Foundation Guide(Draft) Copyright © lwright. All Rights Reserved.
This course is adapted from First Peoples: A Guide for Newcomers, created for the City of Vancouver in 2014, by Kory Wilson and Jane Henderson.The City of Vancouver is grateful to Kory Wilson, Jane Henderson, BCIT, and The Drive Learning Consultants for designing and developing the Indigenous Awareness course. The City of Vancouver owns the rights for use of these materials. Written permission must be obtained from the City for any use or reproduction of these materials.
This guide is part of a series of open education resources for public post-secondary institutions. Funded by Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training and managed by BCcampus, these resources include the expertise and voices of various First Nation and Metis scholars and educational thought leaders in post-secondary education. The resources help meet the goals of the Aboriginal support.How this project came about – AVED, 2020 Vision for the Future, goal 1 – systemic change of institutions to create places of belonging and shared learning.
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Locating yourself:
Timeline:
Looking back:
It is commonly claimed that Canada has two founding Nations, the French and the English. However, prior to contact, Aboriginal people were living and thriving here in complex societies. The “original people” still exist and live all over Canada, from their traditional territories to urban centres. Aboriginal people have made, and continue to make, enormous contributions to Canadian society – politically, economically, and culturally.
Sadly, too many Canadians are unaware of this, and this lack of awareness is a barrier to improving relationships between all Canadians, whether Aboriginal, non-Aboriginal or newly arrived.
The relationship between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people has not been an easy one, as you will learn during this course, but it is vital that this relationship continues to improve. The strength of a good relationship is that everyone understands and knows the truth about the past and contemporary realities. This is especially important in regard to Aboriginal people. By learning the truth about the past, confronting it, and acknowledging the consequences, we can move forward towards an inclusive future.
This course will introduce you to Canada’s Indigenous peoples, and to the historical relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
Whether you are Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal, we hope that this course will increase your understanding of Indigenous people in Canada.
This will be an explanation of the quadrant model, include the image and
The first of the three modules, Aboriginal People, will introduce you to the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, their histories, and cultures.
In the following sections you will learn about:
It should take around 40 minutes to complete this section. Before you go complete the locating yourself activities.
Reflect on the area, city or town where you live.
Complete the knowledge check below as a way to assess your understanding of decolonization and reconciliation. Once you have completed one question click on the arrow to see the next one. As you go through the remainder of this section of the guide think about these questions. Will we be checking back in with you at the end of the content? If you are using are using the PDF version you can find the questions in Appendix 3.
In Canada First Nations is the term used to refer to people who are Indigenous and who do not identify as Inuit or Métis. In the past, these people used to be referred to as “Indians”*.First Nations people have lived and thrived since time immemorial in this land now called Canada. They have many different languages, cultures, traditions, and spiritual beliefs. Historically, First Nations managed their lands and resources with their own governments, laws, policies, and practices. Their societies were very complex and included systems for trade and commerce, building relationships, managing resources, and spirituality. Today, there are around 630 different First Nations in Canada and approximately 60 different language groups. First Nations is the accepted term today instead of the term “Indian” which is considered an offensive colonial term.
Let’s answer some of the questions that people often ask about First Nations people, and debunk some of the common myths and misconceptions.
First Nations are one of the three recognized groups under the term Aboriginal Peoples. They are different from Métis and Inuit. There are currently over 630 recognized First Nations across Canada, approximately half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.
First Nations make up the largest group of Aboriginal peoples. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, there were 851,560 First Nations people in Canada.
First Nations live in every province and territory. In 2011, the largest First Nations population was in Ontario (201,100) where 23.6% of all First Nations people lived. The next largest was in British Columbia (155,020), where they represented 18.2% of all First Nations people. 116,670 First Nations people lived in Alberta, representing 13.7% of all First Nations people in the country. First Nations people living in these three provinces accounted for less than 4% of the total provincial population in case.
First Nations people accounted for almost one-third of the total population of the Northwest Territories, close to one-fifth of the total population of Yukon and about 10% of the population of Manitoba and that of Saskatchewan. In Nunavut they are 0.34% of the population.
No. Almost half (49.3%) of the 637,660 First Nations people who reported being Registered Indians lived on a reserve. In Quebec, nearly three-quarters (72.0%) of First Nations people with registered Indian status lived on reserve, the highest proportion among the provinces. This was followed by New Brunswick (68.8%) and Nova Scotia (68.0%). In Ontario, 37.0% of First Nations people with Registered Indian status lived on a reserve, the second lowest proportion among the provinces after Newfoundland and Labrador with 35.1%.
The term “Indian” refers to the legal identity of a First Nations person who is registered under the Indian Act. The term “Indian” should be used only when referring to a First Nations person with status under the Indian Act, and only within its legal context. Otherwise, the use of the term “Indian” in Canada is considered outdated and offensive.
You may notice that the United States still has the terms “American Indian” and “Native Indian” in current and common usage. Some First Nations people will also refer to themselves as “Indians” and it is still called the Indian Act but it is not a term you should use.
A person who is recognized by the federal government as being registered under the Indian Act is referred to as a “Registered Indian” (or “Status Indian”). Status Indians may be entitled to certain programs and services offered by federal agencies and provincial governments.
There have been many rules for deciding who is eligible for registration as an Indian under the Indian Act. Significant changes were made to the Act in June 1985. One change was when Parliament passed Bill C-31 to bring it in line with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and again in 2011 with the coming into force of Bill C-3 Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act.
“Non-status Indians” refers to people who identify themselves as Indians but who are not entitled to registration on the Indian Register pursuant to the Indian Act. Some of them may be members of a First Nation.
It is a misconception that First Nations people in Canada do not pay federal or provincial taxes.
Status Indians can, in certain circumstances be tax exempt. Income earned on a reserve can be tax exempt and any goods or services purchased by a Status Indian on a reserve or delivered to them on a reserve are sales tax exempt.
So there are limited situations where Status Indians may not pay income tax or sales tax, but non-Status Indians, Inuit, and Métis people are not eligible for any tax exemption.
No. There are two main categories of housing on reserve:
Market-based housing refers to households paying the full cost associated with purchasing or renting their housing. This is not free housing!
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Agency (CMHC) delivers housing programs and services across the country to all Canadians under the National Housing Act.
Some students will and some students will not get funding for post-secondary education. It depends on the First Nation to which the student belongs and whether or not they have funding for the student. The demand for funding is often greater than the funds available, and some communities are in states of crisis where they must focus their resources on other areas.
Culture is an expression of a community’s worldview and unique relationship with the land. Aboriginal cultures across Canada are diverse but there are commonalities amongst them. Traditionally their societies have been communal, every member had roles and responsibilities, there was equality between men and women, nature was valued and life was cyclical.
Here, you will learn more about other significant characteristics of Aboriginal cultures.
Traditional Aboriginal education is different from European-style education. Children learn with their families and immediate community. Learning is ongoing and does not take place at specific times. Children learn how to live, survive, participate in, and contribute to their community. They are encouraged to take part in everyday activities alongside adults to watch and listen, and then eventually practice what they have learned. Education is a lifelong process as people grow into different roles: child, youth, adult, and Elder.
Aboriginal cultures are traditionally inclusive. Lynda Gray, from the Tsimshian First Nation writes
Everyone had a place in the community despite their gender, physical or mental ability, sexual orientation, or age. Women, Elders, Two-spirit, children, and youth were an integral part of a healthy and vibrant community.
In Aboriginal cultures, Elders are cherished and respected. An Elder is not simply an older or elderly person, but is usually someone who is very knowledgeable about the history, values and teachings of his or her culture. He or she lives their life according to these values and teachings. For their knowledge, wisdom and behaviour, Elders are valuable role models and teachers to all members of the community. Elders play an important role in maintaining the tradition of passing along oral histories.
First Nations pass along values and family and community histories through oral storytelling. Oral histories and stories have been passed down from generation to generation and are essential to maintaining Aboriginal identity and culture. People repeat stories to keep information alive over generations. Particular people within each First Nation have memorized oral histories with great care. Aboriginal cultures also tell stories and histories through symbolic objects. Carved totem poles and house posts are a good example of this kind of visual language that has a long history on the West Coast.
Each Aboriginal culture, community, and even family has its own historical and traditional stories, songs, or dances. Different cultures have different rules about ownership. Some songs, names, symbols, or dances belong only to some people or families and cannot be used, retold, danced, or sung without permission. Sometimes they are given to someone in a ceremony. Other songs and dances are openly shared.
The potlatch is the cultural, political, economic, and educational heart of the nation. A potlatch may be held to celebrate births, marriages, deaths, settle disputes, totem pole raising, giving cultural names, passing on names, songs, dances, or other responsibilities. Potlatches are large events that can last several days. They often include two important aspects: the host giving away gifts, and the recording, in oral history, of the events and arrangements included in the ceremony. The Canadian government used the Indian Act to ban the Potlatch from 1884-1951. The government took away cultural items used in the potlatch, such as drums, blankets, and masks. In spite of the ban, many communities continued to hold potlatches in secret.
