LÉVI‐STRAUSS AND THE POLITICAL: <i>THE ELEMENTARY STRUCTURES OF KINSHIP</i> AND THE RESOLUTION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND SETTLER STATES

Abstract

This article addresses the contribution of Lévi‐Strauss's The elementary structures of kinship to resolving political relations between indigenous peoples and the settler states. To this end, it explores his discussion of the origins of society within the context of Enlightenment‐inspired political thought and concludes that he provides a unique, counter‐hegemonic alternative to conventional narratives. It then shows how this argument thwarts the presumption in Canadian jurisprudence that indigenous peoples were automatically incorporated into the state through European settlement, and fosters an understanding that a relationship based on the concept of ‘Treaty’ as understood in indigenous political thought promotes a political relationship that affirms the integrity of all parties.