Aboriginal Law is a complex area that encompasses issues concerning First Nations peoples and their relationship with governments, rights to land, rights to tradition and rights to self government. In this guide, you will find resources available in our library, as well as links to external resources that are key to understanding this area of law.
Texts
- Aboriginal & treaty rights practice by Mary Locke Macaulay Table of Contents
- Aboriginal law handbook, 4th ed. by Olthuis, Kleer, Townshend Table of Contents
- Aboriginal legal issues : cases, materials and commentary by John Borrows Table of Contents
- Constitutional law of Canada, 5th ed. by Peter W. Hogg. Table of Contents
- Indian reserves and Aboriginal lands in Canada : a homeland : a study in law and history by Richard H. Bartlett Table of Contents
- Metis – Crown relations : rights, identity, jurisdiction and governance by Frederica Wilson & Melanie Mallet Table of Contents Also available as an e-text
- Native Law by Jack Woodward Table of Contents
- Terms of Coexistence : Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Law by Sebastien Grammond Table of Contents
Case Law
Available in Alberta Law Libraries
E-Resources
Check out one of our other LibGuides for more information on finding cases:
Alberta Court Judgments
A collection of the judgments of the Alberta Courts is available from CanLII. The official version of the reasons for judgment is the signed original or handwritten endorsement in the court file. If there is a question about the content of a judgment, the original court file takes precedence.
CanLII provides free searchable full-text access to Canadian case law. The scope of coverage varies by jurisdiction and court.
Boolean operators, proximity connectors, phrases and date restrictions can be incorporated into your query. Using the [Advanced Search] feature, you can select one or more jurisdictions to be searched, limit your search to appellate decisions, and restrict your search by type of tribunal.
You can also use CanLII to retrieve cases by citation or name.
CanLII
CanLII provides free searchable full-text access to Canadian case law. The scope of coverage varies by jurisdiction and court.
Boolean operators, proximity connectors, phrases and date restrictions can be incorporated into your query. Using the [Advanced Search] feature, you can select one or more jurisdictions to be searched, limit your search to appellate decisions, and restrict your search by type of tribunal.
You can also use CanLII to retrieve cases by citation or name.
Digests
Print Resources
E-Resources
The Canadian Abridgment available on:
All Canadian Summaries, Canadian Case Summaries and Canada Digest are available on:
Legislation
Federal
For a complete list of Federal acts and regulations that directly impact First Nations, Inuit, and Métis see :
- Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
- First Nations Gazette First Nation laws, by-laws, land codes, and other First Nation legislation
All Federal Acts and Regulations can be found electronically at:
Treaties
- Treaty Texts Canadian Treaties
Encyclopedias
Canadian Encyclopedic Digest
Canadian encyclopedic digest (C.E.D.) (Western), 4th ed.
Includes coverage of Federal, Provincial (4 Western provinces) and Territorial legislation.
Titles related to aboriginal law include:
- Aboriginal Law. Volume 1, Title 1
- Constitutional Law. Volume 12, Title 32
The CED provides discussion with annotations to legislation and case law.
Also available electronically through:
WestlawNext – Canada (LawSource)
Halsbury's Laws of Canada
This multi-volume set includes coverage of Federal, Provincial & Territorial legislation
This encyclopedia explains the legislation and cases which govern aboriginal law issues in every jurisdiction in Canada, allowing you to quickly locate, contextualize and apply the basic elements of the law.
Titles related to aboriginal law include:
- Aboriginal (HAB)
Additional information may be found under other topical headings, and subsequent developments may be located by referring to the Cumulative Supplement.
Also available electronically through LexisAdvance Quicklaw
Journals
- Constitutional forum
- Indigenous law journal
- National journal of constitutional law = Revue nationale de droit constitutionnel
- Review of constitutional studies
EResources
Justice as healing : a newsletter on aboriginal concepts of justice
Additional full-text articles are available electronically through:
Provides full-text access to Canadian and international law reviews and legal journals.
Access to HeinOnline is available to clients in any of our libraries, and remotely for individuals who are registered clients with Alberta Law Libraries.
Access to LexisAdvance Quicklaw and WestlawNext Canada is available to all clients in all Alberta Law Libraries public locations.
Websites
Government Sites
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission
Department of Justice – Reports on aboriginal justice
Royal Commission Report on Aboriginal Peoples
Other Sites
Aboriginal People and the Alberta Human Rights Commission
BearPaw Legal Eduation and Resource Centre
Metis Settlement Appeal Tribunal
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
Native Counselling Services of Alberta
Find the phone number for your local office through the contact tab on their website.
They provide in and out of court assistance in Criminal, Family & Traffic court for Aboriginal youth and adults.
Gladue Rights Research Database
Native Law Centre – University of Saskatchewan