The cedar tree is a well-known symbol of the Northwest Coast. There are two kinds of indigenous cedars on the coast: red and yellow cedar. Almost every part of the tree, including the roots and the bark, can be used for practical and cultural purposes.
Some practices are shared by Aboriginal cultures along the Northwest Coast, but each culture has its own specific traditions, uses, ceremony, and etiquette for using cedar. The people who collect the cedar are careful to make sure that they do not take too much and that the tree as a species will survive. Traditionally, before a tree is cut down, the woodcutters say a prayer to thank the tree’s spirit for providing a great benefit to the people who are about to use it.
The Inuit are a group of Indigenous peoples living in the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. Inuit have lived and thrived in the Arctic for thousands of years. Traditionally, they lived off the resources of the land by hunting whales, seals, caribou, fish, and birds. Many Inuit continue to harvest these resources today.Their way of life and culture changed when they made contact with European missionaries, whalers, and explorers, and later began participating in the fur trade. It changed again when the Government of Canada moved many Inuit communities away from their traditional “hunting and gathering” or transient way of life on the land and into permanent, centralized settlements between about 1950 to 1970. Historically the Inuit were referred to as “Eskimos”, but this term is neither accurate nor respectful, and should not be used.
Inuit are people indigenous to the Arctic. Historically they were known as Eskimos or Esquimaux. However, they prefer to be called Inuit. The word ‘Inuit’ (singular ‘Inuk’) means “the people” in the Inuktitut language. Most Inuit people live in communities along the Arctic coast.
Inuit live in 53 Inuit communities across the northern regions of Canada. Inuit do not live in igloos, unless they are sleeping over night on the land. Inuit live in 4 settlement areas in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Northern Quebec and Labrador. The capital of Inuvialuit is Inuvik; the capital of Nunavut is Iqaluit; the capital of Nunavik is Kuujjuaq; and the capital of Nunatsiavut is Nain.
According to the 2006 census, there are approximately 50,485 Inuit in Canada. In Nunavut, there are 24,635 Inuit; in the Nunavik region, 9,565; in the Inuvialuit region, 3,115; and in the Nunatsiavut region, there are 2,160 Inuit. There are approximately 8,395 Inuit living in urban centres in southern Canada. Approximately 155,000 Inuit live across the world in Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and Russia.
The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal people – First Nations, Métis and Inuit. These are three separate peoples with unique heritages, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. Inuit are not part of any First Nation or Métis groups.
Inuit have one language called Inuktitut. It is spoken in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Northern Quebec, and Nunatsiavut (Labrador). Each region has its own dialect.
There are two styles of writing Inuktitut: syllabics and Roman orthography. Syllabics use symbols to represent sounds rather than letters. Roman orthography uses the English alphabet to sound out the words in Inuktitut.
Inuit do not live on reserves but in communities; most communities are municipalities.
Yes, land claim agreements have been signed in all four Inuit regions:
Under their respective land claim agreements, Inuit were granted title to certain blocks of land. These four land claim regions cover about 40 percent of Canada’s land mass.
Yes, Inuit are tax-paying citizens of Canada.
The Innu are a First Nation in eastern Canada. They are not Inuit.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, many French and Scottish men migrated to Canada to work in the fur trade with the Hudson’s Bay Company or the Northwest Company, or as independent traders. Some had children with First Nations women and formed new communities. The French mixed families and their descendants were most often referred to as Métis (from the French word “to mix”). The Scottish mixed families and their descendants were referred to as “half-breeds”*.
Today the term “half-breed” is considered offensive and is no longer used.
The Métis are one of the recognized Aboriginal peoples in Canada. They trace their descent from mixed ancestry of First Nations and Europeans. They are a distinct Aboriginal group, with formal recognition equal to that of the Inuit and First Nations.
Many Canadians have mixed Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal ancestry, but that does not make them Métis or necessarily even Aboriginal.
In 2011, 451,795 people identified as Métis.They represented 32.3% of the total Aboriginal population and 1.4% of the total Canadian population.
Historically, Métis culture developed during the fur trade in south-eastern Rupert’s Land, primarily in the Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg) and the Southbranch Settlements (in Saskatchewan along the South Saskatchewan River). Most of the Southbranch Settlements were permanently settled after Manitoba became a province in 1870, and the Métis found it difficult to continue to live as they had before, as the railway brought many thousands of new settlers to the Red River Settlement. Nowadays, Métis people live throughout Canada and beyond.
There is no comprehensive legal definition of Métis “status” in Canada; this is in contrast to the Indian Act, which creates an Indian Register for all (Status) First Nations people and claims to define who is First Nations. Alberta is the only province to have defined the term in law. The Alberta Métis Settlements Act defines a Métis as “a person of aboriginal ancestry who identifies with Metis history and culture”.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Métis were historically provided with a choice as to whether to claim rights under treaty or as a Métis person. Many of these people were excluded when later amendments to the Indian Act excluded Métis. Some were unable to obtain the rights promised to them as Métis, and later decided to claim rights under treaty and registered under the Indian Act on the basis of their First Nations heritage. As a consequence, there are many family links between Métis and First Nations communities, particularly in the prairie provinces.
Traditional markers of (Prairie) Métis culture include use of creole Aboriginal-European languages such as Michif (French-Cree-Dene) and Bungi (Cree-Ojibwa-English); distinctive clothing, such as the arrow sash (ceinture flêchée); and a rich repertoire of fiddle music, jigs and square dances, as well as a traditional economy based on hunting, trapping, and gathering.
However, there is increasing diversity in recognition that not all Métis hunted, or wore the sash, or spoke an Aboriginal language.
In addition to English and/or French, Métis people have historically spoken languages, which contain a mix of words taken from Indigenous and non-Indigenous languages. Two examples are Michif and Bungi. Most of the Métis who were engaged in the fur trade spoke Cree because it was the trade language, and at least one other European language. They would often speak a mixed language like Michif or Bungi when they spoke with each other.
Let’s imagine a society, maybe Canada; we’ll call it ‘northern Turtle Island.
Imagine when people came off the airplane they were met by Indigenous people, not a customs person. When we look at traditional ways of entering up here on the coast, there was a whole protocol of ceremony and approach. What is your intent in coming? Are you coming for war? Are you coming for peace?If the newly arrived say, “I’m coming here for my family. My family is struggling, we need to help make money for them”, Indigenous people would welcome them. They’d help them get a job and help them get what they need. They would teach them about the real name of this continent, Turtle Island, and about the territory they’ve entered.”
Curtis Clearsky, Blackfoot & Anishnaabe First Nations, Our Roots: Stories from Grandview Woodland, Vancouver Dialogues 2012.
Turtle Island is the name the Lenape, Iroquois, Anishinaabe, and other Woodland Nations gave to North America. The name comes from the story about Sky Woman, who fell to Earth through a hole in the sky. The earth at this time was covered with water. The animals saw her predicament and tried to help her. Muskrat swam to the bottom of the ocean to collect dirt to create land. Turtle offered to carry this dirt on his back, and the collected dirt grew into the land we call North America. The term Turtle Island is now used today for North America by many Indigenous peoples, Aboriginal rights activists, and environmental activists.
Aboriginal: Section 35 (2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 defined Aboriginal peoples to include:
We will explain these terms as the course progresses. Indigenous is a term that we are hearing more and more in Canada. It is being used synonymously with Aboriginal, and in many cases, it is the preferred term. Both Indigenous and Aboriginal are collective nouns for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We will use these terms interchangeably in this course.
So how many people are we talking about? As of 2011, there were 1,400,685 Aboriginal people in Canada, which represented 4% of the total population.
Of these, 61% were First Nations, 32% were Métis and 4% Inuit. Urban Aboriginal peoples make up a significant part of First Nations and Métis populations. Next we will look at what these terms mean.
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As of 2006, 56% of Aboriginal people in Canada lived in cities. These people are often referred to as Urban Aboriginal, and there are now nearly 600,000 urban Aboriginal people in Canada. Metro Vancouver has the third largest urban Aboriginal population, with 40,310 people.
Many Aboriginal people move to cities seeking employment or educational opportunities. Some Aboriginal people have lived in cities for generations, while for others, the transition from rural areas or reserves to urban settings is still very new. Many Canadian cities occupy First Nations’ traditional territories and reserves. For example, Vancouver lies on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations; we will discuss these Nations later in this module.
Most urban Aboriginal people consider the city they live in to be their “home.” However, it is also important for many people to keep a close connection to the Indigenous community of their family’s origin. This could be the place where they were born, or where their parents or grandparents lived. Connection to these communities helps many people to retain their traditional and contemporary Aboriginal culture.
