Question #1a

In Treaty #4, Chief Paskwa’s pictograph comprises of symbols of people, cultural, and traditionalartifacts of the community. These elements allow the Chief to communicate the fundamentals of effective governance in the community. Chief Paskwa wants to inform Queen Victoria of England that the community can enact and nurture its self-governance. Then again, the drawings in the document show people hunting and using canoes, an aspect that draws the attention of the Queen to the considerable limitations of the community. Such aspects highlight the limited resources of the community, for example, inadequate funding and widespread poverty. Despite the limitations that such a pictograph represents, the Chief wants to reveal to the Queen the importance of the community in engaging with self-governance principles to attain their lasting success and development(Napoleon, 2007). For instance, by including pictures of people in the document, the Chief wants to express the role that people play in the development of the community; for instance, through the manner, they share family relationships, community history, language, and create stories.

Chief Paskwa desires to inform the Queen about the way the community is self-governed and self-defined. The drawings in Treaty #4 document make a clear political statement not only about his community’s past but also about its present, as well as its future possibilities. By informing the Queen of the community’s vision, culture and traditions, Chief Paskwa assures the Queen that the government has a solid foundation for self-governance. The pictograph has people conversing, what one may consider an aspect of information exchange and decision-making. The sharing of information ensures power-sharing and contributes to the making of essential choices. The document also reveals the deep relations that people have to the landwhich is a vital aspect of the community’s governance. Usually, the community’s identity and authority are not only tied to but also they emerge from the land(Napoleon, 2007). Land offers people a deep sense of self and place. Besides, the community’s social structure is embedded in the land.

The pictograph also identifies the symbols for politics, law, and jurisdiction. Such symbols codify the community’s identity and character. It also expresses the values, which bond the people and define law structures. Such structures allow for the delegation of authority and self-governance. Given the primitive nature of the symbols in the pictograph, the Chief expresses the traditional setting that the community follows. All the same, the Chief shows how the community abides by its laws, validating the legitimacy for self-governance. It also provides for acceptable conduct in the area. The document portrays the importance of institutions in the community. The symbols reveal the institution’s cultural alignment infused with the community’s beliefs, values, and practices(Cornell &Kalt, 1998). Indeed, such a cultural arrangement represents effective governance in the community.

Question #1b

To interpret the symbols that Chief Paskwa used, I would first consider the way they are connected to the self-governance of early communities. By establishing such a connection, I will discover how the communities established their shared values, laws, traditions, governing powers, and customs. Indeed, the way the symbols express language, values, culture, and norms can help to define their relationship with practices, organization, and formal structures of the community (Principles to Support Effective Governance, 2008). I can define how such symbols express the concept of governance and how they define legitimate processes and systems. Establishing the relevance of the symbols will demonstrate their implication on self-governance.

References

Cornell, S., & Kalt, J. P. (1998). Sovereignty and nation-building: The development challenge in Indian Country Today. American Indian Culture and Research Journal,22(3), 187-214. doi:10.17953/aicr.22.3.lv45536553vn7j78

Napoleon, V. (2007). The five pillars of effective governance. Center for First Nations Governance the Five Pillars of Effective Governance, 1-16.

Principles to support effective governance. (Summer 2008). National Centre for First Nations Governance (NCFNG), (Discussion Document), 1-16.

 
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