Dr. Pamela Palmater is a Mi'kmaq lawyer from the Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick. She has two children, Mitchell and Jeremy, and a large extended family. Currently, she holds the position of Associate Professor and Chair in Indigenous Governance in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. Pamela has worked for the federal government on Indigenous legal and governance issues, and has held several director positions at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.She completed her doctorate in the Science of Law at Dalhousie University Law School in 2009. She holds a Master of Laws from Dalhousie University in Aboriginal Law, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick, and a BA with a double major in Native Studies and History from St. Thomas University in New Brunswick.She has published articles related to Aboriginal and treaty rights and has her own website dedicated to these issues. She has specialized in Indigenous identity issues, which include Indian status, band membership, and self-government citizenship and traditional Indigenous citizenship.She is active in the Indigenous community, volunteering as a board member of Native Child and Family Services Toronto as well as ongoing work with First Nations in Ontario. She regularly appears as a commentator on APTN and has appeared before the House and Senate as an expert witness on legislation affecting Indigenous peoples.

• Forewords by First Nations Chiefs / Chief Bill Montour, Six Nations of the Grand River; Chief Candice Paul, St. Mary's First Nation; Chief Lawrence Paul, Millbrook First Nation; Chief Isadore Day, Serpent River First NationIntroduction: A Mi'kmaq Woman1. Legislated Identity: Control, Division, and AssimilationThe Honour of the CrownLabels and PoliticsFrom Peoples to IndiansThe Future of a People2. The Right to Determine CitizenshipAboriginal Identity in a Liberal DemocracyAboriginal Rights in CanadaPowerful Rights and Limits on Power3. The Right to Belong: Charter Equality for Non-Status IndiansIndian Act InequalityCharter EqualityRemedying Inequality for Non-Status Indians4. Band Membership vs. Self-Government CitizenshipBand MembershipSelf-Government CitizenshipRethinking Indigenous Identity and BelongingConclusion: Beyond BloodAppendixNotesIndex

Dr. Pamela Palmater is a Mi'kmaq lawyer from the Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick. She has two children, Mitchell and Jeremy, and a large extended family. Currently, she holds the position of Associate Professor and Chair in Indigenous Governance in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. Pamela has worked for the federal government on Indigenous legal and governance issues, and has held several director positions at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.She completed her doctorate in the Science of Law at Dalhousie University Law School in 2009. She holds a Master of Laws from Dalhousie University in Aboriginal Law, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick, and a BA with a double major in Native Studies and History from St. Thomas University in New Brunswick.She has published articles related to Aboriginal and treaty rights and has her own website dedicated to these issues. She has specialized in Indigenous identity issues, which include Indian status, band membership, and self-government citizenship and traditional Indigenous citizenship.She is active in the Indigenous community, volunteering as a board member of Native Child and Family Services Toronto as well as ongoing work with First Nations in Ontario. She regularly appears as a commentator on APTN and has appeared before the House and Senate as an expert witness on legislation affecting Indigenous peoples.

• Forewords by First Nations Chiefs / Chief Bill Montour, Six Nations of the Grand River; Chief Candice Paul, St. Mary's First Nation; Chief Lawrence Paul, Millbrook First Nation; Chief Isadore Day, Serpent River First NationIntroduction: A Mi'kmaq Woman1. Legislated Identity: Control, Division, and AssimilationThe Honour of the CrownLabels and PoliticsFrom Peoples to IndiansThe Future of a People2. The Right to Determine CitizenshipAboriginal Identity in a Liberal DemocracyAboriginal Rights in CanadaPowerful Rights and Limits on Power3. The Right to Belong: Charter Equality for Non-Status IndiansIndian Act InequalityCharter EqualityRemedying Inequality for Non-Status Indians4. Band Membership vs. Self-Government CitizenshipBand MembershipSelf-Government CitizenshipRethinking Indigenous Identity and BelongingConclusion: Beyond BloodAppendixNotesIndex

Dr. Pamela Palmater is a Mi'kmaq lawyer from the Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick. She has two children, Mitchell and Jeremy, and a large extended family. Currently, she holds the position of Associate Professor and Chair in Indigenous Governance in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. Pamela has worked for the federal government on Indigenous legal and governance issues, and has held several director positions at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.She completed her doctorate in the Science of Law at Dalhousie University Law School in 2009. She holds a Master of Laws from Dalhousie University in Aboriginal Law, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick, and a BA with a double major in Native Studies and History from St. Thomas University in New Brunswick.She has published articles related to Aboriginal and treaty rights and has her own website dedicated to these issues. She has specialized in Indigenous identity issues, which include Indian status, band membership, and self-government citizenship and traditional Indigenous citizenship.She is active in the Indigenous community, volunteering as a board member of Native Child and Family Services Toronto as well as ongoing work with First Nations in Ontario. She regularly appears as a commentator on APTN and has appeared before the House and Senate as an expert witness on legislation affecting Indigenous peoples.

• Forewords by First Nations Chiefs / Chief Bill Montour, Six Nations of the Grand River; Chief Candice Paul, St. Mary's First Nation; Chief Lawrence Paul, Millbrook First Nation; Chief Isadore Day, Serpent River First NationIntroduction: A Mi'kmaq Woman1. Legislated Identity: Control, Division, and AssimilationThe Honour of the CrownLabels and PoliticsFrom Peoples to IndiansThe Future of a People2. The Right to Determine CitizenshipAboriginal Identity in a Liberal DemocracyAboriginal Rights in CanadaPowerful Rights and Limits on Power3. The Right to Belong: Charter Equality for Non-Status IndiansIndian Act InequalityCharter EqualityRemedying Inequality for Non-Status Indians4. Band Membership vs. Self-Government CitizenshipBand MembershipSelf-Government CitizenshipRethinking Indigenous Identity and BelongingConclusion: Beyond BloodAppendixNotesIndex