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According to the 2006 census, one third (34%) of Canadian Aboriginal people lived in the following five cities: Winnipeg, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. These numbers have grown for each city since the 2006 census.
In the same census (2006), Aboriginal people made up a considerable percentage of the population in several smaller urban centres in the West.
Vancouver’s urban Aboriginal people are an important and visible part of the city’s life. However, the majority believe they are viewed in negative ways. Despite this, according to the Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study:
Some of the many programs and services offered at the VAFCS include:
In addition to the Advisory Committee, the City of Vancouver also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Metro Vancouver Aboriginal Executive Committee (MVAEC), which represents over 24 urban Aboriginal organizations. This MOU will foster relationships with urban Aboriginal leaders and organizations in Vancouver and advance priorities such as:
You can read details of this initiative here.
As well as urban Aboriginal people, the City also serves a large and diverse population of First Nations people on whose territories we live and work. On June 25, 2014, Council passed a motion to formally acknowledge that the City of Vancouver is on the unceded traditional homelands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We will discuss each of these Nations shortly. The Mayor and Council have an ongoing relationship with the three local First Nations in a Council to Council structure, whereby they discuss government to government issues. On December 16, 2014, the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations performed a brushing-off ceremony for Council members, preparing them for the new council term ahead. The ceremony, held in Council chambers, was an historic event for City Council.
The relationship with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations is a cornerstone to the City’s goal of becoming a City of Reconciliation. Understanding the unique history, culture, and worldview of each Nation will help guide you in helping us to achieve this goal.
As described earlier, the City of Vancouver is on the traditional territories of three First Nations:
Each Nation has a special spiritual, cultural, and economic connection to this land that goes back thousands of years. Some of their traditional territories overlap, and they share these lands and resources. These three Nations are part of a larger cultural group called the Coast Salish, which includes other Nations with linguistic and cultural ties.
Coast Salish is the term used for the group of ethnically and linguistically-related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, living in BC and the northwestern United States. Coast Salish territory straddles the Canada-US border from the northern part of the Gulf of Georgia to Oregon and covers the lower half and eastern side of Vancouver Island, all the Lower Mainland and most of Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula. In 2010 the bodies of water previously known as the Strait of Georgia, Gulf of Georgia, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Puget Sound were officially renamed the Salish Sea in honour of the first peoples who lived on their shores.
Vancouver (and 95% of British Columbia) is on unceded traditional First Nations territory. But what do these terms mean? Unceded means that First Nations people never ceded or legally signed away their lands to the Crown or to Canada.
Traditional Territory is the geographic area identified by a First Nation as the area of land which they and/or their ancestors traditionally occupied and used.
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It is proper protocol to acknowledge the host nation, its people and its land, before the beginning of an event, meeting, or conference. To that end, the City invited representatives from the three local First Nations to develop appropriate protocols for the City of Vancouver to use in conducting City business that respects the traditions of welcoming, blessing, and acknowledgment of the territory. The City of Vancouver now begins council meetings in this way, as do many boards of governors, academics, and speakers at large events and conferences, to name a few.
You may hear someone begin an event by saying:
In the following section we will look at the local First Nations in more detail:
Norma Rose Point was a UBC alumnus and the Education Coordinator for the Musqueam Indian Band, foster mother
and a passionate advocate for Aboriginal children, families, and students. In 1960 she started the first on-reserve preschool in Canada, on the Musqueam reserve. She was awarded a Diamond Jubilee medal posthumously in 2012 for her contributions to Aboriginal education. She was involved Spirit Song Native Indian Theatre Company, a live theatre group which trained aspiring actors.
The Musqueam (pronounced Mus-kwee-um) have lived in what is now Metro Vancouver for over 4,000 years, and on the site of the present-day Musqueam reserve for more than 3,500 years. Musqueam means “People of the River Grass”. The origin story of their name has been passed down the generations: It teaches that, like the river grass, the Musqueam people have periods in which their population grows and shrinks. Today, the Musqueam have three reserves in Metro Vancouver. This is a very small portion of their traditional territory. The Musqueam Nation has an elected Chief and Council.
c̓əsnaʔəm is an ancient Musqueam village and burial site in Marpole. The village was inhabited from around 4,000 years ago until around 200 years ago. In the 1950s archaeologists demonstrated the links between contemporary Musqueam peoples and their ancestors who created c̓əsnaʔəm. In spite of being recognized as a National Historic Site, much of c̓əsnaʔəm was destroyed by the construction of the Fraser Arms Hotel in the 1950s. In 2011, a permit was issued for a 108-unit housing project on the site of c̓əsnaʔəm. The Musqueam and their supporters, concerned about the destruction of the ancient and sacred burial site, staged a series of protests and prevented the site’s destruction. Steps were then taken to restore the remains in accordance with Musqueam customs and beliefs.
The Musqueam Cultural Education Resource Centre and Gallery opened in July 2013. The gallery shares Musqueam culture from the Musqueam perspective, including historic cultural objects and contemporary arts. There are self-guided and guided educational tours open to the public.
Follow these links to find out more about the Musqueam Nation.
Website: Musqueam: A Living Culture – Our Story
Video: Musqueam Through Time Part 1 (12 mins) and Part 2 (6 mins)
“I’d like to see our five-year-olds being taught their language, their songs, their games, their spirituality, their Indian-ness. I’d like to ask all the people out there to reclaim their culture − practice it, teach the children, and let’s reclaim our backbone, our culture, and put some pride in
our children.”
Harriet Nahanee Pacheedaht was a Residential school survivor who worked against discrimination, marginalization, and institutionalization of Indigenous people, especially Indigenous women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
The Squamish Nation has occupied their territory since before recorded history. The Squamish Thunderbird represents a bird watching over the people. The wings are watching over the sea creatures, while the tail feathers represent the past, present, and future.
Today the Squamish Nation has 3,600 members spread over 23 villages, from Vancouver to Gibson’s Landing, and extending northwards to Howe Sound. Most of the Nation’s members live on urban reserves in Vancouver, North and West Vancouver, and the municipality of Squamish.
Currently, there is a resurgence in language and culture in the Squamish Nation and the language is being taught in local schools.
Long ago, a great Tyee (Chief) had two daughters. The sisters were kind, wise, and beautiful.Their father wanted to prepare a feast to mark their coming of age. Guests would come from near and far to bring and receive gifts. However, his people were at war with a northern people. Before the feast, the chief asked his daughters what gift they wanted. The sisters asked their father to invite the great northern tribe to their feast, a peaceful feast to honour women. The Tyee was surprised, but being an honourable man and a good father, he granted their request.
When the northern nations received their invitation to the Feast of Great Peace they emptied their war-canoes of deadly weapons and filled them with gifts of salmon, beads, baskets, and blankets. Their hostile war-songs were replaced by the sounds of dancing feet, the singing of women, and the laughter of children. The two peoples were no longer enemies and a lasting brotherhood existed between them.
The Creator saw this and smiled: “I will make these two sisters immortal”. He lifted the Tyee’s two daughters and set them forever in a high place, for they had borne two offspring – Peace and Brotherhood – each of which is now ruling this land.
Today, when you walk in Vancouver and look to the North Shore mountains, you will see the two sisters, wrapped in blankets of the sun, the snows, and the stars.
The Squamish Nation shares a Cultural Centre with the neighbouring Lil’wat Nation in Whistler. The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre shares their art, history and culture with the community and visitors.
Follow these links to find out more about the Squamish Nation.
“Like the thunderbird of old, I shall rise again out of the sea; I shall grab the instruments of the white man’s success-his education, his skills- and with these new tools I shall build my race into the proudest segment of your society.”
The Tsleil-Waututh (pronounced Slay-wah-tuth) have lived in the lands and waters surrounding the Burrard Inlet for thousands of years. Tsleil-Waututh means “People of the Inlet”. They are sometimes called the “Children of the Takaya” or “Children of the Wolf.” The story of the wolf teaches that the Creator made the wolf into the first Tsleil-Waututh and made the wolf responsible for their land. Tsleil-Waututh people have a saying that “When the tide went out, the table was set”, because this area had more than enough fish and game to sustain the Tsleil-Waututh, their neighbours, and allies. Now, Tsleil-Waututh people live on three reserves, and some live off-reserve.
After the big flood, the water receded from the land around Burrard Inlet. It left a gigantic two-headed serpent known as Scnoki stretched across Indian Arm from Belcarra to Brighton Beach. Each head at either end of its body had fastened itself to a rock and it straddled the inlet like a bridge. Any living thing that came near the serpent would immediately wither and die. People wanting to paddle through the inlet now had to portage their canoes around this area. Animals and birds avoided the area.
