Resumo

CASTRO REA, Julián. Nunavut, Aboriginal Rights and Federalism in Canada. Nueva antropol [online]. 2003, vol.19, n.63, pp.41-69. ISSN 0185-0636.

This work deals with the new administrative division in Canada from which the Nunavut Territory in the Canadian Arctic emerged. Nunavut embodies an experience in the conciliation of aboriginal claims to ancestral rights with the institutions of a modern liberal democratic State. The author argues that it is possible to conciliate the claims of ancestral peoples with modern democracy through the federalism that exists in both Canada and Mexico. He first describes the outlook for aboriginal claims and the reform of federalism in Canada, showing how these issues have reached a constitutional impasse. To underscore the importance of negotiation in the creation of the Nunavut Territory, he describes the elements that allowed for its success. He subsequently presents an outline of the new territorial government and its peculiarities within the Canadian federal scheme. He analyzes the challenges the new government must face in order to make the Nunavit promise a reality. The author concludes with a discussion on why the Nunavut experience can contribute to the debate on indigenous self-government that is currently taking place in Mexico.

Palavras-chave : aboriginal rights; federalism; reforms; territory; negotiation.