Week 8 -Indigenous Politics Flashcards
Define Indigenous Canadians
Indigenous Canadians: those who can trace their ancestry before the arrival and permanent settlement of Europeans
Define Aboriginal
The definition of “Aboriginal” comprises those people who report identification with at least one indigenous group – North American Indian, Métis, and Inuit
2 main points on their standard of living
- UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ARE HIGHER, LOWER INCOMES
•Twice as likely as other Canadians to be unemployed
•Status indigenous living on reserves are four times more likely to be unemployed
•On average, indigenous Canadians earn about three-quarters of what other Canadians earn
•Government transfer payments make up 1/5 of indigenous income, compared to about 1/10 for non-indigenous - EDUCATION IS LOWER
•Falling below low-income line is twice as likely for non-reserve indigenous Canadians, and is considerably higher for those living on reserves
•About 3 out of 10 indigenous Canadians have not completed high school
•Almost 5 out of 10 indigenous Canadians on reserves have not completed high school
•Versus 12% of non-indigenous Canadians
Indigenous policy in New France
- what was their status under colonial rule, what were the French trying to do to them and how?
- what were the two principles underlying policy in New France
•Under French colonial rule: no official recognition of any indigenous title to land they had previously occupied
•Conversion of the indigenous population to Christianity was a central objective
•Implemented through the missionary work of Jesuits and the Recollets
•In 1627 a converted indigenous person had the status and rights of a naturalized French citizen
•ASSIMILATION + NON RECOGNITION of indigenous lands claimed by France = two key principles underlying policy in New France
•But New France was sparsely populated
How did things change after the seven years war
The Royal Proclamation of 1763:
•Indigenous interest in the land was acknowledged within context of British sovereignty and colonial expansion
•British signed treaties (11 of them)
•Initially involved lLUMP SUM PAYMENTS or allowances/annuities
•Later RESERVES were set aside with benefits like exclusive fishing and hunting rights
•In exchange, pre-contact RIGHTS WERE GIVEN UP
What were the characteristics of the Indian Act of 1876
•Status Indians given certain rights and privileges
•All money generated from economic activities CONTROLLED BY FEDERAL AUTHORITIES
•RESERVES are subject to restrictions on landownership, mortgages, and economic activities
•Paternalistic
Indian Act impact on status:
(Status, marriage, criteria, implications)
•An “Indian” is any male person of Indian blood who belonged to a band recognized by the federal government, as well as dependents
•Women could acquire status through marriage, but those who married a non-Indian would lose status – this changed in 1985
•Change also eliminated the possibility of acquiring status from marriage
•Federal government sets the rules that determine who is or isn’t “Indian”
•First Nations bands determine who is entitled to be a band member and live on their reserve
•Many bands have enforced “marry out, get out” rules, and have been charged with discrimination
Assimilation written into policy:
- how were reserves governed
- how were governance practices changed
- did they have Canadian citizenship
- impact on traditions and languages
•Reserves governed by band councils and chiefs elected for three-year terms
•Actions of band councils still subject to approval by Ottawa
•Democratic practices of European origin were expected to replace indigenous traditions of governance
•No automatic right to Canadian citizenship for status Indians before 1960
•Sanctions used to stamp out indigenous traditions included the 1884 BAN ON THE POTLATCH CEREMONY and on traditional dances
•Prohibition on using indigenous languages in the federally-run residential schools
•Illegal to bring legal action against the government
Policy in residential schools:
- impact of assimilation on culture, lives, language
•Residential schools were the harshest effort at assimilation
•Children were forced from their families to isolate them from indigenous cultural influences
•Widespread physical and mental abuse, and neglect
•The death toll is still unknown, but we are now finding hundreds of unmarked graves
Canadian Law and the recognition of the Inuit
- implications
•Canadian law also recognizes the Métis and Inuit who are not covered in the Indian Act
•1939 SCC decision: the Inuit are Indians within the meaning of the Constitution
•This means that the federal government has a responsibility for their welfare
•Inuit granted de facto self-government through territory of Nunavut
Canadian Law and the recognition of the Métis
- define Métis
- law concerning status
Law concerning health and education benefits
•Métis: mixed-blood descendants of unions between Indian women and Scots or French-speaking settlers in the Red River region of Manitoba
•May also be considered Indians under the law if they are descendants of Métis who were part of Indian communities that fell under treaties
•Supreme Court of Canada (2016): Métis persons, as well as non-status Indians, must be treated the same as status Indians under Canadian law
•Allows these groups to claim health and education benefits
•The Inuit and Métis are grouped with First Nations people in section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, which recognizes and affirms the “existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada”
The 1969 white paper
- what did it propose?
- anchored in?
- rejected by?
- what were the implications
•PM Pierre Trudeau released the 1969 White Paper
•Proposed the dismantling of the Indian Affairs bureaucracy, reserve system, special Indian status and a transfer of responsibility to the provinces
•Stated that historical treaties should not be expected to be recognized in perpetuity
•Anchored in integrationist ideology from the early civil rights movement
•Forcefully rejected by indigenous leaders as assimilationist – the birth of the indigenous movement
•From then on, government policy has been directed at recognizing self-government and land rights
what does the term reserve mean?
“The term “reserve” means any tract or tracts of land set apart by treaty or otherwise for the use or benefit of or granted to a particular band of Indians, of which the legal title is in the Crown, but which is unsurrendered, and includes all the trees, wood, timber, soil, stone, minerals, metals, or other valuables thereon or therein.”
•At the heart of this definition:
the guardianship relationship between the federal government and those living on reserves
•Because reserve land belongs to the Crown, virtually no legal or commercial transaction of consequence could be undertaken without permission
What are the consequences of reserve life (3)
➢Fewer job opportunities;
➢Often required to leave home to acquire secondary and post-secondary education;
➢Physical isolation prevents integration into the rest of society
Consequences of reserve life on life expectancy, income, unemployment, suicide rates, infant mortality
•The average life expectancy and incomes of those who live on reserves are significantly lower than the population average
•Higher rates of suicide, alcoholism, violent death, unemployment, crowded housing conditions, and infant mortality
