Elder teachings

Reflection by Susie McPherson-Derendy

Indigenous Sovereignty

“Indigenous Sovereignty arises from Indigenous traditional knowledge, belonging to each Indigenous nation, tribe and community. Traditional Indigenous knowledge consists of spiritual ways, culture, language, social and legal systems, political structures, and inherent relationships with lands, waters, and all upon them. Indigenous sovereignty exists regardless of what the governing nation-state does or does not do.

To grasp the essence of the definition above procured by the Indigenous Environment Network, it is necessary to understand that Indigenous people have not surrendered to the colonial structures embedded within the current government. The laws and regulations that enforce the systems currently in place are not accepted by all First Nations communities. This is recognized by the Canadian Government as well, meaning that both Canada and Indigenous peoples maintain their own sovereign states. Sovereign states indicate that they are two separate governing states residing on the same land. (Nudrat Karim)

The idea of sovereignty is multilayered and difficult to define, though it is the idea of authority and is still under the process of continuous evolution according to author Ashley Shrinkal. The use of sovereignty is important to Indigenous peoples as they continue to claim and reclaim for distinct identity-based rights.

Though sovereignty originates and arises from different contexts, for Indigenous people, it’s specifically connected to “Concepts of self-determination and self-government.” It insists on the recognition of inherent rights to the respect for affiliation, historical and located, and for the unique cultural identities that continue to find meaning in those histories and relations. “Sovereignty has been rearticulated to mean altogether different things by Indigenous Peoples” (Joanne Barker).“