1. Netukulimk Phase One: Seeking Netukulimk
Netukulimk is a Mi’kmaq cultural concept long held to be important in sustainable resource use and currently under consideration as a potential strategy for exercising sovereignty in Mi’kmaq country. Centuries of aggressive colonial policies and the failure of the Crown to honour treaties signed with the Mi’kmaq since the 1700s, have worked to diminish Mi’kmaq connections to their resources. However, because of Donald Marshall’s resolution to go eeling the Mi’kmaq realized a small victory in the explosive 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision R. v. Marshall that resulted in the affirmation of Mi’kmaq treaty rights, a subsequent redistribution of access to natural resources, and the reinvigoration of Netukulimk. I was his fishing partner. This primary research explores how Netukulimk is configured within Mi’kmaq historical and legal consciousness, and examines the challenges of legitimizing the concept within the diverse practices of Indigenous ecological knowledge, governance, justice and making a living.
2. Mi'kmaq Family Violence
This work was completed in partnership with the Tripartite Forum and the Atlantic Aboriginal Health Research Program. Violence in Mi’kmaq communities is commonly perceived as ‘normal’. Desensitization toward violence is a consequence of the intergenerational traumas brought about through centuries of attempted ethnocide, coerced assimilation, discriminatory legislation and the destruction of families, communities and culture by outsiders seeking to control Mi’kmaq rights, territory and resources. Overwhelmingly the participants in this research indicated that poverty, addictions and culture loss are the most significant contributing factors to the perpetuation of family violence. Ongoing systemic discrimination, racism, alienation and marginalization from justice, education, economic and health institutions limit opportunities to address individual and collective problems of family violence. Internal and external colonization contribute to divisive lateral violence. The majority of family violence incidents are not reported due to a complex matrix of factors including: real and perceived prejudice by police, courts and community services; uncertainty of rights; shame; extended family and community power dynamics; severe lack of exit options including housing, employment, transportation, addictions; and fear of losing children.
This work was completed in partnership with the Tripartite Forum and the Atlantic Aboriginal Health Research Program. Violence in Mi’kmaq communities is commonly perceived as ‘normal’. Desensitization toward violence is a consequence of the intergenerational traumas brought about through centuries of attempted ethnocide, coerced assimilation, discriminatory legislation and the destruction of families, communities and culture by outsiders seeking to control Mi’kmaq rights, territory and resources. Overwhelmingly the participants in this research indicated that poverty, addictions and culture loss are the most significant contributing factors to the perpetuation of family violence. Ongoing systemic discrimination, racism, alienation and marginalization from justice, education, economic and health institutions limit opportunities to address individual and collective problems of family violence. Internal and external colonization contribute to divisive lateral violence. The majority of family violence incidents are not reported due to a complex matrix of factors including: real and perceived prejudice by police, courts and community services; uncertainty of rights; shame; extended family and community power dynamics; severe lack of exit options including housing, employment, transportation, addictions; and fear of losing children.
This research concludes that there are three critical paths to addressing the problem of family violence in Mi’kmaq communities. First is the understanding that the cultural health of Mi’kmaq people requires recognition of Mi’kmaq rights and title, meaningful consultation and fulfillment of the fiduciary obligations of the Crown. Without rights education and the implementation of Mi’kmaq historical and contemporary treaties, systemic discrimination and poverty will continue to contribute to the experiences family violence. A second path is to strategically continue to improve Mi’kmaq experiences within the mainstream justice system through the expansion and enhanced collaboration of the services of Mi’kmaq Legal Support Network, Mi’kmaq Victims Services, Mi’kmaq Family Healing Programs and other wellness programs. The third and perhaps most important path is to create meaningful, flexible and culturally appropriate mechanisms for community intervention and remedy through the creation of a collaborative, consensual, comprehensive strategy involving Mi’kmaq education, health, justice, addictions, employment and political institutions to improve familial relations, cultural safety and support for people that choose not to leave volatile domestic situations and for those who do not wish to seek remedies in the Canadian justice system.
Current Projects
3. The Marshall Project: An Evaluation of the Implimentation and Efficacy of the Marshall Inquiry Recommendations in Nova Scotia
This project of the Tripartite Forum focuses on a research and community consultation approach to evaluating the outcomes from and impacts of the recommendations in the Report of Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Junior Prosecution (the Marshall Inquiry). The goal of this project is to develop a thorough picture of the impacts of the recommendations, identify where there are successes and where there are gaps, and to bring into this picture the input, vision and hopes of the Mi’kmaw community members, who will be engaged in the research through a series of community forums.
This project of the Tripartite Forum focuses on a research and community consultation approach to evaluating the outcomes from and impacts of the recommendations in the Report of Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Junior Prosecution (the Marshall Inquiry). The goal of this project is to develop a thorough picture of the impacts of the recommendations, identify where there are successes and where there are gaps, and to bring into this picture the input, vision and hopes of the Mi’kmaw community members, who will be engaged in the research through a series of community forums.
Future Directions in Research
4. Seeking Netukulimk Phase Two Rebuilding the Nation: Indigenous Cultures, Capacities and Governance
The current program of research is moving the Netukulimk Project into Phase Two. Building on the research team's record of practice and achievement, the Rebuilding the Nation: Indigenous Culture, Capacities and Governance research program will examine the intersections of Indigenous knowledge, public policy and legal anthropology to explore Mi'kmaq strategies for capacity building and sustainable community development, particularly through the lens of treaty and Aboriginal rights and Mi'kmaq nation rebuilding experiences. The research examines the social impacts, changes and conflicts relating to the claims, institutions and relationships emerging from the Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Marshall [1999], which affirmed Mi'kmaq treaty rights within the meaning of s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Specifically analyzing the institution building and rebuilding occurring through the formation of the Mi'kmaq Nationhood Proclamation, the Mi'kmaq-Nova Scotia-Canada Tripartite forum, and the Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn (also known as the Mi'kmaq Rights Initiative), this research will explore the mechanisms involved in legitimating and implementing Indigenous rights. It will also scrutinize the strategies and programs developed to manage and sustain rights and benefits within Mi'kmaq communities and between the Mi'kmaq nation and the state.
The Lake Condah Sustainable Development Project (LCSDP) was initiated in 2002 by the Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation and is an Indigenous community initiative that has successfully engaged the broader community in the far southwest of Victoria.
The LCSDP’s priority goal is to sustainably develop the Lake Condah and Tyrendarra district as a major heritage park through inclusive activities that engage communities, land owners, governments, industry, schools and education institutions.
The overall project is envisaged to become a major hub for eco and cultural tourism and a major demonstration project exploring appropriate pathways to sustainable development.The project is based on strong local leadership and a positive vision for a sustainable prosperity for the communities in the far southwest of Victoria.
The LCSDP’s priority goal is to sustainably develop the Lake Condah and Tyrendarra district as a major heritage park through inclusive activities that engage communities, land owners, governments, industry, schools and education institutions.
The overall project is envisaged to become a major hub for eco and cultural tourism and a major demonstration project exploring appropriate pathways to sustainable development.The project is based on strong local leadership and a positive vision for a sustainable prosperity for the communities in the far southwest of Victoria.
