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E-book
Author Miller, Bruce Granville, 1951-

Title Oral history on trial : recognizing Aboriginal narratives in the courts / Bruce Granville Miller
Published Vancouver ; Toronto : UBC Press, ©2011

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Description 1 online resource (195 pages)
Contents 1. Issues in Law and Social Science -- 2. The Social Life of Oral Narratives -- 3. Aboriginal and Other Perspectives -- 4. Court and Crown -- 5. The Way Forward? An Anthropological View
Summary "In most English-speaking countries, including Canada, 'black letter law'--text-based, firmly entrenched law--is the legal standard upon which judicial decisions are made. Within this tradition, courts are forbidden from considering hearsay--testimony based on what witnesses have heard from others. Such an interdiction presents significant difficulties for Aboriginal plaintiffs who rely on oral rather than written accounts for knowledge transmission. In this important book, anthropologist Bruce Granville Miller breaks new ground by asking how oral histories might be incorporated into the existing court system. Through compelling analysis of Aboriginal, legal, and anthropological concepts of fact and evidence, Miller traces the long trajectory of oral history from community to court, and offers a sophisticated critique of the Crown's use of Aboriginal materials in key cases, including the watershed Delgamuukw trial. A bold intervention in legal and anthropological scholarship, Oral History on Trial presents a powerful argument for a reconsideration of the Crown's approach to oral history. Students and scholars of Aboriginal affairs, anthropology, oral history, and law, as well as lawyers, judges, policymakers, and Aboriginal peoples will appreciate its careful consideration of an urgent issue facing Indigenous communities worldwide and the courts hearing their cases"--Publisher's website
"Thoroughly documented and clearly written, Oral History on Trial is sure to become a leading work in the field. It discusses the standards considered authoritative when undertaking research about Aboriginal peoples and it scrutinizes the way in which law and the courts deal with Aboriginal oral narratives. Raising and resolving key issues about the admissibility and weight of evidence in courtrooms, it is an invaluable resource for judges, lawyers, and legal scholars, as well as anthropologists, historians, and Indigenous rights researchers"--J. Borrows (review, publisher's website)
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-189) and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Indigenous peoples -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Canada
Inuit -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Canada
Indians of North America -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Canada
Evidence (Law) -- Canada
Oral tradition -- Canada
LAW -- Constitutional.
LAW -- Public.
Evidence (Law)
Indians of North America -- Legal status, laws, etc.
Indigenous peoples -- Legal status, laws, etc.
Inuit -- Legal status, laws, etc.
Oral tradition
First Nations -- Legal status, laws, etc.
Oral history
Rechtsstellung
Indigenes Volk
Canada
Nordamerika
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780774820721
0774820721
1283245647
9781283245647