The indigenous population in the geographical location of western Canada had their land officially taken over in 1869. (Daschuk 79) From then on, even with multiple treaties signed, the aboriginal people in this area and on the plains were ravaged with disease, fighting, famine and theft of land from the Canadian government. In this paper, I will first present a summary of James Daschuk’s two chapters outlining the issues stated above, and then an internal critique of the chapters, and, finally, an external critique of the chapters, comparing and contrasting it to Sidney Harring’s ““There Seemed to Be No Recognized Law”: Canadian Law and the Prairie First Nations’. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight and analysis on the aboriginal issues raised by Daschuk. …show more content…
He present this by discussing the illegality of the treaties pertaining to the Indian Act being passed, the government not fulfilling their treaty promises, the government starving the aboriginals, and by oppressing them and stealing their land. The interpretation of the situation by Harring does differ James Daschuk’s. Harring explicitly states that the aboriginals were starved on purpose “local Indian Affairs authorities were given direct orders to starve able-bodied Indian men and issued inadequate rations for Indian women and children” (Harring 120), when Daschuk only provides information pertaining to the famine, and not that it was done on purpose. Harring was the most convincing as he blatantly blames the government for the harm caused on the aboriginals and sets the stage for how maltreated the aboriginals were by the government. Conclusively, James Daschuk provides two fairly convincing chapters, pertaining to the aboriginal people in Western Canada and on the plains, who were ravaged with disease, fighting, famine and an immense loss of land. Comparing his chapters with Sidney Harring’s, Harring is more convincing and provides greater insight into how the government is to blame for the problems faced by the aboriginals. Personally, I agree with Harring, as measures were not handled as they should’ve been and the aboriginals should’ve had greater priority and treatment in the creation of
We can therefore deem that the Indian Act was specifically put in place to discriminate against the Aboriginal people of Canada. Although the Canadian government has tried to change the Indian Act and has been amended several times since its’ creation in 1876 it still continues to have significant effect on Aboriginal people in
The Aboriginals had original taught the early settlers how to trap and hunt about the land but in the documents associated with the deed and the land transfer, it was written that “Any claims of Indians too compensation for lands required for purposes of settlement shall be disposed of by the Canadian Government and the company shall be relieved of all responsibility in respect of them.”. Instead of the company leaving land for those who had aided them in the beginning. The singled them out due to racism and did not include them in any of the agreements between the HBC and the Crown in which they would receive land for themselves. This could have also contributed to the prejudice against the Aboriginals in future years because during that time period land was equal to power so those without land were treated as the poor and had no say. The deed also affected those who were against poaching and hunting.
“This is our land! It isn’t a piece of pemmican to be cut off and given in little pieces to us. It is ours and we will take what we want.” (voices and visions chapter 8 pg.181, poundmaker in the english tongue) The Cree and many Métis believed that the land was theirs and they were entitled to it.
For this essay, I will be primarily focusing on the Williams treaty(ies) of 1923. The treaties outlined within the Williams agreements primarily affected these communities which; Alderville, Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Scugog, Georgina Island, Beausoleil, Mnjikaning, and the Mississauga’s of the New Credit First Nation (Switzer, 2012). The Treaty focused and affected Indigenous nations right to the land for hunting and fishing, which can be directly related to the health and eating habits of the nations. The Williams treaty was signed in 1923 and was originally made to rectify disagreements and discrepancies that were caused by the numbered treaties, The Williams treaties include and encompasses parts of treaty twenty. Overall the Williams treaties
In his essay “To be Indian in Canada today”, Richard Wagamese relies on logos to explain the struggles and obstacles that come with the Federal Court’s decision to recognize Metis and non-status Indians in Canada as “Indians” under the Constitution Act. He then begs the question, “what does it mean to be Indian in Canada today?”(Wagameses). Being First Nations himself, Richard Wagamese knows firsthand all barriers that come with being Indigenous in Canada today. While using logos Richard Wagamese implements many different statistics and percentages in his essay to show the hurdles that Indigenous people face: “To be Indian in Canada today is to see youth languish in chronic unemployment and malaise, endure high rates of alcohol, drug and solvent
Social and political activism in aboriginal communities Aboriginal people in Eurocentric society struggle to gain acknowledgment and fair treatment in Canada through the use of diplomatic solutions. Maria Campbell’s “Halfbreed,” sheds some light, in this autobiographical view, telling of a woman and her struggles to belong, and gain recognition as an ethnic group (metis), growing up in Saskatchewan. The article, “Defining Indigenous space,” written by Ken Coates and Greg Poelzer, brings about the nature of First Nations and federal government relations, with respect to land claims and the political implications and legal processes that go along with political struggle. The first nations land claims were permitted disallowing the development
we cannot understand it” (Kulchyski 101). The Nisga’a people were the predominant group of people that fought for their land rights; they took it to petition, however it failed. There was a second royal commission, and Gideon Minesque spoke for the Nisga’a people once again, talking about how the Europeans are dreaming that the land belongs to them while in reality, it actually belongs to the Nisga’a people. This land issue affected everyone greatly to the point where a new organization was created for intense lobbying; they were called the Allied Tribes of British Columbia. Canada also forgot about the land that they actually owned.
