John Borrows - Freedom and Indigenous Constitutionalism

This book was crafted in stages. The first phase was written in response to invitations for contributions to the literature, and these texts were published through edited academic collections and government inquiries. These works were also published as separate pieces. During each phase, I planned many trips home to speak with my family and friends. At these times, I read large portions of this manuscript to my mother, father, sister, and daughter. My purpose was to seek a synthesis of these various ideas. While encouraging me, they also identified major weaknesses in my arguments.

The next stages of my preparation took me to a remote cabin at Neyaashiinigmiing, on the Cape Croker Indian Reserve in Southern Ontario. The cabin in which I worked was solar powered. I was off the grid. There was no phone, Internet, or television. These distractions were a world away. In the peace of that setting I rewrote, amended, and substantially added to my earlier materials while weaving an overall thematic structure through them. It was a productive time. Outside my door, the snow melted in the deep bush. Small rivers soon flowed across the land. When the thaw abated, it wasnt long before three-flower trilliums blanketed the forest floor. In turn, the air quickly filled with music. Birds returned from their southern journeys, and insects emerged from their sleep. Skunks, raccoons, and porcupines wandered past my door, peering through the screens, curious about their visitor. Chipmunks chastised me for my presence. Bears awoke from their long hibernation, making their appearance along the shore. It was an inspiring time. Through the suns power and my cabins solar panels my computer kept working, and so did I.

When I returned from the reserve, I put the book aside. I wanted to see if it would pass a small test of time. I taught at Victoria, Minnesota, and Princeton and gave speeches on parts of the book at Dalhousie, Concordia, Osgoode Hall Law School, Simon Fraser University, and the Universities of Toronto, Manitoba, Chicago-Kent, Calgary, British Columbia, Ottawa, and Western Ontario. I am grateful for the comments I received in these venues. They revealed further gaps in my thinking, which I have tried to address in this version of my work.

Over ten years have passed since this project began. While the errors are all mine, I have many people to thank for their help in this books preparation, including Hannah Askew, Ben Berger, Jean Borrows, Jennifer Borrows, Joseph Borrows, Lindsay Borrows, Gillian Calder, Jamie Cameron, Brenda Child, Gordon Christie, Hamar Foster, Hadley Friedland, Robert Gibbs, Shin Imai, Darlene Johnston, Rebecca Johnston, Sonia Lawrence, Johnny Mack, Patrick Macklem, Kent McNeil, J.R. Miller, Aaron Mills, Val Napoleon, Kent Roach, Douglas Sanderson, Kerry Sloan, Emily Snyder, Richard Spearman, Heidi Stark, James Tully, Mark Walters, and David Wilkins. I have also greatly benefited from supportive colleagues at the Law Schools of the University of Victoria and University of Minnesota. Dean Andrew Petter, Dean Donna Greschner, Dean Jeremy Webber, and Dean David Wippman all encouraged me as a writer, and ensured that I had sufficient support to complete this book. Lastly, I thank my wife, Kim, for her unfailing encouragement and support. She lives the themes discussed in this book: freedom, goodness, mobility, civility, acceptance, and constructive critique. She is my best friend, and this work would not be possible without her.