The past two decades have seen a burgeoning of theoretical and popular interest in appropriate forms of dispute resolution. Given perceived deficiencies in adversarial, court-centered responses to conflict, there has been a search for forms of dispute resolution less costly in both social and economic terms. However, notwithstanding their growing appeal, alternative forms of dispute resolution raise serious questions of justice. Does a move away from formal legal process threaten the impartiality and fairness of outcomes? How are concepts of justice and approaches to dispute resolution inflected by culture, and how can approaches to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) take seriously the challenges of intercultural justice, understanding, and negotiation? These questions are particularly pressing in processes designed and implemented in the context of Aboriginal land claims, treaties, and self-government agreements, and in connection with court-based institutions in indigenous communities. The opportunities, challenges, uncertainties, and concerns around ADR in Aboriginal contexts are intensely practical and also have extensive theoretical dimensions. The essays in this volume engage the reader in these issues from the perspective of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal scholars and practitioners. This volume also makes available reflections on the constraints of institutionalized problem solving and provides practical insight into the effectiveness of specific dispute resolution models adopted in Canada, Australia, and the United States. It also offers examples of indigenous dispute resolution philosophies and systems, and explores the critical issue of whether it is possible to design ADR processes that empower indigenous communities given the impact of colonization. The first collection of its kind, Intercultural Dispute Resolution in Aboriginal Contexts offers much needed guidance to scholars, lawyers, negotiators, dispute resolution practitioners, and others concerned with dispute resolution in Aboriginal contexts.

Table of Contents:

Foreword / Paul Chartrand

Acknowledgments

Introduction / David Kahane and Catherine Bell

Part 1: Theoretical Perspectives

1 Learning New Dances: Finding Effective Ways to Address Intercultural Disputes / Michelle LeBaron

2 What is Culture? Generalizing About Aboriginal and Newcomer Perspectives / David Kahane

3 Perceiving the World Differently / Dale Turner

4 Paths to Intercultural Understanding: Feasting, Shared Horizons, and Unforced Consensus / Natalie Oman

5 Commentary: When Cultures Collide / Julie MacFarlane

Part 2: International Contexts

6 Navajo Peacemaking and Intercultural Dispute Resolution / Chief Justice Robert Yazzie

7 Cultural Conflict in Colonial Legal Systems: An Australian Perspective / Larissa Behrendt

8 The Waitangi Tribunal's Role in the Dispute Resolution of Indigenous (Maori) Treaty Claims / Morris Te Whiti Love

9 Commentary: Indigenous Dispute Settlement, Self-Governance, and the Second Generation of Indigenous Rights / Jeremy Webber

Part 3: Canadian Contexts

10 Weche Teachings: Aboriginal Wisdom and Dispute Resolution / Elmer Ghostkeeper

11 Who Gets to Say What Happened? Reconciliation Issues for the Gitxsan / Val Napoleon

12 Reconciliation Devices: Using the Trust as an Interface Between Aboriginal and State Legal Orders / Richard Overstall

13 Parallel Justice Systems, or a Tale of Two Spiders / Dale Dewhurst

14 Commentary: Reconciling Our Memories in Order to Re-Envision Our Futures / N. Bruce Duthu

Part 4: Issues of Design and Implementation

15 Indigenous Dispute Resolution Systems Within Non-Indigenous Frameworks: Intercultural Dispute Resolution Initiatives in Canada / Catherine Bell

16 What's Old is New Again: Aboriginal Dispute Resolution and the Civil Justice System / Diana Lowe and Jonathan H. Davidson

17 The Dispute Resolution Provisions of Three Northern Land Claims Agreements / Nigel Bankes

18 Commentary: Intercultural Dispute Resolution Initiatives Across Canada / Andrew Pirie

Conclusion

19 A Separate Peace: Strengthening Shared Justice / John Borrows

Contributors

Index