People longed for deliverance from this horrible beast but they feared they would be cursed if they angered Scnoki. During this time lived a brother and sister near Belcarra Park. The sister took her little brother to bathe him in the waters of the Inlet. One day while swimming the brother disappeared from his sister’s sight. She called for help and the men of her village launched their canoes to rescue him. They saw him swimming far below them in the deep water and they could not catch up with him. They saw him for a moment above the waves before he disappeared for good. They thought he was one more victim of Scnoki. His sister was devastated but she never gave up hope that her brother would return. Every night she waited for him to return.
Then one year later, the brother returned. He told his family that he had been all over the world and had seen wonderful things. He had returned to kill Scnoki and to free his people. The brother made eight strong spears. Then he called to the monster: “Leave these lands forever and take your curse with you”, throwing the spears. All eight spear pierced Scnoki. The beast finally relaxed his hold on the rocks, drew his massive body across the Inlet, climbed over the mountains, and sank into Buntzen Lake to disappeared forever.
Today you will see rocks on both sides of the Inlet that bear the marks where Scnoki’s awful heads were fastened. On the ground where Scnoki crawled into the lake, no blade of grass or no moss has grown to this day. And that is the story of Scnoki.
*This is an adaption from Annie ‘Tah’ George (Ce-qual-lia), wife of Chief George Sla-holt.
Every August, people of all walks of life are invited to join the Tsleil-Waututh Cultural Arts Festival held at Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park in North Vancouver. The festival celebrates Aboriginal culture, community, and the Nation’s inseparable link to its territory.
Type your exercises here.
Now that you have completed this section, complete the knowledge question again. If you are not using the online version of this guide. You can find the knowledge check and answers in Appendix 2.
Type your key takeaways here.
In this section we will look at the following important events that continue to define the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people:
In this section, we will discuss:
Before the arrival of Europeans, North America was occupied by Indigenous people living and thriving within their own distinct cultures, languages, and ways of knowing. Today, many Aboriginal people are very successful in business, law, medicine, arts, and sports. However, as a group, Aboriginal people are at the negative end of every socio-economic indicator. How did this happen? The short answer is Colonization. This Module will examine the role of colonization and how it continues to affect Aboriginal people in Canada today.
Colonization occurs when there is a migration of a new group of people into a territory, who then take over and begin to control the Indigenous group. The colonizers impose their own cultural values, religions, and laws, and make policies that are in their favour, and not in the favour of the Indigenous peoples. They seize land and control the access to resources and trade. As a result, the Indigenous people become dependent on the colonizers.
Today many Aboriginal people still struggle, but it is a testament to their strength that they are still here and are fighting to right the wrongs of the past.
Go forth, nor bend to greed of white men’s hands, By right, by birth, we Indians own these lands.
Emily Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake), (1861-1913). Mohawk/English Popular poet and performer, quote taken from A Cry From An Indian Wife.
The following section is meant to help you to start reflecting on colonialism and its impacts and test your knowledge of key concepts related to the chapter.
Before we begin this chapter reflect on the following?
If you are accessing this resource as a PDF or eBook, you can find the knowledge check in Appendix One.
Before the arrival of the colonizers, Indigenous people were organized into complex, self-governing nations throughout what is now called North America. In the early days, the relationship between the newcomers and Aboriginal people was mutually beneficial. Aboriginal people were able to help the newcomers adjust to the new land, and could share their knowledge and expertise. In return, the newcomers were able to offer useful materials and goods, such as horses, guns, metal knives and kettles that the Aboriginal people did not have. However, as time went on and more newcomers arrived, the relationship between the two peoples became much more challenging.
European map-makers drew unexplored landscapes as blank spaces. Instead of interpreting these blank spaces as areas yet to be mapped, they saw them as empty land waiting to be settled. When Europeans arrived in North America, they regarded it as terra nullius or ‘nobody’s land’. They simply ignored the fact that Aboriginal people had been living in these lands for thousands of years, with their own cultures and civilizations. For the newcomers, the land was theirs to colonize. So as time passed, the newcomers began to take over land that was part of the traditional territories of Aboriginal people who occupied this land long before the arrival of the newcomers.
The newcomers began to give their own names and descriptions to the land they had ‘discovered’. For example, Vancouver and Vancouver Island are named after Captain George Vancouver, who was born in England in 1757, and not after a Chief of the territory whose family had lived in the area for thousands of years. The newcomers did not consider that these places already had their own names used by the Indigenous people. They did not learn these names but invented their own instead. This was one way Europeans rewrote history and excluded the contributions and place of Aboriginal people.
Initially, the relationship was mutually beneficial for both newcomers and Aboriginal peoples. But this relationship did not last because each had competing priorities based on fundamentally different values that were reflected in their views on:
The newcomers used their numbers, laws, policies, and powers to gain control of Aboriginal people by making them dependent on the newcomers.
The British and French were fighting for control of North America, which they viewed as a rich source of raw materials. In their worldview, the natural environment was seen as a resource that could be exploited for individual gain. Individuals and companies could become very wealthy by controlling the resources of this ‘New World’. The society and worldview of the colonizers were competitive, individualistic and male-dominated.
In contrast, Aboriginal people valued the group or the collective more than the individual. Each person had their role, and each contributed to the success of the group. Extended families were large and included aunts, uncles, cousins etc.
Another contrast was in the role of women in society. Aboriginal people viewed women as being equal to men. Women were supported, honoured and respected for their role as the givers of life. In the Aboriginal worldview, everything had a spirit and deserved to be respected. The natural world was not simply a resource to control or conquer.
Europeans thought that they were superior to non-Europeans, and some did not consider Aboriginal people to be ‘people’ at all. They did not consider Aboriginal laws, governments, medicines, cultures, beliefs, or relationships to be legitimate. They believed that they had the right and moral obligation to make decisions affecting everybody, without consultation with Aboriginal people. These beliefs and prejudices were used to justify the acts and laws that came into being as part of the process of colonization.
When the Europeans arrived, they brought smallpox, and other diseases that were previously unknown in North America. The Indigenous population had no immunity because, unlike the Europeans, they did not have centuries of exposure to these diseases. It has been estimated that as many as 90–95% of the Aboriginal population died from diseases introduced by the newcomers.
These deadly epidemics happened before either Europeans or Indigenous people properly understood the causes of disease. Christian missionaries told Aboriginal people that one of the reasons for their sickness was the fact that they did not believe in the Christian god, and did not attend church. Aboriginal people saw that the newcomers were not as badly affected by disease, and many were persuaded to abandon their traditional beliefs and convert to Christianity.
In the rest of this module, we will look at the ways in which the Europeans colonized the country. We will consider four tools of colonization. If you are using the online version of this resource, you can go directly to session by clicking on one of the links below.
One of the tools of colonization was treaty-making, which the newcomers viewed as a process which transferred title and control of Aboriginal land to non-Aboriginal people and governments. In signing treaties with First Nations, the British government, then the Canadian government (after 1867) viewed the Treaties as the completion of the transfer of title to the “Crown”. First Nations viewed themselves as equal partners (a Nation) when signing the treaties and that they would still have access to their way of life and their traditional territories. The Crown recognized First Nations as governments: First Nations negotiated with European and Canadian governments as equal partners in the process.
In theory, both parties to a treaty should gain something by signing, and each party also has obligations to the other. However, this was not the case for Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people entered into these treaties in good faith. They saw them as an alternative to conflict, and a way to forge a better relationship. Besides, no one can really “own the land” and so they assumed the land would still be available for their use.
The actual negotiations of the treaties were fraught with trickery, as many First Nations were not fully informed of the real content and meaning of the treaties. They were written in English, which they could often not read, and oral translations were not always accurate. Leaders often had no real way of verifying what they were signing and assumed that the oral agreement surrounding the paper treaty was just as important.
There were many types of treaties that were signed with different goals in mind. The types of treaties are:
Prior to 1960, the treaties signed in Canada covered all of the country except for most of Yukon, British Columbia, and Nunavut.
Historic Treaties are those treaties signed between First Nations and the British and Canadian governments between 1701 and 1923. The British and Canadian Governments wanted to sign treaties with First Nations in order to reduce the possibility of conflict and to support European immigration and land settlement, agriculture, natural resource use, trade, and other economic developments.
The Peace and Friendship Treaties, signed in pre-Confederation Canada in the Maritimes, were intended to end hostilities and encourage cooperation between the British and Mi’kmaq and Maliseet First Nations. Unlike later treaties signed in other parts of Canada, the Peace and Friendship Treaties did not involve First Nations surrendering rights to the lands and the resources they had traditionally used and occupied. In modern times, the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that Mi’kmaq and Maliseet First Nations continue to enjoy their treaty rights to hunt, fish, and gather.
