Mariel is reading...Shifting Boundaries

Last year, when I began my internship, one of my first tasks was to compile a history of CPJ’s work on pluralism. Pluralism – defined as “the public recognition that different people (and peoples) have different beliefs and have the legal right to live in different ways” - was a concept I had only recently been introduced to, but was to learn much more about in the months to come.

That fall, a number of discussions arose within the policy team about pluralism and diversity in Canada, and how public justice can be used as a framework for understanding how diverse groups in society can live in harmony while retaining their distinct identities.

In response to some of my questions, Chandra recommended Shifting Boundaries: Aboriginal Identity, Pluralist Theory, and the Politics of Self-Government by former CPJ staffer Tim Schouls as a book that offers insight into pluralism in Canada.

Unfortunately, I was too busy at the time to read the entire book. However, a few weeks ago I discovered that Shifting Boundaries was on the list of options for a book review assignment for my Indigenous Peoples and the State course, so I was glad to finally have an opportunity to read it.

Shifting Boundaries examines Aboriginal identity and self-government through the lens of relational pluralism, a theory which focuses on equality and the nature of power relations between different individuals and groups in society.

Schouls outlines how Aboriginal identity is often framed as being based upon unique cultural or national traits. The right to Aboriginal self-government is therefore understood to be derived from the need to protect these unique traits in the face of a dominant culture. However, Schouls argues that this understanding does not account for the fluid and evolving nature of Aboriginal cultures and identities.

Instead, Schouls advocates for an identification approach to understanding Aboriginal identity, in which individuals and communities that share a common Aboriginal ancestry chose to identify as such. Therefore, self-government should not be understood as being derived from the need to protect cultural or national traits, but should instead be understood in terms of the extent to which Aboriginal communities have the power to construct their own identities.

When examined using the frame of relational pluralism, self-government for Aboriginal peoples is understood to be about equalizing power imbalances, both between Canadian governments and Aboriginal communities, and between individuals within Aboriginal communities.

Creating just power relations is intended to ensure that all individuals within Aboriginal communities have an equal say in how the identity of their community is determined, and that communities as a group entity have the power to be self-determining without interference from other groups.

I enjoyed reading Shifting Boundaries because of the thought-provoking ideas it offered as to how just relations can be established between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada. I found that Schouls’ theories complemented my own perception of pluralism, and enabled me to understand more clearly how the fluid nature of culture can be incorporated into pluralist theory.