Indians and the Just Society

Hello All,

I was really glad to meet all those of you who took the time to come to yesterday's induction meeting. We took about 20 minutes to go over the course syllabus, marking system, and on-line tools. The books for the course have arrived too, so anyone who doesn't have them yet can pick them up from the Reception Desk.

During the meeting I also took the time to briefly mention an article discussing the evolution of the Federal Government's policy towards Native Americans, entitled: Indians and the Just Society, by William Johnson. This is a great point to start thinking about your short essay, since it briefly and clearly outlines the two competing visions - liberal and communitarian - of the relationship between Aboriginals and the Canadian state: should they be regarded as a community with special rights to self-governance, or as equal Canadian citizens with the same rights and obligations as any other Canadians?

I hope you all enjoy your week off after what I am sure was a stressful exam period. At the same time, please do make sure you all join this blog, the attached course wiki as well as my Facebook page, and start doing your readings. This course does not start with the first on-campus meeting, on Thursday, July 9, but on Monday, July 6, and you need to keeep up with work on a daily basis in order not to fall behind with your readings and assignments. Don't forget to check the calendar on the first page of the wiki to see the recommended timelines for all the work in this course.

Last but not least, with this course we will launch the Sprott-Shaw "Lester B. Pearson Lecture Series" - about which I will post a separate blog next week. We hope to bring at least six great speakers for you over this summer to discuss various aspects of Canadian history, society and politics. The scheduled first speaker (subject to confirmation) is Sprott-Shaw's own President, Dean Dupperon, who will talk to us about his Metis background, as well as his work with and views on Native Canadians' role in 21st Century Canada.

I look forward to seeing you start posting your discussion contributions regarding your first short essay on the Course Wicki Disscussion thread set up for this purpose.

Have a fun vacation week!