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DENISA KRASNA renew traditional contacts, revive their culture as well as unite in environmental action to safeguard their traditional lands. The first part of this paper outlines the differences in the treatment of Indigenous cross-border rights in the US and Canada and the related border discrimination issues. The second part focuses on Indigenous cross-border cultural and environmental coalitions in the Arctic and Pacific Northwest to showcase the resilience and resourcefulness of the people facing the direct effects of the imposed border. This paper is largely informed by research conducted during an internship in the Cascadia-Cross Border Law, a US-Canadian law firm specializing in the Jay Treaty with offices in Bellingham (WA), Vancouver (BC), and Anchorage (AK). It draws legal information from an article written by Greg Boos, Heather Fathali and Greg McLawsen, lawyers from Cascadia. Furthermore, it integrates studies by Rachel Rose Starks et al., Leti Volpp, David Stirrup and Jan Clark, Sara Singleton, and Michael Marker whose research informs my own on many levels. It is the aim of this paper to provide an updated overview of Indigenous border-crossing rights and issues in US and Canada. To differentiate from previously published studies and enrich the existing scholarship, more attention is paid to Canada’s willingness, or the lack thereof, to reconcile and cooperate with First Nations. Furthermore, the paper provides a closer examination of selected cross-border environmental and cultural initiatives that illuminates the many subtle strategies Indigenous tribes adopt in overcoming the challenges generated by the international border. JAY TREATY: FREE CROSS-BORDER PASSAGE IN CANADA AND US The Jay Treaty, officially known as the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, was signed in 1794 by the recently formed United States and Great Britain and ratified in 1795.’ As its official title indicates, the treaty was contracted to settle issues arising after the US independence between the two nation-states, primarily regarding international trade. The Jay Treaty also reaffirmed the 49th parallel as the official border between the US and Canada. In response to concerns raised by the tribes residing on or near the recently established borders, Article III of the Treaty was negotiated to guarantee Indigenous people the right of cross-border passage and trade (Article III, Jay Treaty). Even though the War of 1812 temporarily suspended Jay Treaty rights, the Treaty of Ghent renewed them in 1814. Additionally, it was agreed prior to the war that Article III of the Treaty could not be modified by any future treaty and the right of free cross-border passage for Indigenous people of the two countries should therefore remain inviolable.” 2 Ibid. 21. 13 Boos —- McLawsen - Fathali, Canadian Indians, Inuit, Metis, and Metis, 347. «270 +
