Carwyn Jones, Victoria University of Wellington
has published New
Treaty, New Tradition: Reconciling New Zealand and Māori Law with UBC
Press. From the publisher:
While Indigenous peoples face the challenges of self-determination in a postcolonial world, New Treaty, New Tradition provides a timely look at how the resolution of land claims in New Zealand continues to shape Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures alike. As Canada moves towards reconciliation with its own First Peoples, we can learn much from the Waitangi Treaty example.
Legal cultures change in response to social and economic environments. Inevitably, the settlement of historical land claims has affected issues of identity, rights, and resource management. Interweaving thoughtful analysis with Māori storytelling on legal themes, Carwyn Jones shows how the New Zealand treaty settlement process limits Indigenous authority. At the same time, the author reveals the enduring vitality of Māori legal traditions, making the case that genuine reconciliation can occur only when we recognize the importance of Indigenous traditions in the settlement process.
Drawing on examples from Canada and New Zealand, Jones illustrates how Western legal thought has shaped the claims process, deepening our understanding of treaty work in the former British colonies and providing context for similar work in Canada. As Indigenous self-determination plays out on the world stage, this nuanced reflection brings into focus prospects for the long-term success of reconciliation projects around the globe.
Praise for
the book:
"This
book breaks important new ground in Māori studies. Even more impressive is
Jones's masterful use of a variety of critical methodologies and scholarship
that can be applied to the contemporary human rights situation of Indigenous
peoples around the world. In an analysis thoroughly grounded in Māori language
and storytelling traditions, Jones reveals a powerful new way of using
Indigenous knowledge to critique, reform, and undermine the grounding
assumptions of the West's racist, colonial legal regimes and systems of non-Indigenous
governmentality and law imposed on Indigenous peoples." -Robert A. Williams Jr.
"New
Treaty, New Tradition is a tour de force. Intricately argued and beautifully
sculpted, this book is useful to both scholars and Indigenous peoples around
the world engaged in treaty and resource recovery negotiations." -Margaret
Mutu
"Carwyn
Jones has written a book that will enrich the popular discourse of Indigenous
politics, governance, decolonization, and resurgence." -Val Napoleon
Full
information is available here.
