Amendments to the Canadian Constitution in 1982 recognize and affirm “the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada”, specifically the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples. A 1996 report from The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples laid out a process to recognize and define Canada’s Aboriginal peoples according to the Constitution. The federal government has ignored these recommendations and continues to maintain and develop the Indian Act, an out-of-date legislative mechanism created for colonial control over Indian reserves and their residents. In this collection, preeminent authors in the field canvass a range of issues, including who defines Aboriginality, interpretations of the Constitution, and the concept of recognition internationally.

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Paul L.A.H. Chartrand is a Métis from Manitoba. A professor at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, he has held teaching and other academic appointments in Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. He has served on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission (Manitoba), and was president of the Institute on Indigenous Government. He has authored numerous publications, including a book on Métis land rights.

Contributors: Russel L. Barsh, Dale Gibson, John Giokas, Robert K. Groves, Bradford W. Morse.

Chartrand and his collaborators are some of Canada's important thinkers in Aboriginal law. The book is recommended as a valuable resource for constitutional lawyers, policy analysts, professors, and students.

Saskatchewan Law Review, Vol. 66, 2003

All-in-all, Who Are Canada's Aboriginal Peoples? is a solid introduction to the key legal and policy issues facing Aboriginal politicians, individuals and communities, and federal and provincial governments. The issues raised are still pertinent to the times.... [I]t offers some interesting lessons and comparative explorations for policy developers and community leaders alike, and even provides some suggestions for govenment.... For the most part, the authors write with skill and clarity, aiming to capture all the prisms of an issue to the reader's benefit.

Ottawa Law Review, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2003-2004