James Douglas was the Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) in 1849 when its western headquarters was moved from Vancouver, Washington to Victoria in the new British colony of Vancouver Island. Douglas became Governor of the colony and began encouraging British settlement on First Nations lands. Over a period of four years, he made a series of fourteen land purchases, known today as the Douglas Treaties. These treaties applied to territories on Vancouver Island and covered small tracts of land around Victoria, Nanaimo, and Port Hardy.
Eleven Numbered Treaties were signed between the First Nations peoples in Canada and the reigning monarch of Canada (Victoria, Edward VII or George V) between 1871 and 1921.The treaties provided the government with large tracts of land in exchange for promises made to the Aboriginal people of the area. The specific terms differed with each Treaty.
The First Nations leadership and the Canadian government had different goals:
Many modern treaties are being negotiated today. As of May 2017, 65 First Nations in British Columbia were participating in the treaty process. Six First Nations have completed a treaty. These negotiations are “tri-partite”, meaning that three levels of government are involved: the First Nation, the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia. The Government of Canada officially calls modern treaties Comprehensive Land Claims. The first modern treaty in British Columbia was completed in 1999 with the Nisga’a First Nation, although this treaty was negotiated outside of the BC Treaty Process.
There are many barriers to First Nations achieving a treaty today. Some First Nations have been working for decades to get treaties for their people. The process is very slow and expensive. Also, for many years the Government of Canada tried to stop First Nations from organizing a treaty process. From 1927-1951, the Indian Act made it illegal to meet or fundraise for Aboriginal rights and lands claims issues.
For these and other reasons, some First Nations in British Columbia do not agree with the treaty process. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs has described why these agreements are not fair or equal:
We are not your slaves.These lakes, these woods and mountains were left to us by
our ancestors. They are our inheritance; and we will part with them to none.”Pontiac or Obwandiyag (c1720-1769) Odawa chief, French ally, and resistor to British occupation.
Another tool of colonization which the newcomers used to exert their power was through making laws and passing Acts of Parliament. Before Canada came into existence in 1867, many laws and acts were made and passed in the British Parliament or by the colonial governments in North America. In either case, laws were made without consultation with the Aboriginal people whom they affected. After 1867, the federal and provincial governments of Canada passed acts and laws that were designed to encourage settlement on Aboriginal land, and to assimilate Aboriginal people – encouraging them or coercing them to abandon their culture, languages, and lifeways, and to adopt the culture of the colonizers.
An important early legal document was the Royal Proclamation, issued by George III in 1763. It formally ceded North America to Britain from France. According to the Proclamation, British colonists were forbidden to settle on Aboriginal lands, and colonial officials were forbidden to grant lands without Royal approval. It further stated that Aboriginal lands could only be ceded to the Crown and they could not be sold to the newcomers. The Royal Proclamation is significant in law and it is referenced by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The colonial parliament of the Province of Canada passed the Gradual Civilization Act in 1857. This Act was created with the purpose of terminating First Nations men’s Indian identity, enfranchising them to become British subjects. Enfranchisement was originally voluntary: The colonial rulers assumed that First Nations men would willingly surrender their legal and ancestral identities for the “privilege” of becoming British. Individuals or entire bands could enfranchise. If a family man enfranchised, his wife and children were automatically enfranchised. This contributed to the marginalization of First Nations women.
Enfranchised men were entitled to “a piece of land not exceeding fifty acres out of the lands reserved or set apart for the use of his tribe.” This land and money would become their property, but by accepting it they would give up “all claim to any further share in the lands or moneys then belonging to or reserved for the use of their tribe, and cease to have a voice in the proceedings thereof.” Enfranchisement was to remain an important aim of the government after Canada came into existence in 1867. Enfranchisement could occur involuntarily if a First Nations man wanted to go to university, enlist, was ‘of good moral character’, or spoke English.
During the same period, the Province of Canada introduced other laws that treated First Nations people differently, including:
The most important single Act affecting Aboriginal people is the Indian Act, passed by the Federal Government of the new Dominion of Canada in 1876, and still in existence today.The Indian Act was another attempt to assimilate First Nations people into European society as quickly as possible. Under section 91(24) of the British North America Act (1867), the Federal government was given jurisdiction or control over “Indians and Lands reserved for Indians”, giving it exclusive authority over Indian affairs. You can read the complete Indian Act online.
In the Indian Act, the Government of Canada defined who is an ‘Indian.’ If the Government defines you as an ‘Indian’, you are said to have Status. For this reason, ‘Indian’ is a legal word, but not one that many Aboriginal people are comfortable using to describe themselves. Not all people who identify as First Nations have legal Indian status under the Indian Act. Over time there have been many different laws deciding who is and who is not eligible for legal Indian status. Defining who is and who is not an ‘Indian” is challenging and complicated. ‘Indians’ are the only group of people where the Government of Canada decides who belongs and who does not.
Historically the Indian Act applied only to Aboriginal people that the Crown recognized as “Indians”. It excluded Métis and Inuit, and created a group of people who were not entitled to Indian status, referred to as ‘non-status Indians’. “Status” determines who the government considers to be entitled to rights that apply to some, but not all Aboriginal people in Canada, including:
the granting of reserves and of rights associated with them;
The Indian Act made enfranchisement legally compulsory. Under the Indian Act from 1876 until 1955, Status Indians would lose their legal and ancestral identities (or Indian status) for the following reasons:
As we have seen, enfranchisement was offered to men (although if they were married, their wives and children would be considered enfranchised too). Until as recently as 1982, the legal status of First Nations women was decided by who they married. Women and their children lost their Indian status when they married a non-status man. Women and their children lost their Indian status when they married Métis or non-Aboriginal men. Under the Indian Act, First Nations women were also banned from voting and running in Chief and Council elections. The oppression of First Nations women under the Indian Act has had long-term effects of poverty and marginalization that these women are still trying to overcome today. Inuit and Métis women were also oppressed and discriminated against.
Women lost their status if their husbands died or abandoned them. In these situations, a woman:
Over the years, the Indian Act has legislated extreme changes in the lives of Aboriginal peoples. Navigate the timeline below to view some of these impacts.
If you are using the PDF version of this resources, you can find this timeline in Appendix 2
The problem is we, as Aboriginal people, have not been dealt with fairly, and also the governments have not dealt with the Aboriginal issues the way we would like them to have.”
Elijah Harper, Oji-Cree (1949 –2013) Canadian politician, first Treaty Indian elected as a provincial politician, Chief of the Red Sucker Lake community.Recipient of the Order of Manitoba and the Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Award, and a key player in the rejection of the Meech Lake Accord.
In 1951 amendments were made to the Indian Act. It was no longer illegal for First Nations people to:
But many of the more harmful provisions still remained, including:
(As of 2017 all of these provisions still remain, except residential schools).
In 1985, Bill C-31 was passed to amend the Indian Act to bring it into line with gender equality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
There were three major goals:
The Indian Act is still in force, which is a major reason why the use of the offensive term ‘Indian’ persists today.
Note: The Indian Act uses the terms ‘Indian’ and ‘White’ as these were the terms used at the time. These are not terms that you should use in your conversations.
We the Original Peoples of this land know the Creator put us here. The Creator gave us laws that govern all our relationships to live in harmony with nature and mankind.
The Laws of the Creator defined our rights and responsibilities. The Creator gave us our spiritual beliefs, our languages, our culture, and a place on Mother Earth which provided us with all our needs.
We have maintained our Freedom, our Languages, and our Traditions from time immemorial. We continue to exercise the rights and fulfill the responsibilities and obligations given to us by the Creator for the land upon which we were placed.
The Creator has given us the right to govern ourselves and the right to self-determination. The rights and responsibilities given to us by the creator cannot be altered or taken away by any other Nation.
A Declaration of First Nations from the Assembly of First Nations
Before Europeans arrived, First Nations and Inuit peoples had the use of all the land and water in what is now Canada. Their traditional territories were (and are)very large. With the arrival and settlement of Europeans, First Nations people and Europeans came into conflict over who would control these lands and resources.
Under the Indian Act, the Canadian Government defined a reserve as land that has been set aside (not apart) by the government for the use and benefit of an Indian band. Reserve land is still classified as federal land, and First Nations do not have title to reserve land.Reserves were often created on less valuable land and sometimes located outside the traditional territory of the particular First Nation. If the First Nation had lived traditionally by hunting and gathering in a particularly rich area, confinement to a small, uninhabitable place was a very difficult transition. The size of reserves were always small compared to the First Nations’ traditional territory.
In the early 20th century, there was a rapid increase in poverty on reserves. Canadian laws made it illegal for First Nations people to use traditional means of resource distribution and limited their ability to fish and hunt. An amendment to the Indian Act in 1927 also made it illegal for them to challenge their situation in court. Many First Nations people living on reserves found that they could not sustain themselves or their families. However, leaving the reserve meant facing discrimination and assimilation in the cities and giving up their rights as Status Indians.
