The land on which I live is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum agreement. Today this place is home to many First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples and acknowledging this reminds me that our great standard of living is directly related to the resources and friendship of Indigenous people.
The paragraph above is called a land acknowledgement, something that’s now common here in Canada at events. It’s a way of remembering and acknowledging the original inhabitants of this land. This month in the PLACE workshop we’re exploring the Indigenous stories of our respective places. In my last post, I outlined the Indigenous history of my place of Niagara from 12,000 years ago to Canadian Confederation in 1867. Until that time, natives, explorers, and settlers were mostly allies in trade and war. The image below shows a sign from my local park, the site of an Indian Coucil House, where everyone came together to negotiate.
Natives fought alongside the British in the War of 1812 but after the war their relationship began to change, and not necessarily for the better. As the number of settlers increased and the threat of war decreased, land became the most important commodity. The main goal of Indian policy after 1830 was to “civilize” Indians and then “assimilate” them into the mainly British, white community.
In many histories of a place, certain stories are told and others are suppressed. It’s never the complete picture. The way to come to a more accurate history is by uncovering and telling the stories that are missing. I’m trying to listen and learn.
After Confederation
In 1867, the Dominion of Canada was established through the British North America Act. Section 91(24) stated that the federal government of Canada was responsible for “Indians and Lands reserved for Indians.” The new country of Canada could develop national policies that would affect all Indigenous peoples. These policies were incorporated into the Indian Act of 1876, which has been amended many times and is still in effect today. In 1950, Malter E. Harris reviewed past policy and announced the new: The ultimate goal of our Indian policy is the integration of the lndians into the general life and economy of the country. (House of Commons Debates, 29 June 1950). Indians were now to be “integrated” rather than “assimilated.’
The establishment of the Indian Act, while meant to regulate the relationship and protect the interests of Indigenous peoples, has often failed to do so. The relationship became greedy and paternalistic, a form of colonialism. What is colonialism?
”A system or policy of dominance and control by one power over an area or people that often includes exploitation of resources for the purpose of benefiting the colonizing country. The process of settling or appropriating a place and establishing a central system of power over the land and its original inhabitants.” ~ Indigenous Perspectives Education Guide
The Historical Development of the Indian Act
Residential Schools
The establishment of the residential school system led to what the Canadian Human Rights Commission is now calling cultural genocide. We’re currently in a long, messy process of reconciliation for these atrocities. Residential schools (church-run, government-funded) were the Canadian government’s method of asssimilation. The idea was to remove children from their families and culture in order to prepare them for mainstream society.
Residential schools operated from 1886 to 1996. Initially, about 1,100 students attended 69 schools across the country. In 1931, at its peak, there were about 80 schools operating across Canada. There were a total of about 130 schools in every territory and province except Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. In all, about 150,000 First Nation, Inuit and Métis children were removed from their communities and forced to attend the schools.
In these schools and because of this policy, things went horribly wrong. Students were discouraged from speaking their first language or practising native traditions. If caught, they were severely punished. The children lived in substandard conditions and endured physical, sexual, amd emotional abuse. Families broke down from being separated. Some schools even carried out nutritional experiments on children with the government’s knowledge. The trauma of these years led to poverty, addictions, incarceration, and suicides. This trauma has now been handed down through subsequent generations.
When I was going though the Ontario school system in the 60’s and 70’s residential schools were operating but I knew nothing about them or the plight of Indigenous peoples.The closest residential schools to my place were in Brantford and Toronto, both less than 150 km away. I imagine Indigenous children from my area might have been sent to those schools. Even if they didn’t, kids most likely experienced racism in whatever school they attended.
History of Residential Schools
Truth and Reconciliation
Since 1990, Indigenous people have sought acknowledgement, compensation, amd reconciliation for the trauma they experienced. The government convened a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. Many people told the commission about their residential school experiences, and the 1996 report recommended a separate public inquiry, which never happened. In 2007, the federal government formalized a $1.9-billion compensation package for those who were forced to attend these schools. As of Sept. 30, 2013, $1.6 billion had been paid, representing 105,548 cases.
