I would like to thank Ronald Niezen for taking the time to read an earlier version of this article and for his comments, which have greatly advanced my thinking on this topic. Thanks go as well to the participants in the closing session of the Indigenous Peoples and Governance project for many fruitful exchanges. Finally, I would like to thank Kathe Lieber for the translation of previous version of the document.

1. “It is the responsibility of the authorities of the State to create conditions enabling the Sámi people to preserve and develop its language, culture and way of life”. Kongeriget Norges Grundlov, given i Rigsforsamlingen paa Eidsvold den 17 de Mai 1814, art 110a, online: Government of Norway http://www.constitution.org/cons/norway/dok-bn.html.

2. There is also a risk of conceptual totalism here. See Leclair, Jean, “The Perils of Conceptual ‘Totalism’ in Law and in the Social Sciences” (in French) (2009) 14 Lex Electronica 1.Google Scholar

3. In R v Sappier and R v Gray, the Canadian Supreme Court states, for example, that, “It is critically important that the Court be able to identify a practice that helps to define the distinctive way of life of the community as an aboriginal community” in order to recognize the existence of an ancestral right. R v Sappier and R v Gray 2006 SCC 54, [2006] 2 SCR 686 at para 22. That interpretation was recently confirmed by the Supreme Court, which stated that, “The Lax Kw’alaams place reliance on references to ‘way of life’ in Sappier at paras 24 and 40. However, the reference in Sappier to a pre-contact ‘way of life’ should not be read as departing from the ‘distinctive culture’ test set out in Van der Peet.“ Lax Kw’alaams Indian Band v Canada (Attorney General), 2011 SCC 56, [2011] 3 SCR 535 at para 54.

4. Gupta, Akhil & Ferguson, James, “Beyond ‘Culture’: Space, Identity, and the Politics of Difference” (1992) 7 Cultural Anthropology 6 at 14CrossRefGoogle Scholar, citing Appadurai, Arjun, “Putting Hierarchy in its Place” (1988) 3 Cultural Anthropology 36.Google Scholar

5. General Comment No. 23: The rights of Minorities (Art. 27), UNHRC, 1994, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/ ADD.5 at para 3.2.

6. G and E v Norway (1983), 35 Eur Comm’n HR DR 30 Google Scholar, Joined applications 9278/81 & 9415/81 at 42 [G and E].

7. Saramaka People v Suriname (2007), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 172, at paras 121-25 [Saramaka People].

8. Yakye Axa Indigenous Community v Paraguay (2005), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 125, at paras 135, 148 [Yakye Axa].

9. The use of the concepts of “majority society” or “dominant society” may be criticized insofar as they tend to position indigenous peoples as being at odds with liberal society or non-indigenous peoples, presenting them as isolated groups and wiping out the multidimensional nature of their identities. Indigenous peoples belong to a complex transnational network and follow a diverse range of practices and values. However, we use these concepts due to the persistence of a balance of power between them and the dominant liberal society. That balance of power is demonstrated by the fact that they are required to conform to legal concepts and forms of reasoning arising from colonialism at domestic and international levels.

10. On the concept of intrastate pluralism, see Grammond, Sébastien, “L’appartenance aux communautés Inuit du Nunavik: Un cas de réception de l’ordre juridique Inuit?” (2008) 23 CJLS 93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

11. On the modalities of such a dialogue, see Borrows, John, “With or Without You: First Nations Law (in Canada)” (1996) 41 McGill LJ 629.Google Scholar

12. The international courts and quasi-jurisdictional bodies whose discourse is examined here are the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the Inter-American Commission and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the former European Commission and the European Court of Human Rights.

13. See Western Shoshone Defense Project, Report on Effects of Canadian Transnational Corporate Activities on the Western Shoshone Indigenous Peoples, 2012, Submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, UNGA, 80th Session, online: Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program http://www.law.arizona.edu/depts/iplp/international/sho-shone/documents/Western%20Shoshone%20%20to%20CERD%20(CANADA)%2080th%20Session%20Feb%202012.pdf.

14. The ILO monitors the implementation of Convention 169, Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, 27 June 1989, 72 ILO Official Bull 59 (in force 5 September 1991) [Convention 169].