This paper will give an overview of the act and how it impacted the Indigenous community into becoming
The Impact of the Indian Act on Canadian Society and First Nations Identity is massive. The Indian Act had a goal of assimilating the First Nations, therefore influencing their identity and culture and also influencing Canadian Society as a whole. There are many aspects of this which will be looked into. The first step is to understand the Indian Act, which will be paragraph one. The next step is to look at the challenges left behind from the Indian Act on both the European and First Nations sides, which will be paragraph two.
Essay Outline The human race that inhabited the lands earlier than anyone else, Aboriginals in Canada had conquered many obstacles which got them to what they are today. In the past, Canadian Aboriginals have dealt with many gruesome issues that primarily involved the Canadians opposing them or treating them like ‘‘wards.’’ The Indian Act is a written law which controls the Indian’s lives and it is often amended several times to make Indian lives either peaceful or cruel but especially, cruel. Aboriginals found the Indian Act a massive problem in their lives due to it completely controlling them and how they lived on their reserve.
I believe that the Canadian government is guilty of genocide against the aboriginal people of Canada because of the residential schools, the creation of the Indian act and the enfranchisement of first nations people. The first reason I think the Canadian government is guilty of genocide is the residential schools. The schools were government sponsored religious schools established to assimilate aboriginal children into the dominant Canadian culture. Their policy was to remove children from the influence of their families, cultures and traditions.
It was a way for the government to administer these ‘treaty rights’ to the ‘treaty people’ (Nelson,137). It was an overarching treaty that established treaty rights, restricting FN’s rights to participate, vote, take part in politics, travel, along with being able to celebrate and embrace their culture (Nelson,137). Aboriginal people spoke up and represented themselves, the result was Section 35 in Canada’s Constitution. Section 35 acknowledges FN, Metis and Inuit people as Aboriginals (Nelson,137). Proper collective rights were established in the Constitution for Aboriginals.
The video by Tasha Hubbard titled “Canadians have been breaking their promises to Indigenous people” displays the multitude of ways in which Canada and its government have failed to fulfill the promises it made to the Indigenous people. These promises that were made almost a century ago before 1945 are yet to be satisfied. In this video, the speaker, Tasha Hubbard details the historical and currently ongoing impact of settler colonialism and the Indian Act on the Indigenous peoples of Canada. In this essay, I will be deconstructing the Indian Act and its role in perpetuating the wrongful treatment of Canada’s original inhibitors.
Critical Summary #3: First Nations Perspectives In Chapter eight of Byron Williston’s Environmental Ethics for Canadians First Nation’s perspectives are explored. The case study titled “Language, Land and the Residential Schools” begins by speaking of a public apology from former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He apologizes for the treatment of “Indians” in “Indian Residential Schools”. He highlights the initial agenda of these schools as he says that the “school system [was] to remove and isolate [Aboriginal] children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them[…]” (Williston 244).
Modernity has been mainly characterized by its imperialistic policies and colonizing endeavors, which while creating the current legal organization of the world have largely marginalized the many indigenous groups who originally occupied the conquered lands (Andrews and Walton 600). Although post-modern societies have seen an increase in the awareness of these matters, American-Canadian author Thomas King has dedicated his work to throwing light on issues still not tackled. In his short story “Borders”, King tells the adventure of a Blackfoot mother and her child, who try to cross the border to the U.S. but refuse to declare their nationality. It is through his masterful choice of narrator and the careful depiction of the mother’s struggle to maintain her Blackfoot identity that the author conveys the many difficulties First Nations face in their effort to keep their heritages alive.