The Attawaspiskat Cree and Ojibwa are a first nations group living in parts of Canada, mainly northern Ontario. The main languages spoken by these first nation groups are Mushkegowuk Cree and Ojibway. I will compare and contrast the experience of the Attawapiskat Cree to Ojibwa in relation to the Canadian Government. This will include analyzing the treaties introduced by the government towards the Cree and the Ojibwa: in particular, treaty 9 will be discussed. In addition, to these treaties the government has divided the first nation community into two different groups: status-Indians and non-status Indians. Within these two groups further division has been accomplished by the allocation of lands know as reserves to status-Indians and …show more content…
Example of social, political and exploitative patterns would include the ways of accommodation, such as living in micro or macro bands and occupying a river drainage or a good fishing site; notion of land ownership; and hunting patters, respectively. Since the incursion of Euro-Canadians in all aspect of Indian life, there have been changes in the traditional land tenure policies held within these societies for centuries. The government has divided the Ojibwa and the Cree into two different categories: status Indians and non-status Indians. Status Indians are those individuals who according to the Indian Act appear on the governments list of registered Indians. Status-Indians are solely dependent on governmental aid and live on lands turned into reserves by the government; they are also exempted from any provincial or federal programs such as income tax and property tax. Non-status Indians are those who have lost their Indian status by governmental enfranchisement. These people cannot live on reserves; land setup by the government for status-Indians, but they can independently own land and must pay taxes. The reserves are created by the Indian Act as, “the minister may, when he considers it desirable constitute new bands and when a new band has been established from an existing band or any part thereof, such portion of the reserve lands and funds of the existing band as the minister
Aboriginal self-government is a long standing issue that continues to be a struggle for the First Nations People. To truly understand the scope of Aboriginal self-government within First Nations communities, more effort is needed to understand the legislative system that runs Canada. This issue of self-governance has been very destructive in First Nations communities. After signing the Treaties, First Nations People was stripped of their livelihood and from that point on to abide by the Dominion of Canadas legislative policies. One current issue that would be a perfect example is the Nisga People in British Columbia who is no longer under the protection of the
Before the Europeans came to Canada, Natives had their own culture, traditions and norms. These differences were obvious to the Europeans who sailed to Canada, their interactions with the Native peoples proved these vast differences. One major difference noted was that the Iroquois organized their societies on different lines than did the patrilineal western Europeans. Iroquois women “by virtue of her functions as wife and mother, exercised an influence but little short of despotic, not only in the wigwam but also around the council fire.” “She indeed possessed and exercised all civil and political power and authority. The country, the land, the fields with their harvests and fruits belonged to her … her plans and wishes modeled the policy and inspired the decisions of council.” The Europeans were astounded by this way of life.
Throughout history, the Native people of North America and the Europeans have continually had arguments and disputes over land. To this day there are still issues trying to be resolved. Twenty years ago, the beginning of one of the most violent and intense land disputes in present day Canada occurred. This event is now referred to as the Oka Crisis, named after the town Oka in Quebec. This crisis caused a confrontation involving the Quebec provincial police, the Canadian armed forces and the Mohawk people.1 The stand that the Mohawk people took in the town of Oka became a major revelation for the aboriginal people spreading awareness of aboriginal rights across Canada.
Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).
The purpose of this essay is to investigate whether the Oka Crisis has had a positive or negative effect on First Nations affairs in Canada. There are many opinions that could be explored based on research of the crisis. The side that the crisis had a negative effect on Canada could be taken, because the crisis created tension in relations between the government and the Mohawks and caused many physical and emotional
The Aboriginal peoples of Canada had gone through many situations to get to where they are today with their education system. Pain, sorrow, doubt, and hope are all feelings brought to mind when thinking about the history and the future of Aboriginal education. By taking a look at the past, anyone can see that the right to education for Aboriginal peoples has been fought about as early as the 1870s. This is still is a pressing issue today. Elder teachings, residential, reserve and post-secondary schools have all been concerning events of the past as well as the present. Though education has improved for the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, there are still many concerns and needs of reconciliation for the past to improve the future.
First Nation Peoples within Canada have been facing many injustices in their homeland since the dawn of colonization. The most unraveling point to First Nation assimilation was the formation of the consequential Indian Act and residential schools resulting in a stir of adversity. As racist ideologies within Canada developed, upheaval against such treatment was undertaken as First Nation communities fought back against government land claims and eradication of treaty rights. In attempt to make amends, proper compensations from the injustices within residential schools have been released and the key for the future is allowing First Nation self-government. Ideals with the intent of ultimate assimilation have been standardized unto First Nation
Thomas Flanagan disapproves the idea of Native sovereignty ever coexisting with Canadian sovereignty. Flanagan identifies the flaws in Townshend’s arguments referring to them as a theoretical approach and not a practical approach. It is true that the sharing of jurisdictional power is the essence of the Canadian state but this cannot apply to the Aboriginals of Canada. One reason a third level of government cannot work in Canada is “In the 10 provinces, Canada has over six hundred Indian bands living on more than 2200 reserves, plus hundreds of thousands of Métis and non-status Indians who do not possess reserves,” (Flanagan 44). Flanagan draws the fact that “No one has proposed a workable mechanism by which this far-flung archipelago could
Indigenous governance is filled with legislations and amendments that began with the Royal proclamation act of 7th October 1763. Since then, there has been a massive effort to civilize the indigenous population in order to integrate them with the non-indigenous population by the government of Canada. The main purpose of such a congress is debated till date.