It is important to know that:
Many First Nations continue to live on small reserves, which the government still controls. This is a source of much of the conflict between Aboriginal people and the government, at both provincial and federal levels. Today, Aboriginal people still live with the problems created by the reserve system.
Despite the hardship caused by the reserve system, reserves are also a place of cultural survival where Aboriginal languages are spoken and taught in schools, and cultural practices are thriving.
For roughly seven generations nearly every Indigenous child in Canada was sent to a residential school. They were taken from their families, tribes and communities, and forced to live in those institutions of assimilation. The results while unintended have been devastating. We witness it first in the loss of Indigenous languages and traditional beliefs. We see it more tragically in the loss of parenting skills, and, ironically, in unacceptably poor education results. We see the despair that results in runaway rates of suicide, family violence, substance abuse, high rates of incarceration, street gang influence, child welfare apprehensions, homelessness, poverty, and family breakdowns. Yet while the government achieved such unintended devastation, it failed in its intended result. Indians never assimilated.”
Honourable Justice Murray Sinclair (Mizanay Gheezhik) Ojibway. First Aboriginal Judge in Manitoba, Superior Court Judge, Adjunct professor, and the chair of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission United Nations Speech 2010
One of the most infamous results of the Indian Act was the promotion of residential schools. Duncan Campbell Scott, Head of Indian Affairs from 1913 until 1932, famously said in 1920 that “The goal of the Indian Residential School is to ‘kill the Indian in the child.’ ”Sadly, in many cases, this goal was accomplished. Children were not allowed to speak their language and had to give up their cultural practices, beliefs, and any connection to their Aboriginal way of life. Today, Aboriginal people are living with the legacy of residential schools in the form of post-traumatic stress and intergenerational trauma.
The legacy of the residential school system is still with us today, and it is important that all people understand its history and legacy.” By understanding the true history of Canada and its relationship with Aboriginal people then reconciliation can begin. We can create a Canada that is inclusive of Indigenous people and where Indigenous peoples are self-determining in a nation-to-nation relationship.
There were 140 schools, funded by the federal government and run by churches. More than 150,000 Indigenous children attended. The government wanted to assimilate Aboriginal people into Euro-Canadian society. They would have to give up their languages, spiritual beliefs, and cultural practices. Aboriginal children were removed from their parents, family and all cultural influence and traditions. Since the intent of the government and church was to erase Aboriginal culture in the children, “kill the Indian in the child” and stop the transmission of culture from one generation to another, many people think that the Indian Residential Schools were a form of cultural genocide.
The first government-funded Indian Residential Schools were opened in the 1870s. Aboriginal children lived at residential schools for months or years at a time rather than going home every day after class. Many of these children did not see their families for very long periods of time. The last federally funded Indian Residential school closed in 1996 in Saskatchewan. In British Columbia, the first Indian Residential School was started in Mission in 1861. It was run by the Catholic Church. This residential school was the last to close in the province, shutting down in 1984.
Indian Day schools and residential schools were made mandatory in 1884 for Aboriginal children between the ages of 7-15 to attend Indian Residential School. Parents could no longer choose whether or not to send their children and could be fined or even sent to prison if they tried to keep their children at home. The majority of students experienced neglect and abuse at the schools. They suffered the disconnection from their families, communities, languages, and cultures. Many were physically, mentally and sexually abused. Some committed suicide. Some died trying to escape. Aboriginal children are the only ones in Canadian history to be taken from their families and required by law to live in institutions because of their race and culture.
Children were forbidden to speak their language, practice their cultural traditions, or spend time with children of the opposite sex, including their brothers and sisters. On arrival, the staff took away the children’s clothes and cultural belongings. Their hair was cut and they were required to wear uniforms of Euro-Canadian clothing. Children did not get enough food and lived in buildings that were hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Overcrowding and poor diet meant that diseases spread rapidly, and many students died in the schools. The government paid the church a certain amount of money for each student. The more students there were at the school, the more money the church would receive.
Children usually attended school in the morning and worked in the afternoon as farm labourers or cleaners. They often received only a Grade 5 education. They were required to practice Christianity. It was expected that they would be low-paid workers in Euro-Canadian society. But the worst legacy of the schools was the physical, psychological and sexual abuse that some children experienced. For most Indigenous people, their memories of Residential School is negative and life-altering. They remember feeling lonely, hungry and scared. They remember being told that Aboriginal culture is strange and inferior, that Aboriginal beliefs and practices are wrong, and that they will never be successful.
Canada’s system of Indian Residential Schools had and continues to have, serious consequences for Aboriginal people. It is important to understand this history so we do not repeat it and that we work towards righting the wrongs of the past and move forward in a spirit of a nation-to-nation relationship We recognize that this will not an easy process but by building a relationship based on respect, transparency, and accountability that is guided by our cultures and
traditions.
Many of the people who attended Indian Residential Schools left with very little education and a belief that it is shameful to be an ‘Indian’. Many were unable to speak their language, so they could not communicate with their
family members and particularly their grandparents, who in many communities would have been important sources of knowledge for them. Many also found it hard to fit into Euro-Canadian society. They had a low level of education and faced racism and discrimination when they tried to find work. Unable to fit into community life and not accepted in mainstream society, some did not feel that they belonged anywhere.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a serious problem that develops after a terrifying experience. People with PTSD experience terror, nightmares, and flashbacks.
Survivor syndrome is experienced by people who have survived a threatening situation that others did not, and feel guilty that they survived.
Intergenerational trauma is where the effects of traumatic experiences are passed to the next generation. For example, the children & grandchildren of Residential School students may live with the effects of the schools on their relatives. Many survivors have difficulty talking about their experiences, and so many children have grown up feeling something was wrong, but not having a way to understand it. There has been a deep silence about this part of their family’s lives.
Traditionally, Aboriginal histories, traditions, beliefs, and values were passed on from one generation to the next through experiential learning and oral storytelling. With the children away at school, there was no one left to receive this knowledge. Many aboriginal languages that were spoken in Canada are now gone. Many cultural and spiritual practices have been lost. The loss of culture is a loss for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada. Families suffered from the separation for many years. Because they were removed from their families, many students grew up without the knowledge and skills to raise their own families. It prevented children from learning from their Elders and growing into a role in their community.
In the 1990s, more Aboriginal people turned to the legal system in their search for justice. Groups of Residential School survivors sued the Canadian government and the churches that ran the schools. One of the largest class action suits in Canadian history was settled in 2007. It resulted in the establishment of the Residential Schools Settlement and payment of $1.9 billion. This settlement made several promises. It gave more funds to the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (now closed) for healing programs in communities, and offered payments to survivors as reparation. Reparation payments are compensation for past wrongs endured by the victims.
On June 11th 2008 the Government of Canada issued a formal apology. You can view a video of the apology online. This is a part of the apology:
The treatment of children in Indian Residential Schools is a sad chapter in our history… Two primary objectives of the Residential Schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions, and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption Aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, “to kill the Indian in the child.” Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country…. To the approximately 80,000 living former students, and all family members and communities, the Government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant cultures and traditions that it created a void in many lives and communities, and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that, in separating children from their families, we undermined the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds for generations to follow, and we apologize for having done this. We now recognize that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to protect you. Not only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience, and for this we are sorry…
Many Aboriginal families and communities have organized formally and informally to heal Indian Residential School legacies and many survivors are now Elders. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) grew out of a committee of survivors in 1994. It has centres in BC cities, including Vancouver. Its many projects include crisis counseling, court support, workshops, conferences, information and referrals, and media announcements. The society researches the history and effects of Indian Residential Schools. The IRSSS also advocates for justice and healing in traditional and non-Aboriginal ways.
We must be honest about the real two solitudes in this country, that between Indigenous and non-Indigenous citizens, and commit to doing tangible things to close the divide in awareness, understanding and relationships…We can no longer afford to be strangers to each other in this country that we now share. We could actually come to know each other not just as labels or hyphenated Canadians but rather as neighbors and as friends, as people that we care about.
Dr. Marie Wilson. Award-winning print, radio and television journalist, university lecturer. Commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Like other policies under the Indian Act, the negative effects of residential schools were passed from generation to generation. Aboriginal people have been working hard to overcome the legacy of residential schools and to change the realities for themselves, their families and Nations. The federal government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with the legacy of residential schools. Its mandate was to accumulate, document, and commemorate the experiences of the 80,000 survivors of the residential school system in Canada, so that the survivors could begin to heal from the trauma of these experiences.
The TRC had two goals.
