First%20Nations%20in%20Canada%20during%20the%2020th%20Century

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First Nations in Canada during the 20th Century
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The Indian Act (1876)

• "A person means an individual other than an
  Indian."
• Section 12 of the Indian Act (1880).

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• The Indian Act - was a series of racist social
  control laws enacted by the Federal government of
  Canada to place Aboriginal Peoples of Canada in
  the position of a colonized people.
• Assimilation the process through which a person
  or group of a minority culture is absorbed into
  the majority culture, losing the distinct
  features of the minority people.
• Examples The Canadian government assimilated
  First Nations people by putting them on
  reservations, which were often too small for
  traditional hunting.
• The Indian Act regulated and controlled virtually
  every aspect of Aboriginal peoples life,
  including Sundance and Potlatch gatherings, which
  were the major social, economic and political
  institutions of the First Nations tribes.
• It wasnt until 1951 that Parliament repealed the
  laws prohibiting potlatch.
• The Indian Act still exists today, although it is
  now used to protect First Nations rights.

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Potlatch Ceremonies Past and Present
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First Nations right to vote

• In British Columbia, First Nations didnt get the
  right to vote in provincial elections until 1949.
• It wasnt until 1960 that all First Nations
  people got the right to vote in Canadian federal
  elections.
• This was the first time that the government
  acknowledged citizenship for Aboriginal Peoples
  without the condition of the assimilation into
  the Canadian white society.

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Residential Schools
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• Attendance at residential schools was made
  mandatory by the government in 1920 for Native
  Canadian children between the ages of 7 and 16.
• The "aggressive assimilation" program was
  dedicated to eradicating the languages,
  traditions and cultural practices of native
  Canadians.
• Children were forced to leave their parents and
  were harshly punished for speaking their own
  languages or practicing their religions.
• Students also suffered from poor diet and
  inadequate housing
• The Canadian government forced about 150,000
  First Nations children into government-financed
  residential schools where many suffered physical,
  mental and sexual abuse.
• The residential schools have been linked to the
  widespread incidence of alcoholism, suicide and
  family violence in many First Nations
  communities.

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• In June 2008, Prime Minister Harper made an
  official apology at the House of Commons for the
  governments treatment of children in Indian
  residential schools, stating "Today, we recognize
  that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has
  caused great harm and has no place in
  our country."
• The federal government agreed to pay 1.86
  billion to surviving residential students, and to
  establish a truth and reconciliation commission
  to document the experiences of children who
  attended the schools.

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Land Claims (Aboriginal Title)

• Cut-off Lands Even thought the Federal
  government had set aside reservations for First
  Nations to live on, the government had taken
  reserve land without the consent of the
  Aboriginal bands.
• 1906 Chief Joe Capilano presented an
  unsuccessful land claim to British King Edward
  VII in London, England
• 1927 Andrew Paull Peter Kelly petitioned the
  House of Commons Senate for the government to
  begin land treaty negotiations with the First
  Nations
• The Federal Government disagreed, and changed the
  Indian Act so that it became illegal for First
  Nations to pursue land claims

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Chief Joe Capilano
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Delegation sends Chief Capilano off on his way to
England (1906)
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Resistance

• National Indian Brotherhood (1968)
• First Nations organized pressure group to lobby
  on behalf of Aboriginal people living on reserves

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White Paper (1969)

• Government document proposed by Pierre Trudeaus
  Liberal Government, and his Minister of Indian
  Affairs Jean Chretien.
• Trudeau wanted to end the protective attitude by
  the Federal government towards First Nations
  people, essentially which would cancel the Indian
  Act
• Cree leader Harold Cardinal and the National
  Indian Brotherhood led the attack on the White
  Paper, demanding self-government to control their
  own affairs
• They presented their own paper called Citizens
  Plus (Red Paper), and Chretien decided to cancel
  the White Paper

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Assembly of First Nations

• The National Indian Brotherhood changed their
  name to the Assembly of First Nations in 1980
• The Assembly of First Nations is still lobbying
  the government today

