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Article
Legalizing Oral History: Proving Aboriginal Claims in Canadian Courts
Journal of the West. Volume 39, Number 3 (2000), p. 66-74.
  • Kent McNeil, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University
  • Lori Ann Roness
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2000
Keywords
  • Aboriginal,
  • Canadian,
  • claims,
  • Court,
  • history,
  • land,
  • title
Abstract

Large areas of Canada are still subject to land claims by the Aboriginal peoples, who include the Indian, Inuit, and Metis. These claims arise mainly in regions where land-surrender treaties were not signed in the past, notably in British Columbia, Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces, and the North. Most of them get resolved through negotiation and agreement, but a few end up in court. When that happens, the onus is on the Aboriginal peoples to prove their claims in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian legal system. This article will examine some of the difficulties Aboriginal peoples encounter when they rely on their oral histories for this purpose.

Comments

Originally published in Journal of the West, 39:3 (2000). Copyright Journal of the West ©2000, reprinted with permission of ABC-CLIO, LLC.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0
Citation Information
McNeil, Kent, and Lori Ann Roness. "Legalizing Oral History: Proving Aboriginal Claims in Canadian Courts." Journal of the West 39.3 (2000): 66-74.