Aboriginal participation in Canada: Overcoming alienation and mistrust in a situation of complex interdependence.

This thesis examines the importance of Aboriginal participation in Canadian institutions, why Aboriginal peoples are skeptical and mistrustful of Canadian institutions, and how certain reforms might encourage effective Aboriginal participation within Canadian institutions. The first chapter studies the extent of interdependence between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples and its political ramifications. Because geographic and social interdependence is so great, Aboriginal peoples must participate within shared institutions to influence important decisions affecting them and their communities. The second chapter studies how we can encourage Aboriginal participation by overcoming strong feelings of alienation and mistrust. By considering the strengths and weaknesses of arguments presented by other theorists such as Alan Cairns and Melissa Williams, I conclude that encouraging solidarity and generating trust requires solutions that address Aboriginal symbolic concerns, promote Aboriginal interest, and avoid calls for a shared identity. This leads me to discuss several types of reform in Chapter Three: Aboriginal electoral districts, co-management boards, and indigenizing shared institutions. All three reforms aim to make participation in shared institutions more attractive and meaningful for those who strongly, and often exclusively, identify as Aboriginal.