Tag: self-government

This article takes the neat little meme Jasen Benwah shared — Indian Act control on one side, “inherent law” on the other — and lays it over the real power structures on the Port au Port peninsula. It tracks how Benoit First Nation’s bylaws were bent and then rewritten after a rule-breaking hire, how the band’s rulebook quietly moved from a public website into a paid “fundraiser” book, and how Catherine and Michael Fenwick sit at the intersection of ARCO’s francophone network, local heritage projects, and Benwah’s Mi’kmaq claims. With Ottawa pushing Bill S-2 to expand federal status entitlements after the Nicholas case, the piece asks whether any of that actually puts power back in the hands of ordinary people — or simply reinforces an overlapping circle that already speaks for everyone else. Read More...

Companion to the “Nothing To Do With Land” series (especially Part 5: The Next Comfort Line – From Programs to Property). This piece uses a joint press release from Three Rivers Mi’kmaq Band and Benoit First Nation as Exhibit A that the “nothing to do with land” story is over. It shows how language about programs, reconciliation, and representation is now being cashed in as a claim to governing authority, unceded territory, and control over consultation through UNDRIP and FPIC. The article argues that once this shift is out in the open, locals need to see how every “programs not property” road quietly ends at the map. Read More...

Part 4 of the "Nothing to do with Land" series. Even without treaties or legal recognition, maps are quietly reshaping Newfoundland’s land politics. This essay exposes how symbolic “traditional territory” maps act as soft land claims—used in signage, education, consultation protocols, and even conservation overlays like 30×30. In Port au Port, the groundwork is already laid: self-government rhetoric has begun implying jurisdiction, and the next phase is likely visual—rendering those claims cartographically. Once printed or shared, even unofficial maps influence local perception, policy behavior, and emotional response. This piece explains how soft sovereignty advances not through courts or legislatures, but through PDFs, posters, and the normalization of invented borders. Read More...

Part 3 of the "Nothing to do with Land" series. A quiet edit on social media exposed the larger truth behind Newfoundland’s latest self‑government rhetoric. When Penwaaq L’nu’k’s public post shifted from saying self‑government had “nothing to do with land” to declaring “we already have a land base,” the language itself became evidence of a jurisdictional pivot. This essay unpacks how that subtle rewording transformed private, corporately held property into the appearance of recognized Indigenous territory, despite no legal standing under Section 35 or the Indian Lands Registry. It situates the change within a broader pattern of narrative management—where reassurance gives way to redefinition—and traces how the same strategy has appeared in Labrador, the Qalipu enrolment process, and other soft‑sovereignty frameworks. Beneath the calm phrasing lies the blueprint for an evolving claim to authority on the Port au Port Peninsula. Read More...

Part 2 of the "Nothing to do with Land" series. This article exposes how self-government frameworks in Newfoundland are quietly constructed long before public consultation begins. Through funding streams labeled “capacity building” and “governance readiness,” Ottawa lays the legal and administrative groundwork without ever invoking the word “land.” Using federal programs, REDBs, and cultural grants, it shows how culture is transformed into jurisdiction behind closed doors. Drawing on academic sources and recent examples from western Newfoundland, the piece argues that what locals believe is “just heritage” is often the first phase of a full governance framework under Section 35. In the end, it reveals how bureaucratic silence becomes a form of legal consent—and why public denial only accelerates the plan. Read More...