ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author draws upon his seven years as a Commissioner with the Indian Specific Claims Commission (ISCC) to explore the mandate and work of the Commission as a mechanism of transitional justice elucidating and reconciling historic tensions over land and treaty rights in Canada. He begins by outlining the background, mandate and processes of the Indian Claims Commission and its general contribution to the resolution of the Aboriginal land question in Canada. The author discusses the tension which emerged within the Commission between the narrow legal approach to claims demanded by government and the Commission's efforts to achieve a larger, more expansive justice through its inquiry and mediation processes. The Commission journeyed to the community, sat with the claimants and heard their stories. In some cases, those stories dovetailed with lawful obligation, in others they did not.
