Bolivia and Canada, The Politics of Recognition and Differing Approaches to Indigenous Self-Determination

Abstract

This project asks; to what extent has the Bolivian approach to Indigenous self-government demonstrated an effective policy framework that could be applicable in the Canadian context? This is accomplished through an application of a comprehensive theoretical framework to the analysis of the Canadian and Bolivian approaches to Indigenous self-determination. Several important themes are analyzed including the two Constitutions, political discourse, the historicization of colonialism, the importance of land, and the significance of the Leftist movement. This analysis leads to the realization that Bolivia has proven that the plurinational state is a feasible solution to the colonial homogenous conception of sovereignty. The lessons learned from the Bolivian states approach to Indigenous self-determination can inform decolonial options for the Canadian state.