Aboriginal Peoples of Canada

Living Cultures, vibrant stories

Main Street Commercial Drive

Granville Island

The Squamish, the Musquem, the Tsleil-Watuth

A Coal Harbour Longhouse (1886)

First contact: misunderstandings

Gift giving and trade

Land ownership vs. land use

Stories: what are they and who gets to tell them?

Case study: genocide of the Beothuck

Shawnadithit: captured for service and study

Shawnadithit’s drawings

Mortal viruses: smallpox and tuberculosis

An Interconnected Continent

Biological warfare

Important Terms:

1) Royal Proclamation of 1763

2) Constitution Act, 1867

4) Indian Act

5) Victoria Conference, 1911

6) Richard-Mcbride Commission, 1912-14

7) 1927 Indian Act Amendment

Royal Proclamation of 1763

The American Colonies caused a lot of trouble for the English.

Raided the Ohio Valley, taking land without permission, sought to occupy aboriginal land (Mostly Iroquois, Creek peoples)

Royal Proclamation recognized all land west of the Appalachians as belonging to Aboriginal peoples

Only the Crown could extinguish aboriginal claim (not individuals) and only through Treaties.

Canada inherits this recognition through British Case Law and the Constitution Act

Aboriginal Peoples know their rights: Know how the Law works

1874- Protest in New West by Sto:lo. 50 chiefs, hundreds of protesters.

Sign of clear active engagement among aboriginal peoples with understanding of British Law.

1887: Nisga and Tsimshian both most active early on in understanding of law. Met with Premier.

Premier claims to have never heard of concept of treaties, demands ‘proof of which law book you have read’ and tells them they are lucky for the reserves they have.

The Indian Act Passed in 1876, it’s goal was to define:

Who was or was not considered aboriginal

What obligations (if any) the government had to care for aboriginal peoples

Where they could travel, work, acquire land (Reserve System)

Governed how their reserves/governments were run

Banned ceremonies and practices that bound aboriginal culture together

Potlatch on the west coast, Sun Dance for Interior peoples

Required children to attend Residential Schools.

Goal: “Kill the Indian, save the Child”

Nisga’a LiemsOn May 11th, 2000, the Federal and Provincial Governments, together with the Nisga’a government, established the first treaty in BC since 1850

In 1973, Frank Calder, hereditary chief of the Nisga’a nation took the tribe’s land claim to the Supreme Court.

The Court Ruled that aboriginal title existed and must be recognized and compensated.

The Nisga’a gave up for this agreement:

1) Claim beyond the 2,019 square kilometers of land agreed to

2) Exception from Income and Sales Taxes

Nisga’a Liems

How long was this treaty in negotiation?

In 1888, government surveyors had appeared in Nisga’a territory near Gitlaxt’aamiks.

“What’s that in your canoe?” asked Sim’oogit Israel Sgat’iin, pointing to survey equipment.

The surveyors replied that they were going to give land to the Nisga’a.

“How could you give us land that is already ours?”

Chief Sgat’iin aimed his gun at the belly of the lead surveyor, took away their instruments, and sent them packing downstream.

Joe Capilano and A Trip to the King (1906)

Reserve System: differences in perspective The Government of Canada established the Reserve system for 2

purposes:

1) To open land for settlement through restriction of aboriginal title

2) To facilitate ‘civilizing’ of aboriginals by encouraging them to assimilate in order to acquire land like any other ‘good British Citizen’

Aboriginal signatories to treaties understood:

1) Agreements were for land sharing and their traditional practices respected

2) The reserves were not ‘permanent restrictions’ but rather recognized village sites

3) In exchange, the Federal Government would support transition to farming and other modernization through providing materials and equipment

1910s Events Indian Act Amended:

Allows for corporations and cities to expropriate portions of reserves without compensation

Reserve lands, already small, could be broken up or traded for poor land

Examples Include Park Royal Mall and Lions Gate Bridge (West Vancouver)

1910’s Events

March 1911: Victoria Conference

Aboriginal Chiefs and clergymen to meet with Premier Richard McBride.

Bring forth power of law and precedent

Peter Kelly: Haida Nation Methodist Minister

Cofounder of Allied Indian Tribes

Chief Spokesman

Richard Mcbride Campaign Tobacco Tin

1910’s Events

1912-16 McKenna-McBride Commission

Established to meet with all bands and consult on land use needs and provide additional reserve land if ‘deemed necessary’.

Many groups refused

Result: Some increased but useful land removed, usually where land values had gone up

1914 Order in Council: declares that FN will take all compensation provided with no argument

1927:Indian Act Amended

3 Main Revisions of importance

1) Residential School is mandatory for all children

-Somewhat voluntary before, though many groups will continue to resist

2) Path to Citizenship Proposed:

-Aboriginal Peoples become citizens in 2 ways:

A) Voluntarily giving up status

B) Gaining a University Degree (Considered ‘civilized’)

3)……

Wealth

First Nations Cultures determined wealth as a measure of how much one could provide for the group.

Accumulation of supplies becomes of paramount importance

Also, cultural objects take on greater meaning (Art is produced when there is an excess of necessities)

Potlatch Cultures

Coast Salish, Haida, and other West Coast peoples practice a Potlatch

Sometimes a week long ritual, families gather from all around the region to share stories, songs

Perform marriages, cement alliances

Potlatch Cultures

Status was determined by how much you gave away

People saved up the entire year to have enough goods to give away at a potlatch

1884: Potlatch banned under the Indian Act

Considered a wasteful, unproductive custom

BC Industry in the late 1800s

Highly dependant on Aboriginal labour

Aboriginal peoples worked in lumber mills, fish camps, and other industries

Every few months, the labour just walked away to go to a potlatch

Huge problem… but it’s a matter of two different cultures

Perfectly willing to give everything away..

A Story…. Of a bridge

Built in 1937, by James Taylor, and paid for by the Guinness Family to help bring people to the North Shore to sell houses…

Built in the depression, when there was no money.

To build the bridge, they took land from the Squamish Reservation

When the King and Queen were to drive by for the opening, the Chiefs were asked to show their support, so that they could be shown to be willing.

The people agreed, wore their full regailia, hoping that their support would help show that they were good citizens, hoping they could speak regarding their claims

The King and Queen drove by.. Without stopping..