Plaza B Hilton San Francisco and Towers Lobby Level
Joint Program of Sections on Africa, Law and Anthropology and Native American Rights Charles A. Marvin, Georgia State University, and Chair, Section on Africa John M. Conley, University of North Carolina, and Chair and Program Co-Chair, Section on Law and Anthropology Robert B. Porter, University of Kansas, and Chair and Program Co-Chair, Section on, Native American Rights Beverly I. Moran, University Of Wisconsin, Program Co-Chair, Section on Africa
Comparative Decolonization Theories and Practice in Africa, Canada and the United States
Moderators:
Beverly I. Moran, University of Wisconsin Robert B. Porter, University of Kansas
Speakers:
James Youngblood Henderson, Professor and Director, Native Law Centre of Canada, College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada William M. O'Barr, Professor and Chairof Anthropology, Department of Cultural Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Richard D. Ralston, Professor and Chair, Department of Afro-American Studies, College of Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
The Indigenous nations and peoples of North America have been long been subject to the colonizing activities of European nations and peoples. This colonization has caused not only a great loss of life, land, and resources for the Indigenous population, but also a considerable erosion of culture and identity. Throughout this process, law has played a critical role in supporting the actions of the colonizing nations. In the United States, for example, legal fictions such as the Doctrine of Discovery and the Plenary Power Doctrine were developed by the supreme Court early in the Nation's history to rationalize as law the military and political actions taken to confiscate Indigenous lands and disrupt and interfere in internal Indigenous affairs.
So deeply established have these colonial concepts become in the present day, that much legal scholarship and practice no longer deems it practical or feasible to consider their rejection or withdrawal. Instead, much effort is focused on "tweaking and bending" these colonial doctrines to accommodate contemporary legal, political, and economic problems. Moreover, the colonialism associated with these doctrines has reached the level of neo-colonialism as advocates for Indigenous nations and even Indigenous peoples themselves now accept, rely upon, and even encourage further assertions of American power over their affairs. The cost of this continued legal incorporation is the risk of completely eliminating the inherent self-determination of these nations and peoples.
This panel will explore the prospects for the decolonization of the Indigenous nation "control" laws in Canada and the United States. The discussion will take place against the backdrop of the decolonization of former European colonies in Africa and the establishment of autonomous African states. The theory and actual practice of this decolonization process will be explored for purposes of generating ideas as to how the Indigenous nations in North America might be decolonized.