Contested Places: Indigenous Pass Systems Flashcards
When North America was taken over, what did John A. McDonald do to get transportation systems running?
- Needed to win over the FN’s to build a rail system across Canada.
- Signed treaties that established reserves for FN’s to live in, and promised access to ancestral grounds.
Describe how the North West Resistance led to the Pass System being created.
NW Resistance = Metis communities that were trying to reclaim their land.
- McDonald sent out troops to destroy the resistance, issue was that the troops weren’t accustomed to FN’s and could not tell who was an ally and who was a rebel.
- Canadian government told all “good and loyal” Indians to stay on their reserves during the battle (so none were accidentally hurt).
- Pass System restricted them from leaving the reserves, was meant to be TEMPORARY!
What did the Pass System entail? Who were for it, and who were against it?
- Restricted Indians from leaving the reserves. Needed a pass in order to, and that pass had to be granted by the form instructor.
- Cut off FN and Metis leadership.
- Indians could not sell anything unless given a pass.
- Indian and Metis did not want the passes, but were leveraged through rations (stay and get fed, leave and don’t).
- RCMP also protested the pass because it was illegal, went to court and the pass system won, RCMP had to enforce the passes.
- White men in government positions wanted the Pass system. even though the system was not based in law, the men WERE the law, wanted to clear the Indian “obstacle”.
Why were Residential schools created? How did the Pass system coincide with the schools?
- RCMP wanted to put kids in residential schools to “learn”. Really wanted to make communities safer.
- Kids could not be taken out of schools unless their was a pass.
- In school for 10 months of the year, parents could hardly visit.
- important for contested place as it allowed white power to control who could go where, and who had to remain in one place.
- Schools also looked to assimilate the kids into white society and make them forget their culture.
What happened in 1941? Why are we only learning about all of this recently?
- In 1941, Indian Pass system was revealed to be illegal, and all passes were asked to be destroyed. Indians were now free to go wherever they wanted to.
- Some Indian agents still tried to enforce the Pass system even after it was abolished.
- Only learn about this now since finding any info on the Pass system is very hard. Lots of it was hidden/covered up on purpose.
