Aboriginal Title and Indigenous Peoples

An enriching study of Aboriginal people’s struggles for land rights that examines their historical development in a comparative, international context.

Offers a perspective on Aboriginal title and land rights that extends beyond national borders and the contemporary context to consider historical developments in common law countries.

Delgamuukw. Mabo. Ngati Apa. Recent cases have created a framework for litigating Aboriginal title in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. This book brings together distinguished scholars who show that our understanding of where the concept of Aboriginal title came from – and where it may be going – can also be enhanced by exploring legal developments in these former British colonies in a comparative, multidisciplinary framework.

Contributors trace the role that courts and legislatures played in the extinguishment and acquisition of Aboriginal title and land. They then establish that although each country’s development was distinctive, common issues shaped – and continue to inform – indigenous peoples’ struggle for recognition. This path-breaking book offers a perspective on Aboriginal title that extends beyond national borders to consider similar developments in common law countries.