Digital Commons Network^™

Food Sovereignty As Decolonization: Some Contributions From Indigenous Movements To Food System And Development Politics, Sam Grey, Raj Patel

Sam Grey

Self-Determination, Subordination, And Semantics: Rhetorical And Real-World Conflicts Over The Human Rights Of Indigenous Women, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

Indigenous women have long been engaged in unambiguous advocacy for a human rights-based approach to gender injustice in their communities and nations. Indigenous nations, for their part, have repeatedly and passionately posited collective human rights as necessary for the protection of cultural distinction. These projects should be reconcilable – but this reconciliation requires the political will to critically engage with historical and contemporary colonialism, and to address the internalization of patriarchy and sexism in Indigenous societies today. With such a will in place, it becomes possible to operationalize a single Indigenous ‘self-determination’ project grounded in human rights, one that sees …

Indigenous Knowledge, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

Indigenous knowledge (IK) includes the expressions, practices, beliefs, understandings, insights, and experiences of Indigenous groups, generated over centuries of profound interaction with a particular territory. Its iterations and mechanisms are unique to each community, even where it shares certain features across groups by virtue of being embedded in a wider, common culture. In all locations IK is the foundation of Indigenous governance, ecological stewardship, social, ethical, linguistic, spiritual, medical, food, and economic systems, so that the continual production and reproduction of local, land-based knowledge is the basis of Indigenous identity and sense of place in the world, as well as …

Decolonisation As Peacemaking: Applying Just War Theory To The Canadian Context, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

For decades now, Canada has been seen as a global exemplar of peacemaking and peacekeeping, yet the troubled relationship between its state and the Indigenous peoples within its borders does little to support this image. There is, in fact, a strong case to be made that the ongoing crisis of Indigenous–settler state relations in Canada is best understood as a protracted war; or more succinctly, as a failure to achieve peace following the initial violence of conquest and colonisation. Accordingly, it makes sense to apply just war theory — a doctrine of military ethics — to the issue. Grounded in …

Ferrying Across The Flood: The Ethics Of The Dhamma-Vinyana As The Basis Of Buddhist Development Theory And Practice, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

Buddhist development theory and practice establishes that it is possible to deliberately ground theoretical and actual socio-economic change in clear normative principles, joining the inwardly-oriented realm of personal morality and the outwardly-oriented realm of ethical social engagement. Further, it reveals the sought-after link between theory and practice, the element that gives rise to consistency, to be ethics, which “translate thought into action, world views into movements” (Merchant, 1992, p.62). In Buddhist development theory and practice, as in Buddhist ethics, intention is carried forward to consequence in a clear, ‘mappable’ fashion, so that that the fruits of any goal, strategy, or …

In The Form Of A Longhouse: Haudenosaunee Political Philosophy And Social Contract Theory, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

This essay presents the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (sometimes referred to as the Iroquois League or Five Nations) as part of an alternative social contract theory, contrasting the social and political institutions and norms of the Five Nations with those proposed by Enlightenment-era philosophers. Although the oral history of the Haudenosaunee describes a Hobbesian ‘state of nature’ prior to the founding of the Confederacy, the Five Nations entered into, and constantly renewed, a substantially different ‘social contract’ than that theorized by Hobbes, Rousseau, or Locke. Because these differences reveal a unique understanding of human nature and potential, undergirded by distinctly Haudenosaunee political …

Afflicting The Comfortable: An Assessment Of The Stasis In International Bioethical Discourse, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

Despite decades of clinical research being carried out in the 'developing' world, neither the socio-political and economic context of the global South, nor the nature and historical trajectory of global inequality have played a substantive role in determining the nature and extent of North-to-South bioethical obligations. Instead, context has been used to vacate obligation, shut out theories of justice, and collapse the “four principles' of bioethics” – sacrosanct in the 'developed’ world - into a singular, non-negotiable focus on autonomy as a procedurally-defined right. Proponents of a minimum-standards system of international clinical research conflate scientific, statistical, economic, and ethical issues, …

Historical Roots, Contemporary Relevance: Explaining The Persistence Of Polygyny In Sub-Saharan Africa, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

Despite the pervasive belief that monogamous marriage and the nuclear family are natural or inevitable features of modernity, many other nuptial and household forms exist. Polygyny – simultaneous marriage to multiple wives – is one such form. Today, widespread polygyny is virtually a sub-Saharan African phenomenon, and it perseveres here in the face of rapid, ostensibly antipathetic, socio-economic change. Predictions that development and modernization would obliterate traditional kinship systems in sub-Saharan Africa remain unrealized because they fail to appreciate that polygyny is not merely a historical relic or cultural idiosyncrasy, but a rational, internally consistent strategy that enables both individuals …

In Harm's Way: Justification, Excuse, And Civilian Safety In Just War Theory, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

Just War Theory asserts that armed conflict can be fought in a way that safeguards moral and legal norms while responding to pragmatic/military imperatives. One of the ways in which it seeks to safeguard justice is through specific provisions for the immunity of, and due care for, the vulnerable and innocent. Unfortunately, two doctrines within Just War Theory – the Doctrine of Double Effect and the Doctrine of Supreme Emergency – suspend or vacate these provisions. The net effect is to render justifications inaccessible, leaving only excuses, the use of which establishes that no one is truly accountable, no meaningful …

