Title: Fixed or fluid? Shifting federal policy controls and indigenous responses at the Canada-USA border

Authors: Paul McKenzie-Jones

Addresses: University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, T1K3M2, Canada

Abstract: Twenty-first century restrictions at the Canada-USA seek to reassert control over indigenous movements in line with wider immigrations policies. In many ways the forms of direct and indirect control which are asserted over indigenous peoples at the border are a reflection of 19th century policies of direct and indirect control asserted before border control became formally implemented in the 1920s. Some forms of control stem from stricter enforcement post 9-11, while others reflect cultural ignorance and disregard for ceremonial items being transported with people. More recently, the COVID-19 land border closure disrupted access to ceremonial sites on both sides of the border because spiritual journeys were considered non-essential travel. Concurrently, as with earlier border protest movements, contemporary movements such as Idle No More and the Tar Sands Treaty Alliance are continuing to both weaponise and ignore the border to protect indigenous rights, raising the question - is the border fixed, as Canada and the USA assert, or fluid, as indigenous protestors assert?

Keywords: indigenous; border; immigration; Jay Treaty; Canada; USA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMBS.2024.145496

International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, 2024 Vol.8 No.3/4, pp.186 - 201

Received: 28 Dec 2023
Accepted: 17 Jul 2024
Published online: 01 Apr 2025 *

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