Misconceptions of Culture: Native Peoples and Cultural Property under Canadian Law

REBECCA CLEMENTS

ABSTRACT

Historically, native peoples in Canada have faced constant pressure from the legal system to assimilate into the non-native majority. According to the author, this pressure reflects the fact that Canadian law is grounded in Anglo-European culture. It should, however, be possible for the law to accommodate different cultural perspectives. As one example of such accommodation, the author looks at ways in which native peoples could legally reclaim from Canadian public institutions certain items of great importance to their cultural survival. Restitution would be based in large part upon principles of international law which Canada has implemented in domestic legislation but rarely considered in practice. By acknowledging native peoples' rights in this area, the judiciary would help them maintain or re-establish their cultural integrity - a prerequisite, the author argues, to self-determination in political and economic terms.

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Citation: (1991) 49(1) U.T. Fac. L. Rev. 1.
Copyright © 1991. University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review.
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