Indigenous Peoples And Climate Change: Vulnerabilities, Adaptation, And Responses To Mechanisms Of The Kyoto Protocol - A Collection Of Case Studies, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

One of the reasons for the lack of recognition of Indigenous Peoples in the discourse on climate change is the scarcity of research and information documenting the full impact of this multifaceted issue on their communities. While articles and papers have been written on related topics (in particular by the World Rainforest Movement), there has yet to be a cohesive published report outlining the areas of concern and action prioritized by Indigenous Peoples. Such a study is necessary in order to raise awareness and demonstrate the need to include Indigenous Peoples in the proceedings of the UN Framework Convention on …

From Text To Action: Negotiating And Advancing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Through The Convention On Biological Diversity, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

The purpose of this primer is to provide basic information on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that Indigenous Peoples can easily understand. It aims to familiarize Indigenous Peoples with the processes and programmes of work of the CBD, so that they can participate effectively at various levels and take advantage of available opportunities for engagement. It presents some strategies used by Indigenous Peoples in holding their governments accountable for their commitments to the CBD. It could serve as a tool for Indigenous Peoples in negotiating and advancing their rights to land, resources, biological diversity, cultural diversity, and self-determination – …

Indigenous Peoples' Contributions To Cop-8 Of The Convention On Biological Diversity, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

During the Seventh Conference of the Parties (COP-7), held in Malaysia in 2004, Indigenous Peoples made a significant impact on the negotiations between states in a number of key issue areas. Building on this success, and as a part of the preparations for COP-8, held in Brazil in 2006, the IIFB has decided to provide documentation detailing Indigenous Peoples’ experiences with the thematic areas under discussion. Hence, the effort to compile this set of case studies. These case studies are meant to synthesize Indigenous input into the different themes discussed at the Eighth Ordinary Meeting of the Conference of the …

Tradition, Tech, And Transformation: Information Technologies And The Intellectual Property Of Indigenous Peoples, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

Changes brought about by the globalization of laws and markets, and the geometric expansion of technological innovation, make intellectual property issues nebulous and mercurial, to the point that keeping pace with changes in the field is a full-time pursuit requiring a high degree of skill and dedication. For nations-within-nations, as is the status of most Native groups worldwide, intellectual property presents a particularly difficult legal and political problem, as indeed intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes challenge the sovereignty of even the strongest and most 'modern' of nation-states. Authorities on the protection of traditional knowledge (TK), resources, and cultural expressions assert …

Tattoos On Our Digital Skin: Anonymity, Privacy, And Accountability In Cyberspace, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

While it may be oddly flattering that Chapters, Amazon or HMV knew you would like the new Johnny Cash compilation album, you may be less than thrilled to discover that they also knew about your prescription drug addiction, your crabs, your bankruptcy, or your having skipped out on the rent one month back in 1993. When you add the possibility of your favourite e-retailer sharing your personal information- for a profit- to the frank probability of their having known it in the first place, what you initially found flattering may begin to appear more offensive and ominous. Simply put, there …

Waiting For Some Angel: Indigenous Rights As An Ethical Imperative In The Theory And Practice Of Human Rights, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

This article uses the stalled Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the impetus for an examination of arguments championing and opposing the framing of Indigenous rights as human rights. Failings both theoretical and practical – in the conceptualisation, promulgation and interpretation of human rights – have long left Aboriginal peoples at a disadvantage. The dual focus of Indigenous claims is unique in the rights lexicon, asserting the right to be simultaneously different from and equal to the majority population. Yet Indigenous rights are often perceived, by governments with the power to block their progress, as a threat …

Decolonising Feminism: Aboriginal Women And The Global ‘Sisterhood’, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

For several decades the caution that “[w]omen should not position themselves ‘on the same side’ without any regard for the differences in power and privilege among women” (Grande, 2003:342) has circulated; yet feminism continues to espouse a ubiquitous ‘sisterhood’ based on common female experiences, perceptions, values and goals. Unfortunately, feminists have neither sufficiently examined differences between and among women, nor adequately considered the historical and material specificity of Native identity. In light of this, the claim that ‘feminism is for everybody’ seems more politically useful, or optimistic, than accurate.

The Health Status Of Aboriginal Peoples In Canada: Reflection, Realization, And Response, Sam Grey

Sam Grey

“[A] great many people have little access to health care […] and spend their lives fighting unnecessary morbidity” (Sen, 1999:15). To Nobel-laureate Amartya Sen, this is a fundamental form of ‘unfreedom.’ To many Aboriginal1 people, it is a characteristic of contemporary existence within the boundaries of Canada. Because the health status of Native people has continued to register as inequitably poor, despite the existence of socialized medicine and a proliferation of government health programs, claims that a simple increase in health services or a reorganization of the health care budget will have a positive impact are no longer sensible. And …