The TRC pursued truth by gathering people’s stories and statements, researching government records, and providing public education. The TRC saw reconciliation as an ongoing individual and collective process.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was built upon the “Statement of Reconciliation” begun on January 7, 1998 and completed December 18, 2015. However, the journey of Truth and Reconciliation is far from over. The TRC produced several reports from the histories and stories of Residential School Survivors. One of the most significant reports is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action. It proposes 94 specific calls to action aimed at redressing the legacy of residential schools and advancing the process of Canadian reconciliation. You can read more at the Reconciliation Canada website.
The work of the TRC was not just about documenting a particularly difficult part of Aboriginal history in Canada. It was rooted in the belief that telling the truth about our common history gives us a much better starting point in building a better future. By ending the silences under which Aboriginal people have suffered for many decades, the TRC opened the possibility that we may all come to see each other and our different histories more clearly and be able to work together in a better way to resolve issues that have long divided us. It is the beginning of a new kind of hope.
If you have time, this 45-minute documentary is very informative.It may be painful to watch, but it is an accurate portrayal of Residential Schools, some of which closed their doors only in the mid-1990s.
https://youtu.be/xf8vBEBQ-PE
Silent Thunder Your Reflections.
Now that you have completed the chapter let’s look back at the questions you considered at the beginning of the unit and reconsider them. Has your thinking changed? What were your key takeaways from this chapter? What do you want to learn more about?
Now that you have read the chapter reflect on the following?
If you are accessing this resource as a PDF or eBook, you can find the knowledge check in Appendix Two.
Below are some key takeaways from this section of the resources. To complete the module, you may want to watch this 20-minute video, Canadian Aboriginal History Did you Know from APTN.
To reflect on your understanding of this chapter, continue to the next page and complete the reflection and knowledge check questions.
You have reached the end of the colonial section of this resource.
Each day that Indigenous rights are not honoured or fulfilled, inequality between Indigenous peoples and the settler society grows.
Idle No More
Decolonization is the “undoing” of colonization and a process by which Indigenous people are regaining their rightful place in Canada and are thriving.
In Canada, we are still dealing with the legacy of colonialism. Media, institutions, and ordinary people still perpetuate harmful stereotypes and beliefs about Indigenous peoples. This creates a society that continues to discriminate against Aboriginal people.
In this section we will address some of the challenges that exist because of centuries of institutionalized racism.
Have you ever experienced being stereotyped or discrimination?
Complete the knowledge check below as a way to assess your understanding of decolonization and reconciliation. Once you have completed one question click on the arrow to see the next one. As you go through the remainder of this section of the guide think about these questions. Will we be checking back in with you at the end of the content? If you are using are using the PDF version you can find the questions in Appendix 3.
Read the following statements about aboriginal people, Write down or reflect on whether each of these statements is a myth or a fact. On the next page, you will find out which ones are myth or fact along with an explanation.
Sorry, it’s a myth! European and Asian writing systems are one way of transmitting information in visual symbols, but there are others. Aboriginal people have used symbols and a variety of markings to communicate and tell a story. Totem poles are a great example of the use of visual language.
Sorry, it’s a myth! All Aboriginal people are required to pay taxes like all other Canadians. These taxes include all income, federal, provincial and municipal taxes, and taxes for goods or services bought off reserve. The only exceptions are for those recognized by the federal government as ‘Status Indians’. They do not have to pay:
income tax if they earn 60% of their income on a reserve
provincial or federal sales tax if they purchase goods or services on reserve or have them delivered to the reserve
Sorry, it’s a myth! Aboriginal people are still dealing with the effects of colonization. For example, the Indian Act still controls many aspects of their lives and places limits on Aboriginal people. The legacy of residential schools is still affecting today’s Aboriginal population – even for those who did not attend the schools. Most Aboriginal communities were almost eliminated by disease after the newcomers arrived. This has had long-term impact on their way of life, the strength of their culture and traditions and their identity, which are still being felt today.
Aboriginal people across Canada are very diverse. They are composed of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people. They speak over 50 different languages. They have a wide range of cultural practices and traditions.
Indigenous peoples had very complex cultures and systems of governance, commerce, trade, and agriculture. They thrived for thousands of years before contact and many of those cultural traditions and governance systems are still thriving today. Europeans would not recognize or validate these strong systems and approaches. Europeans needed and benefited from the myth that Indigenous were primitive people.
Sorry, it’s a myth! Some Aboriginal people are eligible for some money for post-secondary education if they have a Status Card and if their First Nations have enough money to fund all or part of their post-secondary degree. Many receive no help at all from their communities or the government. As for a free house, each Nation negotiates with the Government to access funding to build homes in First Nations communities. They are not free; it is more of a loan to the Aboriginal person. Their First Nation community will secure the mortgage for their house, and the tenant will subsequently make payments to their First Nation to repay the mortgage. If someone gets help with their housing, this is because they have a special low-income status. The house is not in their name and they cannot sell it and make a profit the way many others do.
Sorry, it’s a myth! As a population, Aboriginal people are more likely to face addictions and are over-represented in the criminal justice system, but this is not because they are more criminally inclined or that their bodies are more susceptible to addictions (though this was thought to be the case by scientists and many people for decades).
The reasons for the above are multiple and due to a combination of influences including: breakdown in the family structure, colonization, lack of recognition of their cultures, traditions and languages, poverty, government policies, racism, discrimination, stereotyping, isolation, residential schools, cycles of dysfunction, and intergenerational trauma.
In large cities, there are more police officers in poor neighbourhoods. If Aboriginal people are poorer than most Canadians (and statistically, they are) then they are more likely to come in contact with police officers or the criminal justice system. In addition, once in the criminal system, Aboriginal people face further discrimination as a result of lack of understanding and cultural differences leading to institutional bias and racism. They are therefore are more likely to be convicted and given longer sentences.
Aboriginal youth were not affected by residential schools or colonization.
Sorry, it’s a myth! Colonization has had a lasting effect on Aboriginal communities including breakdown of the family structure, poverty, depression, addictions, intergenerational trauma, and post-traumatic stress disorder. There are many social and economic barriers First Nations youth must overcome in order to break this harmful cycle. Many Aboriginal people continue to experience racism – sometimes direct and intentional and sometimes in the form of uninformed opinions, misunderstandings, and prejudice. This impacts their ability to live healthy and productive lives.
Aboriginal people don’t want to get along with the government and be a part of Canada.
Sorry, it’s a myth! Aboriginal people are already part of Canada and want the Government to recognize their autonomy and rights as distinct peoples, which is stated in Canada’s Constitution. Aboriginal people have been treated unfairly in Canada. They owned all the land and had strong, thriving cultures. Their land was unlawfully taken from them. The government still makes decisions on behalf of Aboriginal people without consulting them. There are many strong reasons for their anger and frustrations.
Although the situation is improving, far too many Canadians do not know the real history of Aboriginal people, their histories, cultures, or the current issues they face.
There are many reasons why:
In order to ensure there is understanding, respect, and appreciation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, both should meet, work together, and learn about each other. Otherwise, non-Aboriginal people may learn about Aboriginal people from the news and other sources. Usually what people know, or think they know, comes from the images and characters they see or read about in movies, TV shows, magazines, books, and news reports.
Stereotypes can do great harm. Whether you are Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal, you will often hear negative stereotypes about Aboriginal people, but you might not always have enough information to see past the stereotypes to see past the racism to find the truth.
The Hollywood film industry has made millions from telling stories about “cowboys and Indians.” In TV shows and movies, Aboriginal characters are often played by non-Aboriginal people and the representations of Aboriginal people are rarely accurate. Instead, filmmakers use stereotypes of Aboriginal people.
The Canadian school system has also contributed to these stereotypes, as very little is taught about Aboriginal people and their real history. This is changing. For example, the Province of BC has mandated the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and history across the K-12 curriculum.
Aboriginal stories and histories in the mainstream media have normally been told from a non-Aboriginal view. This can lead to misunderstandings that can harm the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.
Negative stereotypes of Aboriginal people are still widespread in sports, though there is a growing movement to replace team names and mascots that perpetuate the stereotypes.
Aboriginal people work in the media, in newspapers, radio, book publishing, film, web journalism, and television. The Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) is a cable television network in Canada that produces and broadcasts programs by and for Aboriginal people. These films and TV shows can help break down some of the negative stereotypes.
For non-Aboriginal Canadians, the visible and positive presence of Aboriginal people in the media is a real alternative to stereotypes. Real people, places, and cultures are much more complex than stereotypes.
Getting to know Aboriginal people and learning the real history and contemporary reality will help to break down negative stereotypes and can heal some of the damage they cause. Many people are now working to ensure that future generations of children in Canada will receive more complete and accurate views of Aboriginal people and a more truthful account of Canadian history in their education.
