Paper short abstract:

This presentation will review decisions of Canadian courts and international tribunals, arising from cases involving indigenous peoples in Canada. We shall compare these decisions with outcomes in cases filed by U.S. Native Americans and other indigenous peoples around the world.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will review and analyze decisions of Canadian courts and international tribunals arising from cases concerning Canada's First Nations peoples with respect to land ownership, infringement of indigenous land and natural resources, preservation of traditional knowledge, cultural property, and the physical environment. We will do a comparative analysis of these and other cases with those of indigenous peoples in the United States, Australia, New 'Zealand, and Latin America. These cases demonstrate that there is an ongoing struggle between the interests of indigenous people in observing their way of life and their livelihoods and corporate and state interests which maximize profit for outside investors. The jurisprudence of international human rights serves the interests of indigenous peoples but also helps to maintain our physical environment.