Summary
The author reviews the history of Aboriginal relations in Canada to clarify the current impasse in negotiations between Aboriginal peoples and the state. He considers the assimilationist policy assumptions of the imperial era, examines more recent government initiatives, and analyzes the emergence of the nation-to-nation paradigm given massive support by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. The author contends that we are battered by contending visions. On the one hand, there is a revised assimilation policy that finds its support in the Canadian Alliance Party and on the other, the nation-to-nation vision which frames our future as coexisting solitudes. This book argues for the middle ground with its support for constitutional and institutional arrangements which will simultaneously recognize Aboriginal difference and reinforce a solidarity which binds us together in common citizenship.