Learning about Democracy through Disputes over the Meaning of Indigenous Consent and Consultation

Disputes over the meaning of Indigenous consultation and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) are disputes about democracy. When states reduce these processes to procedural compliance, they collapse plural democratic traditions into a single, state-centric framework. This article explores how Indigenous democratic consultation and consent practices stem from self-determination, rooted in Indigenous cosmopolitics and legal orders. It examines self-determination through historic treaties, international human rights, and domestic law in Canada and Brazil, then analyzes autonomous FPIC protocols from Indigenous peoples across the Americas. Building on Tully, Napoleon, Rivera Cusicanqui, and Mills, the article demonstrates that state-centered consultation cannot engage with Indigenous cosmopolitics. Through treaties and protocols, Indigenous peoples have coordinated across incommensurable legal orders, enacting democracy as the coordination of plural legal and political traditions.