Law's Indigenous Ethics

by John Borrows

Law’s Indigenous Ethics examines the revitalization of Indigenous peoples’ relationship to their own laws and, in so doing, attempts to enrich Canadian constitutional law more generally. Organized around the seven Anishinaabe grandmother and grandfather teachings of love, truth, bravery, humility, wisdom, honesty, and respect, this book explores ethics in relation to Aboriginal issues including title, treaties, legal education, and residential schools. With characteristic depth and sensitivity, John Borrows brings insights drawn from philosophy, law, and political science to bear on some of the most pressing issues that arise in contemplating the interaction between Canadian state law and Indigenous legal traditions. In the course of a wide-ranging but accessible inquiry, he discusses such topics as Indigenous agency, self-determination, legal pluralism, and power. In its use of Anishinaabe stories and methodologies drawn from the emerging field of Indigenous studies, Law’s Indigenous Ethics makes a significant contribution to scholarly debate and is an essential resource for readers seeking a deeper understanding of Indigenous rights, societies, and cultures.

Genres: Indigenous

392 pages, Paperback

First published April 9, 2019

Reviews

[Emmkay · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of work going on these days around recognizing, developing, theorizing, and building relationship with Indigenous law, and John Borrows is at the centre of this work. I wanted to begin to understand what Indigenous law means/can mean. This was a slow, challenging read that enhanced my understanding. Borrows' focus is on developing a framework for the ethics to underpin Indigenous law (it's in the title!), organized around seven Anishnaabe grandmother and grandfather teachings of love, truth, bravery, humility, wisdom, honesty and respect. He introduces each one through storytelling, and then explores how they might animate legal ethics.

One of the things I like best about Borrows' approach is his insistence that Indigenous law, like Indigenous rights, is not to be frozen in time ('what would Indigenous people pre-contact do?' is a weird WWJD-like question that shouldn't dictate what be done today). I also like how that he draws attention to the problematic vacuum at the heart of how Canadian law today still deals with Indigenous issues - if you give up the doctrine of terra nullius, where exactly does Crown sovereignty come from, exactly? The book also broadened my understanding of what exactly law is or can be.

My own passion tends to be for the particular rather than the general, so I especially liked the chapters in which Borrows got specific - my favourites were the one on bravery, focusing on the Supreme Court's T'silhqot'n decision and 'challenging the durability of terra nullius,' and the one on humility, via 'entanglement, aboriginal title, and 'private' property.' The general tenor of the book is to set out a broad framework, while arguing for the need for nuance. I am all for both a framework and for nuance, but the specificity of these chapters made them much more interesting to me.

Borrows nicely frames his points using stories. When he moved away from these jumping-off points, I found the prose sometimes clunky, although par for the course for many academic books. You can argue for nuance but still write with clarity - fewer 'moreovers', 'furthermores,' 'at the same times,' etc. Also, I'm still distracted by the fact that he used 'eiditic' twice in the same paragraph. Later in the book...he used 'eidetic.' And I'm still not sure what either word meant in context. Nonetheless (moreover, furthermore, at the same time), I was glad to have had the opportunity to read and learn from his work. 3.5.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel too close to this one to give much of a review. I guess the one thing I would say if you're considering reading it is that it's very modular and the chapters in a lot of ways stand on their own.

[Rick Humphreys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Teachings

Professor Borrows has provided profound insights into Indigenous thought and law.He has clearly demonstrated how far we must go to achieve the reconciliation of all Canadian peoples.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethics

Law wrote a great book on ethics.
Yes, confusing title

In all seriousness. This was a great book.
A timely read, as I read it on The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Sept. 30.

Would recommend!

4.5/5

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guide to Indigenous law, structured by the Seven Sacred Grandmother Teachings, has lots of wonderful insights and wisdom in. Burrows’ training as a law academic does means there large sections of the book are devoted to legal details and argumentation.

[Shahna · Rating 4 out of 5]

for school