Indigenous Studies 430: Indigenous Governance is designed to lead students through the concepts they will need in order to gain a full understanding of the complex issues Indigenous peoples face with respect to governance.
The course is divided into three broad sections. Part 1 introduces Indigenous conceptualizations of such things as land, leadership, citizenship, decision making and relationships with other nations. Part 2 provides a historical and contemporary discussion of the impact of the Indian Act on Indigenous nations and governance, including a discussion of Indigenous resistance and response. Part 3 surveys various responses to Indian Act governance, from the proposals of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), through discussions of self-government, self-administration, self-determination, and treaty federalism, to Indigenous visions of contemporary governance based on traditional values, knowledge and processes.
Outline
Part 1: Precolonial Understandings
Unit 1: The Foundations of Indigenous Political Culture
Unit 2: Indigenous Worldviews, Values, and Traditional Philosophies of Governance
Unit 3: Indigenous Governance in Precolonial and Contemporary Times
Unit 4: The Responsibilities of Women in Indigenous Governance
Part 2: Indian Act Governance
Unit 5: Indigenous Nations and the State: Colonization, Colonialism and Indigenous Response
Unit 6: The Indian Act
Part 3: Responses to the Indian Act
Unit 7: Treaties and Treaty Federalism
Unit 8: Federal Policy on Aboriginal Governance
Unit 9: Indigenous Visions of Governance: Decolonizing and Anticolonial Strategies
Evaluation
Your final grade in Indigenous Studies 430 is based on the grades you achieve on seven tutor-marked assignments. To receive credit for INST 430, you must achieve a minimum overall course grade of D (50 percent). The weighting of assignments is as follows:
Activity
Weight
Assignment 1
10%
Assignment 2
10%
Assignment 3
10%
Assignment 4
10%
Assignment 5
10%
Assignment 6
10%
Assignment 7
40%
Total
100%
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Materials
Battiste, Marie., ed. Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2000. (Print)
Other Materials
The course materials include a study guide, a student manual, and a book of readings.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 1, October 11, 2005
Updated October 21, 2021, by Student & Academic Services