Indigenous People and Historical Globalization
Key Question: How has historical globalization affected Indigenous Peoples in Canada?
Learning Goal: Identify various methods used by Europeans to assimilate First Nations people
Activity: Reading personal stories
Learning Goal: Identify various methods used by Europeans to assimilate First Nations people
Activity: Reading personal stories
When Europeans arrived in Canada, at least 500,000 Indigenous people occupied the continent. They usually lived in small bands that ranged over large territories. Their relationship to the land defined their cultural traditions and worldview. The way of life and worldview of the European newcomers was different. In Europe, people tended to cluster in settlements, and owning land was an important status symbol. Both the French and the British gradually took more and more land from the First Nations. In Eastern Canada, the British negotiated treaties to help them do this peacefully - and they continued this strategy in the West.
The Depopulation of First Peoples
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1. What pattern does this graph show?
2. If this patterns continues, do you think it will have a positive or negative effect on First Nations in the future? Why?
2. If this patterns continues, do you think it will have a positive or negative effect on First Nations in the future? Why?
Assimilation & Numbered Treaties
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1. Should the First Nations have signed these treaties?
2. Did they have a choice?
3. What might have happened if they had refused to sign?
2. Did they have a choice?
3. What might have happened if they had refused to sign?
The Indian Act
The Indian Act, which was first passed in 1876, was one tool the government used to encourage assimilation. This act remains in place today, although many o fits provisions have changed. But in the 19th century and for much of the 20th century, it meant that the lives of First Nations people were strictly controlled by government officials.
One way the act controlled First Nations people was by defining who was - and was not - a status Indian. A Status Indian is someone who is registered according to the provisions of the act and is therefore eligible to receive specific benefits. The act also tried to suppress First Nations cultures by banning some traditional practices, such as the potlatch ceremony of Pacific Coast First Nations and the Sun Dance of Plains First Nations. In addition, only those who moved off reserves were allowed to vote in federal elections.
In 1927, the act made it illegal for First Nations to pursue land claims without the consent of the superintendent of Indian Affairs, who was an employee of the federal government.
One way the act controlled First Nations people was by defining who was - and was not - a status Indian. A Status Indian is someone who is registered according to the provisions of the act and is therefore eligible to receive specific benefits. The act also tried to suppress First Nations cultures by banning some traditional practices, such as the potlatch ceremony of Pacific Coast First Nations and the Sun Dance of Plains First Nations. In addition, only those who moved off reserves were allowed to vote in federal elections.
In 1927, the act made it illegal for First Nations to pursue land claims without the consent of the superintendent of Indian Affairs, who was an employee of the federal government.
Residential Schools
Residential schools - schools where First Nations children were gathered to live, work, and study - were another important tool in the government's assimilation policy. These schools were set up because the Indian Act made the federal government responsible for educating First Nations children. Starting in the 1880s, school-age children were taken from their families, sometimes by force, and placed in these schools. Responsibility for running the schools was shared between the government and Christian churches. First Nations families were given no choice, no voice, and no options in the matter. Every August, children were taken from their family and shipped to school, where siblings were separated by age and sex.
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Reflect and Respond Review the information in this section of the chapter create an event line that includes four major events and their effects on First Nations in Canada. To help complete this activity, you may also wish to consult other sources. On your line, mark the event, action, or activity. Below this, list two or three points that describe its effects. |