A graduate student at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) has been honoured by the Canadian Association of Geographers for his research involving the First Nations treaty process in BC. Chris Turner recently received the prestigious Robin P. Armstrong Memorial Prize for his master’s thesis on First Nations’ “overlapping claims.” The prize recognizes and promotes excellence in applied research on Canada's Aboriginal peoples and is selected from among both masters and PhD-level theses across the country.

“I’m delighted to be recognized for this research,” says Turner, who is currently a doctoral candidate at UNBC. “It’s flattering to have the project singled out, and my graduate supervisor, Dr. Gail Fondahl, as well as my thesis committee, deserves a lot of credit. UNBC is a terrific school to do graduate research in the field of indigenous geographies.”

"UNBC is an exemplary school for a whole bunch of reasons. The world-class faculty goes out of its way to help students succeed," says Turner. "I work with a legal scholar with extensive experience in treaty negotiation, an expert in the legal geographies of indigenous peoples, and the Canada Research Chair of comparative indigenous-state relations. These are first-rate scholars and very generous people. There isn’t another university in the world where I would have the kind of knowledgeable mentorship I receive at UNBC."

Turner’s research examines the potential of a bi-cultural institution such as a commission of inquiry to research and hear evidence concerning land claims and, where required, mediate territorial disputes among First Nations. This is the first time this has been investigated to resolve land claims disputes in BC. “One of the fascinating aspects of this work is the idea that through such an institution we can learn about and accommodate indigenous legal systems, and thus support a more just application of Canadian law and treaty making,” says Turner. 

Right now, only four treaties in BC have reached the final stages of negotiation in BC: Nisga’a, Lheidli T’enneh, Tsawwassen, and Maa Nulth. Turner argues that the current approach to treaty-making in BC is problematic and that a solution, at least in part, could lie in the establishment commission of inquiry-style institutions, such as those which can be found in New Zealand and Australia.

“With the project, I set out to address two related questions concerning ‘overlapping’ indigenous claims: first, does the Crown’s practice of settling treaties in overlapping and contested areas privilege some indigenous groups to the detriment of others?  And second, are overlapping and contested claims a barrier to the ethical settlement of treaties, and if so, what can and should be the role and policy of the Crown concerning overlapping claims and treaty negotiation in BC?”   

“In BC we are engaged in a treaty process intended to satisfy our legal obligations to indigenous peoples. Such processes need to recognize and take into account the indigenous systems on which these claims are made. My hope is that this research will contribute to achieving our shared goals, including the ethical settlement of treaties in BC.”  

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Chris Turner