Basic Income and Anishinaabe Worldview: Exploring Tensions and Compatibilities

Abstract

Abstract Jurgen De Wispelaere and Lindsay Stirton point out that basic income must be designed in light of the features of the society in which the policy is to be implemented. Yet, in Canada, scholars and politicians have neglected one crucial aspect of the context in which basic income stands to be implemented – namely, a settler-colonial one. In a settler-colonial context, we must consider the compatibility of such a policy proposal with the worldviews of Indigenous peoples who continue to assert, apply, and revitalize their laws on this land. As such, in this paper, I consider the compatibility of a basic income with Anishinaabe worldview and legality. Ultimately, I find that while dominant justifications for basic income are not compatible with Anishinaabe worldview, the implementation of the policy may nonetheless support the urgent imperative of Indigenous law revitalization.