ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 details the formal and informal resources available to Indigenous fishing rights claims-makers across the cases. In all three nations, Indigenous political actors seeking rights to harvest and manage culturally significant aquatic resources have access to various resources, both inside and outside their immediate communities, which they can potentially mobilize to further support their claims. These include formal organizations that have been established to represent and promote Indigenous rights generally and marine/fisheries rights, more specifically, as well as strategically placed individuals, such as Indigenous intellectuals, experts and non-Indigenous allies both inside and outside government who serve as advocates for Indigenous peoples’ rights and intermediaries between Indigenous claimants and key decision-making bodies with authority over Indigenous affairs. The exact nature of these resources, and whether or not they are accessible to Indigenous activists, varies in each site. What’s more, these resources are directly tied to the structure of political opportunities confronting Indigenous people in each nation, and they have evolved, whether intentionally or not, out of the unique colonial histories and socio-legal paradigms that have been institutionalized in order to control Indigenous people and their resources.
