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Since the late seventies, quite a bit has been written about aboriginal self-government in Canada. Much of this literature treats the subject as both theoretical construct and prospective public policy, examining the overlapping historical and legal contexts in which the idea itself is embedded and assessing its potential to move Aboriginal peoples closer to achieving the elusive goal of self-determination. The collection under review strays from this well-worn path, setting aside academic analysis and debate, however valuable, for more practical and immediate purposes. If offers a detailed and up-close perspective on self-government as an "emerging reality". With that as a starting point, the essays assembled here are contributed by a mix of writers, Native and non-native, practitioner and academic examine some of the developments that have unfolded so far and consider a number of issues still surrounding self-government initiatives. The book's thirteen chapters are organized into four parts. In the first, effectively an introduction, two authors argue for both the principle and practice of self-government on simple grounds: in John Hylton's words, the resounding inadequacy of Canada's policies in "doing for" and doing to" Aboriginal peoples up to...