15. On this trend, see Mills, Antonia, Eagle Down Is Our Law: Witsuwit’en Law, Feasts, and Land Claims (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1994) at 11 Google Scholar; Moore, Donald S, “Subaltern Struggles and the Politics of Place: Remapping Resistance in Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands” (1998) 13 Cultural Anthropology 344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

16. “Everyone has the right to the use and enjoyment of his property. The law may subordinate such use and enjoyment to the interest of society.” American Convention on Human Rights, 22 November 1969, 1144 UNTS 123, OAS TS 36, (in force 18 July 1978), art 21(1) [American Convention].

17. “Every person has a right to own such private property as meets the essential needs of decent living and helps to maintain the dignity of the individual and of the home.” American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, 1948, OAS Res XXX, art 23 [American Declaration].Google Scholar

18. Notably, The Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v Nicaragua (2001), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 79 [Awas Tingni]Google Scholar; Mary and Carrie Dann v United States (2002), Inter-Am Comm HR report No 75/02, case No 11.140 [Dann]; Moiwana Community v Suriname (2005), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 124 [Moiwana]; Yakye Axa, supra note 8; Saramaka People, supra note 7.

19. See, for example, Awas Tingni, supra note 18 at para 83; Dann, supra note 18 at para 46.

20. See, e.g., Report on the Situation of Human Rights of a Segment of the Nicaraguan Population of Miskito Origin (29 November 1983), Inter-Am Comm HR, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.62/doc. 10 rev 3, online: Organization of American States http://www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Miskitoeng/toc.htm.

21. Proposed American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, (26 February 1997), Inter-Am Comm HR, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.90/doc 9 rev 1, online: Organization of American States http://www.cidh.oas.org/indigenas/chap.2g.htm [Proposed American Declaration].

22. Convention 169, supra note 14.

23. 1.1. The States Parties to this Convention undertake to respect the rights and freedoms recog nized herein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms, without any discrimination for reasons of race, color, sex, lan guage, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic status, birth, or any other social condition.

1.2. For the purposes of this Convention, ‘person’ means every human being.

“2. Where the exercise of any of the rights or freedoms referred to in Article 1 is not already ensured by legislative or other provisions, the States Parties undertake to adopt, in accordance with their constitutional processes and the provisions of this Convention, such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to those rights or freedoms.” American Convention, supra note 16, arts 1-2.

24. See, in particular, the Awas Tingni Community’s petition to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The Mayagna Indian Community of Awas Tingni & Jaime Castillo Fellipe, Petition, Inter-Am Com HR, 1995, 2 October 1995, at paras 43-45, online: Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program http://www.law.arizona.edu/depts/iplp/international/awas.cfm [Awas Tingni Petition]. In the petition of Mary and Carrie Dann against the United States, the claimants further explained that, “The right to property affirmed in article XXIII [of the American Declaration], especially when considered in light of the fundamental principle of non-discrimination, embraces those forms of landholding and resource use that derive from the traditional land use and occupancy patterns of an indigenous people such as the Western Shoshone.” Dann, Mary and Dann, Carrie, Petitioners’ Supplemental Submission: Brief on the Merits, March 2000, at para 17Google Scholar, online: Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program http://www.law.arizona.edu/depts/iplp/international/westernShoshone.cfm.

25. See in particular, G and E, supra note 6; Könkämä and 38 Other Saami Villages v Sweden, No 27033/95 (1996), Eur Comm’ HR, online: European Court of Human Rights http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/ [Könkämä]; Hingitaq 53 and Others v Denmark, No 18584/04, [2006], ECHR, online: European Court of Human Rights http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-72219 [Hingitaq]; Handölsdalen Sami Village and Others v Sweden, No 39013/04 [2010], ECHR, online: European Court of Human Rights http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/ [Handölsdalen]. See also Otis, Ghislain & Laurent, Aurélie, “Le déf des revendications foncières autochtones: La Cour européenne des droits de l’homme sur la voie de la décolonisation de la propriété? [The Challenge of Indigenous Land Claims in Europe: Is the European Court on Human Rights on the Way to Decolonize Property?]” (2012) 89 Revue trimestrielle des droits de l’homme 43 Google Scholar.

26. Protocol 1, Article 1: “Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law. The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties.” Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 4 November 1950, 213 UNTS 221, Eur TS 5, Protocol 1, art 1 [European Convention].

