First Principles, Second Thoughts: Aboriginal Peoples, Constitutional Reform and Canadian Statecraft

Thomas S. Abler is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo and the author of A Canadian Indian Bibliography, 1960-1970.

Bryan Schwartz has served as legal adviser to the government of Manitoba through several First Ministers’ conferences discussing the relationship of Canada’s Native People to the country’s new constitution. He used this experience in his doctoral dissertation in law at Yale University. This monograph is an outgrowth of that doctoral dissertation. It is indeed fortunate that this work has been published and hence will reach a wider audience.

The author’s logic and wit make the book pleasant reading even for those (such as this reviewer) who might not agree with him on all issues. Schwartz argues for the superiority of favouring “liberal individualism” in the constitution rather than “history-based groupism.” Many would disagree, particularly with respect to Canada’s Native Peoples. Indeed, it could be argued that so-called liberal individualism simply leads to the continued favoring of the (thus far) most-favored historical group, that is the current elite.

Those who feel as this reviewer that the unique history of the Native Peoples of this country entitles them to special rights might be tempted to put the book down while reading through his lengthy first chapter in which he espouses his liberal individualism theoretical perspective. This would be a mistake, for it is worth going on to follow his careful presentation of the development and significance of sections of the constitution which may have an impact on the life of Canadian Native People, particularly their right to self-government. It is also clear that, despite his philosophical commitment to liberal individualism, Schwartz has a commitment to the principle that Native self-government is an appropriate, even necessary, development in the near future.

Schwartz’s discussions of the legal arguments which might arise relative to the constitutional position of Native People are well thought out and thorough. However, Schwartz does not see how significant his argument vis-a-vis the Inuit is since he appears unaware that a large segment of the Indian populations in Canada possessed political institutions comparable to those of the Inuit, and hence, following his argument, would have no aboriginal right to self-government. The correct view is that both Inuit and Indian groups had political systems and were self-governing aboriginally.

Despite these flaws, this is an important book. The knowledgeable reader will read it with pleasure, even though one might not always agree with its author. I think it reasonable to predict that such a reader will, upon finishing the book, be more knowledgeable on this important issue.