Socio-legal study is an interdisciplinary field that examines the interaction between law and society. It encompasses a wide range of topics, including but not limited to the role of law in shaping society and the impact of social factors on legal decision-making. It similarly entails the effect of the law on social change, and the use of legal discourse in public debate. Based on the socio-legal context, I learned about settler colonialism and the Anishinaabe treaty concepts. Settlers’ colonialism focused more on displacing land natives, while the Anishinaabe treaty promoted peaceful coexistence between the United States, the Canadian government, and Anishinaabe Nation.
Settler colonialism was a form of colonialism in which the colonizing power established sovereignty over the indigenous population, and settler society became the new norm. In other words, under settler colonialism, indigenous populations were dispossessed of their land and resources and forced to assimilate into the dominant settler society. This process was accompanied by violence and bloodshed, as the colonizers sought to extinguish any resistance from the indigenous people (Grewcock 233). The goal of settler colonialism was to completely uproot and eradicate indigenous cultures, replacing them with the values and institutions of the colonizers.
There were several key factors that helped to define settler colonialism. Some of these included the desire for land and natural resources, the use of violence to achieve territorial goals, and the development of new institutions and social structures. The desire for land and natural resources was one of the defining factors of settler colonialism. Settler colonialism was a type of colonialism in which the colonists sought to settle on the land as opposed to merely extracting its resources. This resulted in a more persistent form of colonialism, as the settlers often displaced or exterminated the native population to make room for their settlement. Similarly, the desire for land and natural resources was often driven by economic motives, as the settlers hoped to gain control over valuable resources that could be exploited for profit (Kowasch et al. 4). However, this desire was also motivated by ideological considerations, such as a belief that the land rightfully belongs to the settlers and should be used for their benefit.
Moreover, the slave-plantation economy was the original engine of European colonialism in the Americas. It required a constant and unlimited labor supply to produce wealth for the colonizers, and this demand could only be met by seizing land and enslaving people (Wolfe 392). The English colonies in North America were born from this need for labor. Early on, Indians from the South East were targeted because they had a strong warrior culture and could build resistance. But over time, as Indian populations were decimated by disease and violence, the English turned to Africa to buy slaves (Wolfe 399). Ultimately, the slave-plantation economy led to the displacement of Indians from their lands and their eventual elimination as a people.
In addition, using violence to achieve territorial goals was another significant characteristic of settler colonialism. By forcibly removing the native inhabitants and replacing them with settlers, the colonial power claimed the land as their own. This was precisely the strategy employed by European Powers in North America, South America, and Australia– they sent waves of European settlers to displace and eventually exterminate the native people living there. Settler colonialism was not just a thing of history; it is still happening today. The Israeli occupation of Palestine is an example of settler colonialism in action. The Israeli government has actively pursued a policy of displacing Palestinians from their homes and replacing them with Jewish settlers (Wolfe 401). Another settler colonialism is the United States of America’s history of genocide against the Native American peoples and its continuing policies of displacement and assimilation. In addition, Australia is another example of a country built on settler colonialism. The British colonists arrived in Australia in 1788 and began claiming the land for themselves, often by force (Edmonds and Jane 371). The Australians experienced relocation and internment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Furthermore, another settler colonialism characteristic was the intentional and systematic genocide of the indigenous people who lived there beforehand. This occurred in order to make way for the new colonial society, which was built upon the ruins of the previous one. The development of new institutions and social structures were central to the process of settler colonialism (Fortier and Edward 8). These served to supplant, weaken, or completely replace the indigenous system of governance, economy, and social relations. This facilitated the takeover of native lands and resources by the settlers and ultimately led to their complete domination and subordination.
Another concept is the Foundations of Anishinaabe Treaty Making with the United States and Canada. This was an agreement between the Anishinaabe Nation and the settler governments of Canada and the United States. It was first signed in 1837 by a British treaty commissioner and Ojibwe leaders from what are now Ontario and Minnesota (Steinson 61). The treaty recognized the Anishinaabe sovereignty over their traditional territories and set the parameters for future negotiations between the Anishinaabe nation and the settler governments.
The Anishinaabe nation had a long and arduous history with treaty-making. From the time of contact, the Anishinaabe had been engaged in principled negotiations with European settlers aimed at securing peace and respect (Stark 153). The process of treaty-making was deeply rooted in the Anishinaabe worldview, which upheld the relationships between people, land, and all forms of life as interconnected and sacred. Anishinaabe treaties were built on the foundation of long-term mutual respect and understanding (Stark 147). The treaties were not agreements made out of desperation or imposed by a dominant party, but rather they were entered into through a process of give-and-take, where both sides work to find common ground.
The contemporary applications of Anishinaabe treaty principles can be seen in the story of ‘The Woman Who Married a Beaver.’ In this story, a woman leaves her home in search of adventure, and she eventually finds herself living with a group of beavers (Whetung 24). She learned their ways and customs and eventually fell in love with one of the beavers; they got married and started a family together. This story illustrates how the Anishinaabe treaty principles can be used to build relationships and connections with others, regardless of where they come from or what they look like (Whetung 28). It also shows how these principles can be used to create families and communities that are strong and resilient. The story has also been used to argue that indigenous people have a right to hunt, fish, and gather on traditional territory, even if that territory has been ceded, sold, or leased to non-indigenous people.
In conclusion, the two main concepts learned in the socio-legal context are settlers’ colonialism and the Anishinaabe treaty. Settlers’ colonialism was the process of conquering and settling new land, thereby displacing the native inhabitants and establishing new political, social, and economic systems. It was a form of colonialism that involved the permanent displacement of native people. Moreover, the Anishinaabe Nation had been making treaties with the United States and Canada since the late 18th century. These treaties have been an important mechanism for ensuring the protection of Anishinaabe lands and resources, as well as for establishing relationships of mutual respect and cooperation between the nation and its treaty partners.
Works Cited
Edmonds, Penelope, and Jane Carey. “Australian Settler Colonialism Over the Long Nineteenth Century.” In the Routledge Handbook of the History of Settler Colonialism, 2017. Web.
Fortier, Craig, and Edward Hon-Sing Wong. “The Settler Colonialism of Social Work and the Social Work of Settler Colonialism.”Settler Colonial Studies, 2019. Web.
Grewcock, Michael. “Settler-Colonial Violence, Primitive Accumulation and Australia’s Genocide.”State Crime Journal, 2018. Web.
Kowasch, Matthias, Simon PJ Batterbury, and Martin Neumann. “Contested Sites, Land Claims and Economic Development in Poum, New Caledonia.”Other People’s Country, 2018. Web.
Stark, Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik. “Respect, Responsibility, and Renewal: The Foundations of Anishinaabe Treaty Making with the United States and Canada.”American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 2010. Web.
Steinson, Elizabeth. “Ojibwe Absent Narratives in Minnesota Forest Park History.”Culminating Projects in History, 2018. Web.
Whetung, Madeline. “(En) Gendering Shoreline Law: Nishnaabeg Relational Politics Along the Trent Severn Waterway.”Global Environmental Politics, 2019. Web.
Wolfe, Patrick. “Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native.”Journal of Genocide Research, 2006. Web.