27. See, in particular, the 1981 Taxed Mountain Case, in which the Swedish Supreme Court recognized the Saami people’s usufructary land right. Kvist, Roger, “The Racist Legacy in Modern Swedish Saami Policy” (1994) 14 Canadian Journal of Native Studies 203 at 212.Google Scholar

28. G and E, supra note 6 at 41.

29. Könkämä, supra note 25 at para 1.

30. Supra note 25.

31. Memorandum of the applicants, submitted to the European Court of Human Rights on November 5, 2007, in the case of Handölsdalen at para 73.

32. Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v Kenya (2010), ACHPR, No 276/2003, online: Refworld http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,ACHPR,,4b8275a12,0.html [Endorois Welfare Council].

33. “The right to property shall be guaranteed. It may only be encroached upon in the interest of public need or in the general interest of the community and in accordance with the provisions of appropriate laws.” African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 28 June 1981, 1520 UNTS 217, OAU Doc CAB/LEG/67/3 rev 5, 21 ILM 58 (1982) (entered into force 21 October 1986), art 14 [African Charter].

34. Endorois Welfare Council, supra note 32 at paras 87-89.

35. Ibid at paras 93-94.

36. The Social and Economic Rights Action Centre for Economic and Social Rights v Nigeria (2001), ACHPR, Application No 155/96 at paras 56–58 [SERAC].Google Scholar

37. “1. All peoples shall freely dispose of their wealth and natural resources. This right shall be exercised in the exclusive interest of the people. In no case shall a people be deprived of it.

2. In case of spoliation the dispossessed people shall have the right to the lawful recovery of its property as well as to an adequate compensation.” African Charter, supra note 33, art 21. The African Commission had previously made a similar ruling in the case of SERAC, supra note 36.

38. Endorois Welfare Council, supra note 32 at para 124.

39. On this line of reasoning, see Anaya, S James, “The Awas Tingni Petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Indigenous Lands, Loggers, and Government Neglect in Nicaragua” (1996-1997) 9 St Thomas LR 157 at 184ffGoogle Scholar. On the approach taken by the Inter-American Court, see (more broadly), Hennebel, Ludovic & Tigroudja, Hélène, eds, Le particularisme interaméricain des droits de l’homme (Paris: Pedone, 2009).Google Scholar

40. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 19 Dec 1966, 99 UNTS 171, arts 9-14, Can TS 1976 No 47, 6 ILM 368 (entered into force 23 March 1976 by accession by Canada 19 May 1976), art 27 [ICCPR].

41. George Howard v Canada, UNHRC, 2005, Communication No879/1999 CCPR/C/84/D/879/ 1999 at para 10.2Google Scholar, online: United Nations http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/a981f075b1aa655ec1257068004b2140?Opendocument [Howard]. The claim that the right to the land derives from the right to one’s own culture is also supported in doctrine. See Ahrén, J Mattias, “The Provisions on Lands, Territories and Natural Resources in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: An Introduction” in Charters, Claire & Stavenhagen, Rodolfo, eds, Making the Declaration Work: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, vol 127 (Copenhagen: IWGIA, 2009) 200.Google Scholar This argument was also used by the Awas Tingni community and its lawyers in their application to the Inter-American Commission, in addition to the application regarding the foundation of the right to property. See Awas Tingni Petitition, supra note 24 at paras 46-49.

42. “[T]he processes by which people define who they are, above all the ways they articulate and defend their collective rights and shape and represent their distinct cultures, are now often negotiated and mediated in collaboration with distant publics.” Niezen, Ronald, Public Justice and the Anthropology of Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010) at 2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

43. Awas Tingni Petition, supra note 24 at paras 46-49.

44. G and E, supra note 6 at 35.

45. Awas Tingni, supra note 18 at para 148; cf Saramaka People, supra note 7 at para 121.

46. Notably Awas Tingni, supra note 18 at para 153.

47. Ibid at para 149.

48. Moiwana, supra note 18 at para 131.

49. See the following cases: Moiwana, supra note 18; Yakye Axa, supra note 8; Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community v Paraguay (2006), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 146; Saramaka People, supra note 7; Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Community v Paraguay (2010), Inter-Am Ct HR (Ser C) No 214.

