Peter Jones/Kahkewawuonbay
- travelled to Britain in 1845 to raise funds for Ojibwa schools
- hoped for schools run by indigenous people that would help them defend their rights
status Indian
- not Canadian citizens
- status removed if university educated
- couldn’t vote
- had certain treaty rights
non-status Indian
if Metis took treaty, they would be full status first nations
if took scrip, would lose status completely
1876 Indian Act/impact on women
- aims of integrating Indians into general life and economy of country
- complicated matters regarding Indian women and their status
cede & surrender treaty clause
- Dene: our laws from the creator do not allow us to cede, release, surrender of extinguish our inherent rights
- believed land would be shared not ceded
- government claimed Cree as cede, surrender and release grounds
Duncan Campbell Scott
- deputy superintendent of Indian Affairs
- “I want to get rid of the Indians problem… our objective is to continue until there’s not a single Indian in Canada that hadn’t been absorbed into the body of politics and there’s no Indian question and no Indian department”
1951 amendments to Indian Act
- no longer illegal for Indians to practice customs and culture
- now allowed to enter pool halls and gamble
- allowed to drink in community
- allowed to appear off reserve in ceremonial dress without Indian Agent permission
- allowed to organize and hire legal council
- Indian women now allowed to vote in band councils
Indigenous women activism
1981 - Sandra Lovelace of New Brunswick - her activism led the government to let women decide to keep status when marrying non-status
Indian “reserves”
- government had power to take away portions of reserves
- illegal transfer of Peguis first nation because settlers thought it was a nice place to live and put pressure on the government
PM Pierre Trudeau
- said his government didn’t want to face political difficulties with according citizens plus status while French Canadians were demanding
- eventually retracted white paper
Peguis First Nation “St. Peter’s removal”
East Selkirk - illegal land transfer
- economic boom - community growing fast
- lots of people lived rurally, word of mouth on voting didn’t spread
- paying indigenous people off to vote to leave
- votes were short therefore government decided that they should transfer
- no records kept
- given 2 days to move to uninhabitable locations
indigenous soldiers - WW1
- thousands enlisted hoping to get rights/freedom, see world, earn money
- first taste of equality
- first time many Canadians saw Indigenous people
- nothing changed for Indigenous people when they came back
Indigenous soldiers - WW2
- Canadian soldiers began advocating for and supporting Indigenous soldiers
- legions began supporting Indigenous families
- birth of reconciliation
Shingaukonse
Fundraised for school in Southern Ontario
- really wanted education for Indigenous children
Indigenous peoples & Canadian Healthcare
- Didn’t have access to traditional foods or natural medicine since they weren’t allowed to leave reserve without permission
- were promised free healthcare & social services - wasn’t delivered
Hawthorn Report & recommendations
- Harry Hawthorn appointed to investigate social education & economic conditions
recommendations: - FN people shouldn’t be forced to acquire values of majority that they don’t want
- urged opportunity to study own language
- encouraged “citizens plus”
Hawthorn report revealed:
- Alberta citizens were Citizens minus - Canada’s most disadvantaged
- education below national average
Harold Cardinal
- negotiated with federal government
- leader of Indian Association of Alberta
- Challenged white paper - wrote a book
- led to government no longer ignoring indigenous perspectives
- law degree from Harvard
Compulsory enfranchisement
- power given to superintendent-general to enfranchise those he considered qualified - would receive land title & band money
- indigenous women lost status when marrying non-status
- Indian Act replaced traditional leadership - women lost their leadership and economic power
- government took advantage of gender equality to weaken them
- strengthened compulsory school attendance
Fiduciary relationship
- after 1885 rebellion - parent child relationship
- continued use of unauthorized lands
- indigenous people had to have hunting/fishing license or would be arrested
- treaty rights pushed away
- tried to abolish Indian status and assimilate
Robinson/Huron treaties
- southern Ontario
- crown got as much land as possible
- surrender clause
Anishinaabe wanted:
- annuities from mining
- keep hunting/fishing rights - not honored (could be arrested/weapons confiscated)
- reserve parts of land
health experiments on Indigenous peoples
- withheld nutrients - malnutrition and suffering
- kept on starvation-level diets
- investigators said malnutrition was inherited
- people were hungry and poor due to collapse of fur trade and little government support
white paper
- government recipe for equality
- status revoked - Indigenous peoples became like all other Canadians
- didn’t recognize aboriginal rights - treaties would be cancelled
- national Indian Brotherhood opposed
what was the white paper in response to
American Indian movement spreading to Canada
