Land and Language: A Nehinuw Perspective (McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies #112)

Challenging prevailing state-centric perspectives, Nehinuw scholar Keith Goulet advances a distinctive new theory of Indigenous land tenure. Reinterpreting Indigenous dispossession through a Cree linguistic and knowledge framework, he argues that meaningful decolonization of historical methods must be grounded in the language and cultural knowledge of specific Indigenous nations – here, the Kaministigominuhigoskak Nehinuwuk (Cumberland House Cree).

Land and Language reveals how colonial historical narratives have distorted our understanding of Indigenous sovereignty and land rights. Goulet critiques the notion of communal land that characterizes Algonquian land tenure debates, replacing it with the Cree terms nituskeenan and kituskeenuw, meaning “our land” or “our national territory.” He also reinterprets private property – long seen as a cornerstone of civilization and capitalism – through the Cree idea of uskeegan, or “artificial land.” Goulet’s analysis reveals that using nation-specific Indigenous language in historical and legal interpretation is vital, not only to accurately comprehend primary material but, more importantly, to represent Indigenous concepts, frameworks, and ideas correctly, advancing fairness and justice.

Essential reading, this book demonstrates how Nehinuw language and knowledge transform understandings of Indigenous land rights and our collective history.