Quote:
Originally Posted by BoLevi
Of course it makes a difference. The only difference between North America and Europe or elsewhere is that the conflict was relatively more recent. But every square foot of Europe would have a dozen or a hundred different parties that could dispute its ownership based on centuries of conflict. Indeed, how do we know who owned the land below any particular band before them. Why should we crystalize it at the state it was when Europeans arrived. Maybe we should kick the current bands off their land and hand them over to the people who arrived over the Bering strait land bridge 10,000 years before them. How do you allocate all of that based on people who have parents of the stealers and the steal-ees?
Your idea I'm sure feels good to articulate but ultimately doesn't make sense.
|
The land which now constitutes the "Dominion of Canada" was not ceded to the Crown through victory in conflict. It was, for the most part, ceded through bilateral treaties. There are no doubt many reasons for this. However, the Crown-First Nation relationship is fundamentally different than the historic conquestor-conquested relationship.