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Environmental Victories

• Inuit, Metis and the Dene of the Yukon and
  Northwest Territories successfully lobbied
  government to halt construction of the Mackenzie
  Valley oil and natural gas pipeline
• The pipeline would deliver energy from Alaska and
  the Arctic to Alberta
• The Berger Commission was created to hear the
  First Nations environmental concerns. In 1977,
  Judge Bergers recommended stopping the Mackenzie
  Pipeline for 10 years until
• environmental surveys could be done

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James Bay Hydro Project

• Cree residents halted construction of two new
  phases of the James Bay Hydro Project
• The project threatened to flood part of their
  ancestral lands

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Oka Confrontation (1990)

• Oka Town Council wanted to expand a golf course
  into land that Mohawks at the Kanesatake Reserve
  considered sacred (holy)
• Mohawk Warrior Society decided to stop the
  project by blocking the land
• Oka Town Council called the police, and gunfire
  broke out between the police and Mohawk warriors,
  and one policeman was killed in the fighting
• The Police blockaded Kanesatake, and the Mohawks
  blocked a bridge to Montreal that went through
  their reservation

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• Aboriginals across Canada demonstrated
  (protested) in support of the Mohawk
• Railways, bridges, and highways that went through
  reservations were blocked (civil disobedience)

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• Premier Bourassa called in the Canadian Army
• Eventually the tense stand-off ended after the
  Federal Government bought the disputed land and
  gave it to the Kanesatake Reserve
• The Oka Standoff proved that the First Nations
  could stand up to the government (and win!)

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Self- Government

• 1982 First Nations rights were entrenched in
  the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• 1985 Bill C-31 gave Aboriginal band councils
  the power to decide who had the right to live on
  Aboriginal reserves.
• This power used to belong to the Federal
  Governments Department of Indian Affairs

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Land Claims

• Specific Land Claims Treaties between
  Aboriginal peoples and the Federal Government
  have been signed, but the terms were not kept
  (Ex. Cut-off Lands)
• Comprehensive Land Claims The land was never
  surrendered in a treaty, which makes it harder to
  prove in a land claim case in court (Ex. Oka
  Standoff)

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History of Land Claims

• 1763 Royal Proclamation stated that any lands
  whatever, which have not been ceded to or
  purchased by us are reserved to theIndians
• But Western and Northern Canada were not known to
  the British at this time, so many government
  people believe the Royal Proclamation is not
  valid there

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Nisgaa Treaty

• 1887 The Nisgaa began claiming their land
• 1912 The Nisga became the first group to make a
  land claim against the Canadian government (even
  though it was illegal under the Indian Act)
• 1993 Supreme Court of Canada acknowledged that
  Aboriginal Title (the right to land) in a
  comprehensive land claim case could exist
• 1996 The Federal government and British
  Columbia provincial government signed the Nisgaa
  Treaty (8 of original land claim, 190 million
  over 15 years, fishing, forestry and hydro
  rights, self-government)
• In exchange, the Nisgas have agreed to give up
  their rights under the Indian Act and become
  regular tax paying citizens (Trudeaus dream)
• The Nisgaa finally got their self-government and
  land after 130 years, and many other Aboriginal
  groups now want a similar deal from government
  involving their land claims

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Delgamuukw Case (1998)

• The Supreme Court of Canada officially defined
  Aboriginal Title
• Aboriginal groups could claim ownership of land
  if they can prove that they occupied the land
  before the Canadian government claimed
  sovereignty, and that they occupied it
  continuously and exclusively.
• This decision has really worried land owners in
  disputed land areas, as Aboriginals in BC have
  already claimed 110 of British Columbia land
• See Map on pg.214

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Nunavut (1999)

• The territory of Nunavut was created in 1999,
  giving the Inuit people of Northern Canada the
  right to self-government. It is Canadas largest
  territory (1.6 million square kilometres)

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