50. Saramaka People, supra note 7 at paras 121-23, 125. The restriction of the right to collective ownership of natural resources “essential to an indigenous way of life” is open to criticism, as it runs the risk of essentializing indigenous identities. The judgment in Saramaka People is nonetheless the only case to date involving such a restriction, so it is difficult to determine how significant it will be. In addition, the Inter-American Court did show some openness in defining essential natural resources.

51. On the position of African States, see Kingsbury, Benedict, “‘Indigenous Peoples’ in International Law: A Constructivist Approach to the Asian Controversy” (1998) 92 Am J Int’l L 414 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Engle, Karen, “On Fragile Architecture: The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Context of Human Rights” (2011) 22 EJIL 141 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Barume, Albert, “Responding to the Concerns of the African States” in Charters, Claire & Stavenhagen, Rodolfo, eds, supra note 41 at 170Google Scholar; Naomi Kipuri, “The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the African Context” in Claire Charters & Rodolfo Stavenhagen, eds, supra note 41 at 252.

52. Endorois Welfare Council, supra note 32.

53. Ibid at paras 188-89, 201.

54. On the emergence of an agreed-upon and negotiated right in African legal systems, see Barrière, Olivier & Rochegude, Alain, Foncier et environnement en Afrique. Des acteurs au(x) droit(s) (Paris: Éditions Karthala, 2008)Google Scholar. On the norms that have been generated by the African judicial tradition, see Menski, Werner, Comparative Law in a Global Context: The Legal Systems of Asia and Africa, 2nd ed (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006) at 464-86CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

55. Endorois Welfare Council, supra note 32 at para 206.

56. Ibid at paras 204-05.

57. Ibid at paras 255-68.

58. Saramaka People, supra note 7 at para 121 [emphasis added].

59. “[T]he Court’s current emphasis on distinctivism can lead to an equally distorted preservationist impulse to control the pace of change, to ‘protect’ those original people living close to nature, to recognize distinct rights only to the extent that they are far removed from economic and political development.” Niezen, Ronald, “Culture and the Judiciary: The Meaning of the Culture Concept as a Source of Aboriginal Rights in Canada” (2003) 18 CJLS 1 at 25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

60. Ibid.

61. Grammond, supra note 10 at 96-97 [translated from French].

62. For a similar observation on the handling of cases brought by indigenous communities in the United States, see Clifford, James, “Identity in Mashpee” in Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature and Art (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988) at 277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

63. The draft was presented to several indigenous organizations for consultation purposes. Proposed American Declaration, supra note 21. For a look at the inclusion of indigenous peoples in drafting the American Declaration, see Inter-American Commission on Human Rights American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Process of Preparation, Regional Consultation and Proposal of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 1997, OEA/Ser. L/V/II.94/doc 8 rev 1997, online: Organization of American States http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/96eng/chap.4.htm.

64. On the nuances between the terms “consultation,” “concertation” and “negotiation,” see Touzard, Hubert, “Consultation, concertation, négociation: Une courte note théorique” (2006) 5 Négociations 67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

65. For an interesting reflection on local populations’ involvement in setting legal standards, see Olivier Barrière, “Introduction: vers une autre forme de droit ?” in Barrière & Rochegude, supra note 54 at 301-10.

66. Here we only briefly discuss the perspective of the Inter-American Commission, which is especially interesting from the Canadian viewpoint. However, our approach is based on the fact that the Commission followed the same line of reasoning as the Inter-American Court. On this point, see the decision in Dann, supra note 18.

67. Yakye Axa, supra note 8 at para 135.

68. Otis & Laurent, supra note 25 at 12 [translated from French].

69. Ibid.

70. G and E, supra note 6 at 35.

71. Ibid at 36. It is interesting to note the former European Commission’s representation regarding the Saami territory. The Commission compared it to the area that would be fooded by the hydroelectric dam, stating that “by comparison with the vast areas of northern Norway used for reindeer grazing and fshing, the Alta River project would mean only a relatively small loss of territory for the petitioners.” Ibid at 36. According to the Commission, northern Norway seems to be an empty space, untouched by colonization. Moreover, what appears to be important is not the territory as it is lived, with particular areas having a particular meaning to the people who have occupied it since time immemorial, but rather the vastness of the land.

