
Oral History on Trial
Recognizing Aboriginal Narratives in the Courts
Bruce Granville Miller(Author)
University of British Columbia Press
Published on 1. January 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
212 pages
978-0-7748-2071-4 (ISBN)
Description
In many western countries, judicial decisions are based on "black letter law" - text-based, well-established law. Within this tradition, testimony based on what witnesses have heard from others, known as hearsay, cannot be considered as legitimate evidence. This interdiction, however, presents significant difficulties for Aboriginal plaintiffs who rely on oral rather than written accounts for knowledge transmission.
This important book 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, Oral History on Trial 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.
A bold intervention in legal and anthropological scholarship, this book is a timely consideration of an urgent issue facing Indigenous communities worldwide and the courts hearing their cases.
This important book 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, Oral History on Trial 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.
A bold intervention in legal and anthropological scholarship, this book is a timely consideration of an urgent issue facing Indigenous communities worldwide and the courts hearing their cases.
Reviews / Votes
Oral History on Trial is a long overdue and important book with huge potential to shift the debates concerning the role of Indigenous oral histories and their narrators in the Canadian courts and beyond.- Wendy Wickwire, The Johns Hopkins University Press (Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, Vol. 14 No. 3)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Vancouver
Canada
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
320 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7748-2071-4 (9780774820714)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Bruce Granville Miller is a professor of anthropology at the University of British Columbia.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
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
6 Conclusions
References
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction
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
6 Conclusions
References
Index