The term “micro-aggressions” is sometimes used to describe the insults, dismissals, or casual degradations a dominant culture inflicts on a marginalized group of people. Often they are a form of unintended discrimination, but one that has the same effect as willful discrimination. Usually, the perpetrator intends no offense and is unaware they are causing harm. Generally, the perpetrator is well-meaning and considers themselves to be unprejudiced.
Many Aboriginal people experience micro-aggressions on a regular basis. Some of these Micro-Aggressions are statements that:
People who experience micro-aggressions may feel anger, frustration, or exhaustion from feeling that they must “represent” their group or to suppress their own cultural expression and
Cultural appropriation is the adoption or use of culturally significant items by someone from another culture. Usually, during this process, the original meaning is lost or distorted.
Pop culture has a history of using Aboriginal symbols to sell fashion. Traditional Aboriginal clothing with deep spiritual significance is marketed as “cute”, “sexy”, or “cool.”
Cultural appropriation is very offensive when someone from a dominant culture exploits the cultural and intellectual property of a marginalized group of people, more so when the dominant culture has outlawed many of the cultural items that are now
being marketed.
A man cannot be educated unless he lives and works in a community which is culturally and socially vibrant. He needs his traditional way of life as a backdrop and as a basis upon
which to grow.– Billy Diamond The Cree Experience
As we have seen, in the past the Government of Canada has unilaterally enacted laws and policies that have adversely affected Aboriginal people. This continues to happen. However, Aboriginal people have been pursuing recognition of their “rights and title” and self-government. Some have done this through treaties, the courts and or negotiations. Increasingly, Aboriginal people are taking back control over the decisions that affect them.
Though they have had serious consequences, the laws and policies stemming from the Indian Act did not succeed in destroying all Aboriginal traditions. Aboriginal people have always fought against the Indian Act and for their rights.
Indigenous people have continued to practice their culture underground and found new ways to avoid persecution. They have organized against residential schools and won court victories and an official apology from the Government of Canada.
Aboriginal people have continued to raise their children to be proud of their cultures and identities and to resist assimilation in their everyday lives.
Idle No More
A well-known recent response to colonization was the Idle No More movement. The movement began in November 2012 when four Saskatchewan women, Jessica Gordon (Cree), Sylvia McAdam (Cree), Nina Wilson (Nakota/Plains Cree), and Sheelah McLean (Canadian) responded to the Governments omnibus Bill C-45, which challenged First Nations sovereignty and weakened environmental protections throughout Canada. Using Facebook and Twitter, #IdleNoMore was created to promote a series of ‘teach-ins’ on the impacts of Bill C-45.
The Idle No More movement inspired more than 100 protests, flash mobs, and round dances in shopping malls and in the streets. Support for Idle No More spread outside of Canada, with solidarity protests in the US, Sweden, UK, Germany, New Zealand, and Egypt.
“We know there are no boats waiting in the harbour to take all of the non-Natives back someplace. We know people are not going to get on planes and say, ‘Oh well, we didn’t get this country so we will go somewhere else.’ The non-Natives are all going to be here after negotiations. And so are we. What I want to leave behind is the injustice. I wish that we could start again.”
A common misunderstanding is that decolonization is an attempt to re-establish the conditions of a pre-colonial North America, and would require a mass departure of all non-Indigenous peoples from the continent. That is not the goal. As Canadians, we all can take part in building a genuine decolonization movement. This movement would respect the land on which we are all living and the people to whom it inherently belongs.
Decolonization would mark a fundamental change in the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.
It would be to bring an end to the colonial effects on Aboriginal peoples with respect to their:
Decolonization requires an understanding of Aboriginal history and accepting and acknowledging the truth and consequences of that history. The process of decolonization must include non-Aboriginal people and Aboriginal people working towards a future that includes all.
Canadian citizens must acknowledge that the Canada we know today was built on the legacy of colonization and the displacement of Aboriginal people. Decolonization must continue until Aboriginal people are no longer at the negative end of socio-economic indicators or over-represented in areas such as the criminal justice or child welfare system.
For Aboriginal People, decolonization begins with learning about who they are, recovering their culture and self-determination.
Many Aboriginal people may have difficulty understanding different aspects of, or perspectives on, Indigenous knowledge. This process can be difficult for all of the reasons we have already discussed and it will take time. It must occur on many levels: as an individual, a member of a family, a community, and a Nation. It requires perseverance, support, and knowledge of culture.
The process of decolonization is a process of healing and moving away from a place of anger, loss, and grief towards a place where they can thrive. This can be overwhelming and seemingly impossible for some. It must be acknowledged that not all Aboriginal people are in the same place on this ‘decolonization journey’ but together we can all succeed.
Continuous reinforcement and rediscovery of Indigenous language, cultural, and spiritual practices empower people to move forward in their growth as proud First Nations citizens.
Reconciliation is an important part of the process of decolonization. Reconciliation requires that Aboriginal people tell their stories and that they are heard. It requires a shared understanding of our common past, and a shared vision of the future.
An important step on the road to reconciliation was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), created in 2007 as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
The TRC was inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa.
Often people ask, “What can be done or what can I do?” or they are uncertain or uncomfortable about getting involved. It can feel daunting, and both responses are normal. The fact that you have taken the time to finish all of the modules has made a difference already, and if you can share what you learned with those around you, then you will make a difference. As we saw, many stereotypes and problems occur when people do not know the truth, or any information about Indigenous people. Increasing awareness is very important.
If you would like to learn more, we encourage you to seek out the information: read the “Calls to Action”; visit a Friendship Centre; read books by Indigenous authors; take a class on Indigenous people; form a group within your work team to talk about Indigenous issues; participate in events such as the Walk for Reconciliation and National Indigenous Day activities.
It is important to note that Indigenous people need allies and not people to tell them what to do, or to direct and benefit from Indigenous issues and challenges. We need to work together and support each other to make a place where all people are valued and included. Reconciliation is a very personal journey and one in which all Canadians must play a part.
Based on direction from the Urban Aboriginal Peoples Advisory Committee and Reconciliation Canada, The City of Vancouver was the first city in Canada to declare a Year of Reconciliation from June 21, 2013 to June 20, 2014, in an effort to heal from the past and build new relationships between Aboriginal people and all Vancouverites, built on a foundation of openness, dignity, understanding, and hope.
Two significant events took place that year:
Read about our commitment to Embracing Reconciliation for Meaningful Change here.
Upon conclusion of the Year of Reconciliation, on July 8, 2014 Vancouver City Council took the extraordinary step of designating Vancouver as the world’s first City of Reconciliation, recognizing that the process of reconciliation is not the act of one year, and indeed may not be the act of one generation. It is a long-term effort that takes seriously the responsibility of creating systemic change and new relations based on mutual understanding and respect.
The City understood that we cannot expect a shift towards reconciliation for Vancouverites if we as a City can’t demonstrate our abilities. The first focus for the City was on building our staff capacity, our relationships with Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh, and understanding what reconciliation means for the City and how to build it into our work.
To aid our efforts, a framework was developed to guide staff in incorporating a reconciliation lens into their departments and work plans. Three foundational pillars were put in place:
Three long term goals will assist staff in embedding reconciliation efforts into their projects:
What we’ve seen is that since its development, the City of Reconciliation framework has strengthened existing and emergent Council priorities and City projects, and created more inclusive, supportive, and culturally reflective outcomes.
As part of its planning and programming process for Canada 150+, the City consulted with the Urban Aboriginal Peoples Advisory Committee and held numerous public consultations to create the unique year-long program which we have called ‘Strengthening our Relations’.
The City of Vancouver’s year-long ‘Canada 150+ Experience’ acknowledges the pre-Confederation and contemporary Indigenous culture in Vancouver that spans millennia and which is recognized as integral to Canada’s creation and its shared future with all people, as recognized in the ‘+’ of Canada 150+.
The year-long Strengthening our Relations project is one of Vancouver’s responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action: to use Canada’s 150th anniversary as a time for Indigenous recognition and celebration with all Vancouverites.
In partnership with Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh, three signature events were organized:
The TRC Calls to Action are organized and directed at specific levels of government or institutions for the outcome they are to achieve. Only a handful of the 94 that are directed at municipalities. Vancouver City Council felt that there was more the City could do beyond the number of actions directed at municipalities. On June 23, 2014 Council passed a motion and asked staff to review which Calls were within the City’s jurisdiction to act. Upon this review, it was found that out of the 94, that there were 27 Calls to Action the City could respond to. There are 41 initiatives in all. The City looked at all 94 Calls “in the spirit of reconciliation” and summarized the work we committed to under three themes: Healthy Communities and Wellness; Achieving Indigenous Human Rights and Recognition; Advancing Awareness, Knowledge, and Capacity.
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Now that you have completed this section, complete the knowledge question again. If you are not using the online version of this guide. You can find the knowledge check and answers in Appendix 2.
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