72. Leclair, supra note 2.

73. European Convention, supra note 26, art 8(2).

74. G and E, supra note 6 at 36.

75. Ibid at 36.

76. For further details, see Kvist, supra note 27.

77. This vision of the territory and space runs counter to the view developed by several authors such as: Foucault, Michel, “Questions on Geography” in Gordon, Colin, ed, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977 New York: Pantheon, 1980) 63 Google Scholar; Appadurai, Arjun, “The Production of Locality” in Fardon, Richard, ed, Counterworks: Managing the Diversity of Knowledge (New York: Routledge, 1995) 204 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Lefèbvre, Henri, The Production of Space, translated by Nicholson-Smith, Donald (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991).Google Scholar

78. On this point, see Otis & Laurent, supra note 25.

79. Jouni Länsman, Eino Länsman and the Muotkatunturi Herdsmen’s Committee v Finland, UNHRC, 2005, Communication No1023/2001, CCPR/C/83/D/1023/2001 at paras 6.7Google Scholar, 10.2, online: United Nations http://www.unhchr.ch/TBS/doc.nsf/0/67b455218cbd622d80256714005cfdad?Opendocument [Jouni Länsman].

80. Ibid. See also Kitok v Sweden, UNHRC, 1988 Google Scholar, Communication No 197/1985, CCPR/C/33/D/197/ 1985, online: United Nations http://www.unhchr.ch/TBS/doc.nsf/0/d9332db8dfce2f63c1256ab50052d2ff?Opendocument; Howard, supra note 41; Apirana Mahuika and Consorts v New Zealand, UNHRC, 2000, Communication No 547/1993, CCPR/C/70/D/547/1993, online: United Nations http://www.unhchr.ch/TBS/doc.nsf/0/ae41739262a9ca2dc12569ad00329e41?Opendocument; Poma Poma v Peru, UNHRC, 2009, Communication No 1457/2006, CCPR/ C/95/D/1457/2006, A/64/40 (Vol II) [Poma].

81. Jouni Länsman, supra note 79 at para 10.1. The same position was taken by the UN Human Rights Committee in Howard, supra note 41 at para 12.7.

82. Poma, supra note 80 at para 7.3.

83. This conception of culture conficts with the view that has developed in anthropology over many years, as described by Ronald Niezen: “The dominant paradigm of cultural studies in recent decades has emphasized the invented nature of tradition, the porousness of cultural boundaries, the malleability and often manipulability of the ideological and affective foundations of social membership. Heritage is selected and cultures are constructed.” Niezen, supra note 42 at 3.

84. For a similar conclusion, see Eisenberg, Avigail, “The Public Assessment of Indigenous Identity” in Seymour, Michel, ed, Plural States of Recognition (London: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2010) 197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

85. Poma, supra note 80 at para 7.2.

86. “1(1). All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. 1(2). All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.” ICCPR, supra note 40, arts 1(1)-1(2).

87. “[T]he agencies of international governance are inclined to recognize differences as cultural rather than constitutional, as legally protected only to the extent that they do not compromise state sovereignty. Rights of self-determination have been almost exclusively restricted to nation-states. Without broadening the legal and political foundations of self-determination there is no clear way to deal with minorities striving towards autonomy, whose social and political values are based on stateless tradition. One effect of this empty recognition is to sharpen the collective self-awareness of differences and distinct rights, while frustrating the abilities of distinct peoples to govern themselves.” Niezen, Ronald, “The Indigenous Claim for Recognition in the International Public Sphere” (2005) 17 Fla J Int’l L 583 at 584Google Scholar. See also Niezen, supra note 59.

88. According to Rocher, Guy, “[L]’action sociale […] c’est toute manière de penser, de sentir et d’agir dont l’orientation est structurée suivant des modèles qui sont collectifs, c’est-à-dire qui sont partagés par les membres d’une collectivité quelconque de personnes.” Rocher, Guy, Introduction à la sociologie générale, 3d ed (Montréal: Éditions Hurtubise HMH, 1992) at 42.Google Scholar

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90. Merry, Sally Engle, “Human Rights Law and the Demonization of Culture (and Anthropology along the Way)” (2003) 26 Political and Legal Anthropology Revue 55 at 67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

91. Niezen, supra note 59 at 2.

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