Individual Choice of Law for Indigenous People in Canada: Reconciling Legal Pluralism with Human Rights?

proportion of the Inuit of Nunavik 2 apply customary law today when they adopt a child or decide to have their child adopted. 3It seems fair to suggest that, given the intense exposure of the Inuit to state institutions and mainstream education in recent decades, 4 at least some Inuit are aware of the fact that state law regulates adoptions but nonetheless decide to uphold their traditional laws. 5 Conversely, the fact that state law formally allows individual choice does not mean that it is always a realistic prospect in actual practice.By removing the possibility of coercion, the law creates a space of freedom, which is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for the exercise of personal autonomy.For some individuals, the right to choose might be merely theoretical, due to a lack of adequate information, deeply entrenched power imbalances within a normative community, 6 or the perceived high cost-cultural, social, emotional, or economic-of setting aside the norms of their group. 7 It has been argued that in the case of particularly vulnerable members of sub-state groups, such as women and children, choice might even be unthinkable. 8However, the effective capacity of individuals to avail themselves of a formal freedom to choose can neither be confirmed nor ruled out in the abstract, as it is contingent upon a range of social, economic, cultural, and personal variables that cannot be generalized.It may also depend on the legal impact the choice has on an individual's connection to the group.Abandoning altogether one's legally-recognized status as a member of an ethno-cultural or religious community is not the same as merely opting out of some specific community norms under certain circumstances.In others words, choice of personal legal status should not be confused with choice of 2. Nunavik is the name given to the Arctic region of Quebec that is the traditional homeland of the Nunavik Inuit.3. See Mylne Larivire, Le Rgime Coutumier de L'Adoption des Enfants Autochtones: L'Exemple du Droit des Inuits du Nunavik, in L'ADOPTION COUTUMIRE ET LES DFIS DU PLURALISME JURIDIQUE, supra note 1, at 7, 10.4. In 1975, the Inuit of Nunavik, Canada and Quebec signed the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, known in Canada as the first modern treaty.The Agreement ushered in a new era of interaction between the Inuit and non-Inuit institutions.A group of Nunavik Inuit organizations recently carried out extensive consultations, which revealed significant societal transformations among the Inuit that have resulted from the intensification of interactions with southern culture and institutions.See MAKIVIK CORP. ET AL., PARNASIMAUTIK CONSULTATION REPORT (2014).5. The Parnasimautik report confirms that customary adoption remains a central and vibrant institution within Nunavik Inuit society.Id. at 50-51.The Quebec Civil Code now recognizes indigenous customary adoption.See

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