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Bell, Catherine --- "First Nation control over archeological sites: contemporary issues in heritage law, policy and practice" [2017] ELECD 1596; in Nafziger, A.R. James (ed), "Comparative Law and Anthropology" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 55

Book Title: Comparative Law and Anthropology

Editor(s): Nafziger, A.R. James

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781955178

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: First Nation control over archeological sites: contemporary issues in heritage law, policy and practice

Author(s): Bell, Catherine

Number of pages: 30

Abstract/Description:

Canadian heritage property law and practice seek to balance constitutional obligations to indigenous peoples and various dimensions of heritage value with benefits derived from land and resource development. Heritage, scientific and Aboriginal constitutional rights and interests, however, are frequently outweighed by economic and private property rationale. Within this broader context, this chapter explores the question: How do developments in Canadian law, in particular the recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia [2014] 2 S.C.R. 257, strengthen arguments for First Nation ownership of, or increased control over, heritage sites that are integral to their spiritual beliefs or practices and located on lands where Aboriginal title is claimed? Embedded in this question is another: How can Canadian Aboriginal rights law be mobilized to compel greater and more meaningful consultation and inclusion of First Nation protocols and legal traditions in heritage site management largely regulated by non-First Nation governments? While the focus in this chapter is on First Nation territories within Canada that are not governed by treaties, many of the legal, normative, conceptual and heritage issues that are raised by management practices may be experienced by Inuit, Métis and other indigenous peoples within and outside of Canada seeking to protect state-controlled heritage located on their ancestral lands.