Quote:
Originally Posted by Vulcan
From what I've seen there is no formal inheritance of housing or land. It's the common property of the reserve. Look at it as a commune. Would the Hutterites let anyone move onto their commune?
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I think a subtle but important difference with the Hutterite example is that their residence restrictions are based on the person's choice of what they profess to believe and what lifestyle they want to lead.
In the case of the Kahnawake, it is based on skin colour... something beyond the control of the person being discriminated against. In one of the links posted, an evicted white person even signed a document declaring that he respects Mohawk culture and will live according to Mohawk culture. They had Mohawk witnesses to the signing and had the document notarized. It wasn't good enough for the leaders though. The only thing that mattered was the person's skin colour.
Kicking people out doesn't help preserve culture... in fact, it does the opposite. It forces aboriginals into non-aboriginal communities instead. There are many aboriginal people that are the product of mixed race relations (many even have light skin), who uphold their native culture just as well as anyone.