Kiwicitowek Insiniwuk: Nehinuw governance in Nehinuw terms

Indigenous nations have diverse, complex, and ancient governance theories and practices, yet settler governments have consistently tried to eliminate these theories and practices. Despite the objectives of colonization, Indigenous people have maintained the knowledge of Indigenous governance. To understand Indigenous governance, an effort must be made to understand these theories from a specific Indigenous worldview. In other words, what is Indigenous governance in Indigenous terms? This dissertation aims to address this question by exploring governance through the knowledge of the Nehinuw by asking, what does Nehinuw knowledge teach us about Nehinuw governance? To understand Nehinuw governance from a Nehinuw worldview, the author researched using a Nehinuw theoretical framework which included specific Nehinuw research methods and a method analysis based on the Nehinuw concept of Nistotên (to understand). The findings of this dissertation consider the complexity and diversity of Nehinuw governance theory and practice that challenge mainstream perspectives of Indigenous governance and provide valuable lessons for policymakers that work in the field of Indigenous governance. The outcome of this dissertation fills more than a gap in the literature because using the Nehinuw theoretical framework has enabled me to empower the communities covered in this dissertation, and develop, in partnership with local educators, educational resources on Nehinuw governance that can and will be used by the community to educate future generations on Nehinuw governance and become the foundation of future scholarly research and practice. Keywords: Indigenous Governance, Indigenous Knowledge, Nehinuw Governance, Nehinuw Knowledge