Realizing the Social Contract: The Case of Colonialism and Indigenous Peoples
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Feature Article: Theory and Practice
Realizing the Social Contract: The Case of Colonialism and Indigenous Peoples Robert Lee Nichols Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Sidney Smith Hall, Room 3018, 100 St George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G3. E-mail: [email protected]
From 1922 to 1924, the Iroquois Confederacy — a federal union of six aboriginal nations — sought resolution of a dispute between themselves and Canada at the League of Nations. In this paper, the historical events of the 1920s League are employed as a case study to explore the development of the international society of states in the early 20th century as it relates to the indigenous peoples of North America. Specifically, it will be argued that the early modern practice of excluding Amerindians from international political forums is related to the negative representation of indigenous peoples in the dominant theoretical discourse of the time: social contract theory. The diplomatic activities of the Iroquois, and the members of the League during this time period, demonstrate exactly how social contract theory has relied on presenting indigenous peoples as residing in a nonpolitical and non-sovereign form, thus denying them the right to participate at the international level on par with other peoples. Contemporary Political Theory (2005) 4, 42–62. doi:10.1057/palgrave.cpt.9300153 Keywords: indigenous peoples; social contract theory; international politics
Sovereignty is the vote. The union card. The insignia of membership in the club. Less exclusive than it once was, the club now seems to encompass much of the globe and those not members at present continue to seek entry, often utilizing rather impolite methods to that end. Sovereignty remains the ‘essential qualification for full membership in international society, or, to express the point more comprehensively, the qualification which makes a state eligible for full membership.’ Sovereignty names an aspiration; serves as a goad to action; signifies an accomplishment; defines an opposition (state/society); and encodes a legalistic construction (formal sovereignty). Jean Bethke Elshtain (1996, 171)
Introduction History From 1922 to 1924, the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy pursued recognition of their political autonomy and resolution of their continuing dispute with the
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Canadian government from the members of the League of Nations.1 They requested that the League of Nations accept them as members, and intervene on their behalf to prevent Canada from further encroaching on their independence. They argued that the Six Nations had long been an ‘organized, self-governing people’, who had had their status as a ‘confederacy of independent states’ recognized both through numerous formal treaties, and through a long period of friendly diplomatic activity between themselves and the Dutch, French, Americans, and British, dating back to 1613. In a demonstration of the Iroquois’ ability to turn the language of the
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