The Canadian native aboriginals are the original indigenous settlers of North Canada in Canada. They are made up of the Inuit, Metis and the First nation. Through archeological evidence old crow flats seem to the earliest known settlement sites for the aboriginals. Other archeological evidence reveals the following characteristics of the Aboriginal culture: ceremonial architecture, permanent settlement, agriculture and complex social hierarchy. A number of treaties and laws have been enacted amongst the First nation and European immigrants throughout Canada. For instance the Aboriginal self-government right was a step to assimilate them in Canadian society. This allows for a chance to manage
The relationship between the Indigenous people of North America and the monarchies of Western Europe began over three centuries ago after it was realized there was more than fish and fur to be had across the Atlantic Ocean. Indigenous nations inhabited every corner of what is now Canada when France and Britain began to colonize the North East of the continent. Between these European states and many Indigenous nations there was trade, wars fought, treaties written, all of the standard practices of Nation to Nation relationships. Eventually with the defeat of the French imperial power, Britain effectively expanded their empire to include most of North America. The acquirement of those French claimed territories lead to the infamous Royal Proclamation of 1763. From here the relationship between the British Crown and the Aboriginal nations changed monumentally. Today the British Crown has been replaced by the Canadian Crown in Canada, a legally separate entity, as mentioned by Nathan Tidridge (2016) in “The Crown and Indigenous Peoples” (p.1). The relationship between First Nations and Settlers has gone from being between; “Nations and Tribes” (Royal Proclamation of 1763) and the Empire of Britain, to Institutions of the Federal Government (Indian/Indigenous and Northern affairs) and the many First Nations and Inuit Bands of Canada. However; the Proclamation has continued to stand and influence policy and decision making by colonial powers in regard to Aboriginal people in
When looking at Canada as a whole, we often tend to overlook the past events of Indigenous groups who have suffered through Colonialism. As I read about this issue, I felt sympathy for the Indigenous peoples, as it was overwhelming for me to find out that this much discrimination has occurred in a nation as diverse and developed as Canada. Reading more about colonization helped me to make connections between the issues and topics I have learned about in class, and how they can be traced back to European contact with the Indigenous peoples. The Colonial powers in Canada rested in the hands of the British and the French, who declared sovereignty over the territories which rightfully belonged to the Indigenous peoples (Cochrane et al. 70). The worst effect of colonialism is the exploitation, domination, and subjugation of the people by the imperial power (Cochrane et al. 71). Due to the fact that their rights were determined solely by the white society’s rules, one of the only governance options left for Indigenous peoples was to become independent of the Canadian state (Cochrane et al. 87). The Royal Proclamation Act of 1763 guaranteed the protection of lands for Indians under the Crown, and required any colonists occupying Indian lands without the permission of the crown to evacuate; however, these rights to Indians have been much ignored (Cochrane et al. 70). During post-confederation, several treaties numbered 1-11 were created to allow aboriginals to claim land titles,
Throughout the past few years aboriginal politics, specifically those dealing with First Nations peoples have been of heavy interest in Canadian society. Unfortunately with such issues widely apparent on the political forefront there is bound to be significant controversy in the matter. Much of this recent controversy has been directed at First Nations claim to land technically owned by the Canadian Government; however the 1973 Calder case maintained that under the 1763 Royal Proclamation aboriginal rights to Canadian land do in fact exist (Foster, Raven and Webber 2007, 17). This creates an interesting political situation in which two self governing bodies may both hold claim to the same land. While at first this may seem harmless, a
The first political factor that serves to embody one of the root causes for violence against Aboriginal women in Canada is the legislative gap, or its lack thereof. According to Harper (2006), both federal and provincial law essentially fails to address the equal division of matrimonial property on reserves. In contrast, as Harper (2006) continues to suggest, al other Canadian citizens are protected by law in this respect. However, when it comes to Aboriginal people, the federal government claims it has no jurisdiction over lands reserved for Indians. The resulting consequence of this lack of legislation is that there is no direction as to how property will be divided in the event a common-law relationship is dissolved. Therefore, this exposes the vulnerability of omen is fighting for their rights, and attracts violence from based on the same. Furthermore, the Indian Act of 1876, according to Harper (2006), essentially created the political dominion of the male Aboriginal gender, which essentially reduced the participative role of Aboriginal women and constricted them to the spatial nuances of the homestead, and promoted sex-based discrimination.
1. Over the course of the past semester, we have discussed a number of different ways in which the colonial and, subsequently, Canadian authorities have attempted to impose their vision of public order on Indigenous peoples. Discuss two examples of this.