An Independent Assessment Process, or IAP, was set up to address sexual abuse cases and incidents of physical abuse. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation was established in 1998 with a $350-million grant from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to help former students who were physically or sexually abused, but federal funding ended in 2010. It closed down in 2014. The settlement also promised a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine the legacy of the residential schools. Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered an official apology to residential school students in Parliament on June 11, 2008. Many churches implicated in the abuse apologized in the 1990s.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission allowed Indigenous peoples to tell their stories and its 2015 report outlines 94 calls to action for reconciliation. For example, in terms of child welfare, Jordan’s Principle (passed in 2007) is a child first and needs-based principle designed to ensure that First Nations children living on and off reserve have equitable access to all government funded services. (Wikipedia)
“Reconciliation is realized when two people come together and understand that what they share unites them and that what is different about them needs to be respected.” ~ The Reason You Walk: A Memoir by Wab Kinew
The story of Native and non-Native relationship in Canada since Confederation is long and complicated. While the Truth and Recomciliation Commission was an important step, it’s one thing to have calls to action and another to put them into practice. I’m ashamed to say there’s still so much I don’t know. There was a lot missing from my early education. For the past couple of years, I’ve been trying to make up for what I don’t know by listening to the voices of Indigenous Peoples who are speaking out now about their culture, rights, and reconciliation. I’m also pledging to spend some time each day to learning something new through online articles and books, as well as attending local indigenous events.
Moving Forward
Many key issues remain. Campaigns like Idle No More serve to strengthen Indigenous rights and sovereignty and protect air, land, and water. Treaties are being renegotiated. For example, in October 2016, the Algonquins of Ontario signed a land claim agreement-in-principle with the Canadian and Ontario governments that covers 36,000 km² of land in eastern Ontario. While the final details of what will be Ontario’s first modern treaty may take years to ratify, it remains an historic agreement — one that has taken 26 years to negotiate.
Even today, not all of the stories of Indigenous peoples are being shared as widely as they should. The suicide rates of First Nations kids is a tragedy that needs widespread attention. Tanya Talaga did just that in her book, Seven Fallen Feathers, about seven teenagers from one community in Thunder Bay, who died or committed suicide over a few short years. As well, Indigenous women are going missing or being murdered at rates 4.5 times higher than that of all other women in Canada. Other issues have to do with overcrowded housing and lack of access to clean water.
The 2016 census report shows Indigenous Peoples making up just under 3% of the population in the Niagara Region. 73% have a high school diploma compared to 79% of the non-Indigenous population. 11% are unemployed as compared to 7.4% of the non-Indigenous population. Income levels are also lower. Barriers to employment include education levels, lack of transportation and affordable childcare, self-esteem, cultural differences, and racism and stereotypes. Indigenous adults are also overrepresented in the correctional system. They accounted for 28% of admissions to provincial/territorial correctional services and 27% for federal correctional services, while representing 4.1% of the Canadian adult population.
Today, many First Nations people are claiming their heritage and languages, and educating non-natives about their culture and needs as citizens. In my immediate area, Indigenous peoples live in the community. There is a native centre that provides programming and support for natives and education for non-natives. They have a community powwow each year and invite non-natives. This month I attended a talk by an Indigenous artist, Raymond Skye, who tells the history of his people through intricate drawings. There is an art exhibit at the history museum by Cayuga beadwork artist, Sam Thomas, called Opening the Doors to Dialogue. Thomas used old doors from residential schools (see right) to initiate dialogue with people who had attended the schools. Together they used beadwork to decorate the doors in order to confront the legacy and reclaim their heritage. It is powerful!
“The exhibit does more than highlight the residential school system. Through the art of beadwork the exhibit speaks of the indigenous cultures and histories the imposed school system sought to erase.”
It’s important for those of us who are non-natives to listen and learn about the true history of our places and to realize the issues that remain. Pam Palmater writes that reconciliation is not making a land acknowledgement, reading a book, sending a tweet, or even hiring more Native people, although these things are all important. Real reconciliation is working to dismantle the colonial system that created the problems in the first place.
It’s up to us to ensure that Indigenous peoples have sovereignty and equal rights to all Canadians.
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