Regulating relations: examining multinatural constructions of citizenship in the context of settler colonialism (13687)
In legally plural settings of settler colonialism, individuals must confront differing constructions of citizenship that have been variously classified as customary, differentiated, and universal. Conceptualizations of these assorted formulations of citizenship are problematic, however, as are the ways they play out in the performance of subjectivities. To understand these dynamics, we need to think about ideas of personhood that are at their root. Based on research in Nunavik (Northern Quebec), this paper will focus on how notions of personhood are being legally codified and enacted through practices of resource management. It will examine the degree to which official ideas of personhood coincide with Indigenous ones in constructions of citizenship. The paper will consider how multinaturalism might help to expand our understandings of citizenship and broaden the ways in which we consider legal plurality.