Where/how/when did Aboriginal peoples get here?
- less than 500 years ago, the only people in Canada were Aboriginal peoples
- scientists can’t agree where First Nations people came from or how they got to North America, land bridge theory has been raised
- Aboriginal peoples tell creation stories rather than base history on western science
- creation is a foundational value
- scientists have found bones and artifacts that date as far back as 12000 years, know that aboriginal peoples have lived in what is now canada for at least that long
describe chinook
common trade language that allowed travelers and traders from different cultures and languages to communicate
what was the oldest participatory democracy on earth?
six nations people (iroquois)
benjamin franklin and thomas jefferson were inspired by this when they drafted the US constitution
when did non native people begin to settle in BC?
no significant numbers settled until 1850, after Britain declared Vancouver island a colony of the empire
Significance of Royal Proclamation of 1763?
- basically recognized the Nation status of these groups and required that agreements must be made to use or occupy Indian land.
- regarded as early and powerful evidence of the recognition of Aboriginal rights in Canadian law
- even today treaty negotiations are considered nation to nation
- at that time British gov’t was trying to win aboriginal loyalties because they needed them as trading partners, wildnerness survival tutors and military allies
info about the douglas treaties?
- James Douglas, governor of colony of Vancouver Island
- signed 14 treaties on Van island 1858-1864
- more sympathetic towards ab. people but believed in assimilation
what is Joseph Trutch’s history?
- Reduced douglas treaties in size and rights
- 3 legacies of J. Trutch: Explicit denial of aboriginal title; reduction of size of reserves; persuaded colonial gov’t not to honour legal right of first nations to obtain land titles
- Policies did not respect the royal proclamation (ceded or purchased)
- male non-aboriginals could acquire land, some tracts larger than reserves set aside for natives
- “Trutch View” endured as the core of the BC govt’s policy for the nextx 125 years
what did disease, death, and depopulation have to do with non-native’s arrival in Canada?
- ab. peoples had no immunity to european diseases, smallpox, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, influenza, and measles
- number dropped from 500 000 to 102 000 by 1871
how did the métis nation emerge?
- “coureur des bois” (runners of the woods) lived in the wilderness and married aboriginal women.
- from their offspring emerged the Métis nation
- red river and northwest rebellions
- louis riel convicted of treason and hanged in 1885
describe the British North America Act
- officially made canada a country in 1867
- Federal gov’t was given authority to make laws about “indians and lands reserved for the Indians”
- Marked significant change in Indian policy from a nation to nation relationship to one of wards of the Crown and a policy of forced cultural assimilation
Describe the Indian Act
- est 1876
- gave Canada a coordinated approach to the Indian policy rather than pre-confederation piece-meal approach
- addressed three main areas of legislation: land, membership, local gov’t
- indian agent acted under authority of indian act, altered traditional and hereditary forms of gov’t, changed names to ones ‘easier’ to use, played key role in distribution of land
- governance changed to elect chiefs and band councils
- indians living on reserves don’t own the land they live on
- assets on reserve are not subject to seizeure under legal process making it very hard to borrow money to purchase assets
- matrimonial property laws dont apply to asssets on reserves
what was John A MacDonalds assimilation policy?
“…to wean them by slow degrees, from their nomadic habits, which have almost become an instict, and by slow degrees absorb them or settle them on the land. Meantime they must be fairly protected.”
what specific measures were systematically deployed to give effect to MacDonald’s assimilation policy?
- permit to leave reserve
- permit to sell
- Women’s status-Discrimination via Bill c31, c3
- potlatch law
- residential schools
describe permit to leave reserve
during assimilation, ab. people required a permit from the indian agent in order to leave the boundary of his or her reserve
not allowed in public places, such as cafes or pool rooms
describe what a permit to sell was
ab. people required a permit from the indian agent in order to sell, trade, or barter produce picked or grown on the reserve;
included berries, hay, grain, garden produce;
also required permit to sell or butcher their own livestock
describe how the indian act has discriminated against aboriginal women
- status defined based on paternal lineage: indian was a male indian, the wife of a male indian, or the child of a male indian
- numerous amendments to act have been made, but status still transmitted by male indians
- 1869-1985: Indian woman denied status if she married a non-indian man
- “second generation cut off”: indian women who lost status through marrying out before 1985 can pass status on to their children but not to their children’s children.
- Reinstatement of lost status made an option wil Bill C31, but process was long, drawn out and expensive.
what was the potlatch law?
- 1884-1951
- Indian act prohibited indians from participating in the Potlatch and other cultural ceremonies across Canada
history/general info about residential schools
- started in 1844
- “as many manual labour or Industrial schools as possible…In such schools…isolated from the influence of their parents, pupils would imperceptibly acquire the manners, habits, and customs of civilized life”
- by 1931, 80 res. schools existed in canada
- compulsory attendance was incorporated into the Indian Act in early twentieth century
- attitude was “we’re from the government and we’re here to help”..justified by feeling they were helping ab. people move forward
- priests and religious organizations used federal grant moneyt o set schools up
- kids as young as 3 were dragged from homes, beaten if they spoke their own language
- christian indoctrination was the main focus, trades second
- gov’t passed a law that indian parents had no authority over their children while they were at school
- sub standard buildings
- believed 50% of children that attended died
- 1951-gov’t started closing down schools
- last one shut down in 1996
- on june 11, 2008 the gov’t of canada issued a formal apology to the survivors
describe the impact of residential schools on Aboriginal peoples
“we are all products of our environment”
- children raised in loving, supporting environment = loving supportive parents/adults
- unfortunately, survivors weren’t raised in those environments and are likely lacking skills to provide a loving and supportive environment for their kids
- a lot of social ills are rooted from residential school system
aboriginal war vets: general info
- est 12000 ab. peoples served in first and second world wars, and korean war
- vets not allowed to lay wreath on remembrance day until 1995
- exempt from conscription in first world war because ab. peoples not considered canadian citizens-rescindedin 1940(air force) 1943(navy)
- status indians still volunteered to fight
- 1942-compulsory overseas service implemented, 1944 decision made to exempt those who had been assured during treaty negotiations that they would not have to be involved in british battles
- reserve land sold to Soldier settlement board for non-indianvet’s to farm
- many indians that returnedhome after war had lost status due to 4 year rule
- some had to give up status to fight in 2nd world war
- vets didnt have right to obtain benefits, many re-enlisted in korean war because they couldn’t return to normal life
aboriginal peoples and the right to vote
- first nations offered right to vote at time of confederation, if they gave up their status and treaty rights
- métis not discluded because they had few treaties, so nothing to justify disqualifying them
- inuit excluded due to geographic isolation
- voting considered redundant because a traditional, effective system was already in place
- 1960 (under John Diefenbaker) ab peoples were offered right to vote without having to give anythign up in exchange
2 reasons aboriginal peoples view the 19th century proposal for enfranchisement(granting of the right to vote to citizens)
- it would mean the termination of their recognition as distinct nations or people which would mean the beginning of the assimilation into non aboriginal society
- it would mean voting in a system of gov’t thta was alien to traditions, conventions, and practices of governance of many ab. peoples.
what are the 3 court recognized aboriginal rights?(merkel’s lecture
- aboriginal title: you can prove you exclusively occupied area as part of who you are
- General use: wherever historical territory was as of Crown sovereignty is your territory; right to occupy and use land in manner you’ve always done it
- Specific Use: key area crucial for activity. New kind of obligation
