Numbered Treaties
Who's included in the Numbered Treaties in the Northwest?
First Nations and the Canadian Federal Government
What areas were covered by the Number Treaties and when?
-Between 1871 and 1921 -Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and parts of BC, Yukon and NWT
Long term consequences
-First Nations children were taught to believe that their cultures were inferior to Euro-Canadian culture -many students has trouble speaking their traditional language and found it difficult to communicate with their family and community members -inferior education due to forced labour
Residential Schools
-aka Industrial schools -advocated separating Native American youth from their families and reserves to encourage them to adopt European ways of life
Compulsory attendance
-became effective in 1920
In some schools, staff used their position of power to inflict:
-emotional abuse -mental abuse -physical abuse -sexual abuse
Modern Day Treaty Issues
-most reserves were too small to hunt, reserve lands we'd often poor for agriculture -oral promises made by the government were not upheld -ongoing disputes with the Federal government over treaty rights -the enforcement of treaty right for First Nations
What are some of the reasons First Nations wanted to sign the treaties?
-they needed to protect their traditional cultures and ways of life -food shortages -periods of starvation -loss of territory -war with government -disease -severe population decline
What are the three main goals of The Indian Act (1867)
-to assimilate First Nations people through enfranchisement -to manage First Nations communities and their reserves -to define who could and couldn't be classified as a First Nations person
What was the purpose of negotiating treaties with First Nations for Ottawa?
-to open up land for immigrant settlement -to ensure peaceful relations between First Nations and the newcomers
Who's left out in the Numbered Treaties in the Northwest?
Metis and Inuit
"savage"
a member of a group of people regarded as primitive and uncivilized
Status Indian
a person who belonged to a band that lived on a reserve or lands that the government had granted
"civilized"
a stage of social, cultural, and moral development considered to be more advanced
Eurocentrism
a worldview in which European-based cultures and traditions are viewed as superior to other cultures and traditions
At what age did Aboriginal kids begin school?
as young as age 6
Assimilation
the absorption of a culture which abandons its previous cultural practises
Where were residential schools located?
usually a far distance from the community, so kids were removed from family and community for months/years at a time
Enfranchisement
when an Aboriginal gave up all claims to land and their rights and was no longer considered an Indian under the law (no longer exists today)