White Man's Law: Native People in Nineteenth-Century Canadian Jurisprudence (Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History)

Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 1998. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Clean, tight, unmarked; slight wear to upper spine extreme; two small open tears to upper back inside corner of dust jacket; otherwise absolute minimal wear; In the 19th century many Canadians took pride in what they regarded as this country's liberal treatment of Indians. In this thorough reinvestigation of Canadian legal history, Harring sets the record straight, showing how Canada has continually denied aboriginal peoples even the most basic civil rights. Drawing on scores of 19th century legal cases, Harring reveals that colonial and early Canadian judges were largely ignorant of British policy concerning Indians and their lands. He also provides an account of the remarkable tenacity of First Nations in continuing their own legal traditions despite obstruction by the settler society that came to dominate them.