Session Description
For centuries, colonial legal systems have weaponized civic, economic, and political structures to subjugate Indigenous sovereignty and reduce sacred lands to extractable commodities. Aligned with the IAIA27 theme Ka mua, ka muri ("looking back for the future"), this 90-minute Story Circle session brings together an Anishinaabe Law Keeper of Manito Aki Inaakonigaawin (Great Earth Law) and a Māori Elder to explore how ancient legal systems actively shape the future of Indigenous self-determination. Rooted in ceremonial protocol and circular dialogue, the speakers will share the origins of their respective customary laws. They will unpack how Manito Aki Inaakonigaawin and Tikanga Māori operate as eco-centric, living legal authorities that demand stewardship, reciprocity, and inherent consent; challenging Western regulatory frameworks that attempt to limit Indigenous rights to mere "consultation". The session directly addresses the deconstruction of colonial mindsets entrenched within impact assessment practice. The speakers will explore how reclaiming these ancient legal orders empowers First Nations and Whānau to assert economic sovereignty, mandate joint decision-making, and reshape development on their own terms. By looking back (Ka mua) to the sacred laws given at Creation, practitioners and Indigenous leaders will learn how asserting inherent jurisdiction transforms Impact Assessment from a mechanism of state-sanctioned extraction into a tool for true relational justice, economic independence, and intergenerational healing moving forward (Ka muri).
Session Summary
Grounded in Ka mua, ka muri, this story circle brings together an Anishinaabe Law Keeper (Manito Aki Inaakonigaawin) and a Māori Elder to examine how ancient legal frameworks deconstruct colonial systems, assert economic sovereignty, and reclaim inherent jurisdiction over lands, waters, and future IA processes
Session Chair
George Kakeway
Niiwin Wendaanimok
Canada
Session Co-chair
Steven Walker
Narratives
Canada