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Law Indigenous Peoples

Inalienable Properties

The Political Economy of Indigenous Land Reform

by (author) Jamie Baxter

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
May 2020
Category
Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Studies, Comparative Politics
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774863421
    Publish Date
    May 2020
    List Price
    $80.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774863452
    Publish Date
    May 2020
    List Price
    $125.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774863438
    Publish Date
    Feb 2021
    List Price
    $32.95

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Description

As many Indigenous communities return to self-governance and self-determination, they are taking their own approaches to property rights and community development. Based on case studies in four Indigenous communities – the Westbank, Membertou, Nisga’a, and James Bay Cree nations – Jamie Baxter traces how local leaders have set the course for land rights and development during formative periods of legal and economic upheaval. Drawing on new research about institutional change in organizational settings, Baxter explores when and how community leaders have sustained inalienable land rights without turning to either persuasion or coercive force – the two levers of power normally associated with political leadership.

 

Inalienable Properties challenges the view that liberalized land markets are the inevitable result of legal and economic change. It shows how inalienability can result from intentional choices and is linked to structures of decision-making that have long-lasting consequences for communities.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Jamie Baxter is an associate professor at the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, where he writes and teaches about land, food and agriculture, local government, and political economy.

Editorial Reviews

Baxter provides a useful summary of this history and the current state of these regimes - not an easy feat given such a complex history and diverse political geography.

BC Studies Issue 209