamuukw Plaintiffs
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780774851251
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
University of British Columbia Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter