ABORIGINAL IDENTITY Government Relations

Review of last class What did you learn from Ms Maki? Any points that stick out? What did she say about the Indian Act? What did you learn about Aboriginal governance?

Define “Justice” What does it mean to be “just”? What is a “just society?” How do Aboriginal Rights fit in?

A speech from Pierre Trudeau "We won't recognize aboriginal rights. We can go on adding bricks of discrimination around the ghetto in which Indians live, and at the same time helping them preserve certain cultural traits and certain ancestral rights. Or we can say you are at a cross roads - the time is now to decide whether the Indians will be a race apart in Canada, or whether they will be Canadians of full status… Perhaps the treaties shouldn‘t go on forever. It's inconceivable, I think, that in a given society one section of a society should have a treaty with the other section of society. We must all be equal under the laws and we must not sign treaties amongst ourselves. Indians should become Canadians as all other Canadians. This is the only basis on which I see our society can develop as equals. But aboriginal rights, this really means saying, 'We were here before you. You came and cheated us, by giving us some worthless things in return for vast expanses of land, and we want to reopen this question. We want you to preserve our aboriginal rights and to restore them to us.' And our answer - our answer is 'no. ―We can‘t recognize aboriginal rights because no society can be built on historical might-have-beens…’ We will be just in our time. That is all we can do. We will be just today." - Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, speaking to the Liberal Association of Vancouver, Seaforth Armories, Vancouver, 1969

Activity In your groups, you will be given a section of this speech and asked questions that you need to answer Once done, one person from your group will be asked to highlight some key takeaways Do you agree with Trudeau? Why? Why not? What do aboriginal rights have to do with justice?

Native Peoples in Canada Indian Act review of 1951: gave band councils more authority, women the right to vote for councils, residential schools remained In 1960 were given the right to vote, but no increase in living conditions on reserves 1970s most residential schools phased out 1970s increased political activity from Native peoples Living conditions poor: health, housing, education

National Indian Brotherhood Formed in 1968 to put pressure on the government An umbrella group of Aboriginal associations that were now being organized on a national level Lobbied for changes at the provincial and federal level

Trudeau’s White Paper (1969) Proposed by Minister of Indian Affairs, Jean Chretien Called for the repeal of the Indian Act, elimination of reserves, transfer of Indian Affairs to the provinces Natives felt that this was further assimilation and opposed being absorbed into Canadian society Withdrawn in 1971 To this end, the white paper proposed to Eliminate Indian status Dissolve the Department of Indian Affairs within five years Abolish the Indian Act Convert reserve land to private property that can be sold by the band or its members Transfer responsibility for Indian affairs from the federal government to the province and integrate these services into those provided to other Canadian citizens Provide funding for economic development Appoint a commissioner to address outstanding land claims and gradually terminate existing treaties

Rulings from the Supreme Court 1984: the government has to act in the best interest of Native peoples 1985: Native land treaties have to be given “fair, large, liberal” interpretations 1990: restrictions on government infringement of Aboriginal and treaty rights

Meech Lake & Charlottetown Meech Lake Accord (1990): doesn’t address aboriginal concerns Charlottetown Accord (1992): promised to address Aboriginal and Quebecois concerns, but failed to pass

The Oka Crisis

Video debrief What did you notice was occurring with aboriginal identity through the 1970s and 1980s in Canada? Why is this important to our history? How did this video depict the Oka Crisis?

Native Protest Occupation of Alcatraz : 1969-1971

The Story of Oka Oka is a small town in Quebec It is also the home of the Mohawk Community of Kanesatake

History of conflict Mohawk had protested the land holdings of the city as far back as 1868 In 1961, the city built a 9- hole golf course on land that was still disputed by the Mohawk, across from a Mohawk cemetery 1961 – by the time the Mohawk heard it was happening, the land had already been mostly cleared

Further Expansion In 1977, the Mohawk band tried to file a land claim for the area, but it was rejected by the federal government In 1989, the golf course decided to expand to 18- holes

No Consultation Because the land claim had been rejected, the Mohawks were not consulted No environmental or historic preservation considered Protests in 1989 led to the postponement of development

July, 1990 A court found that the land belonged to the golf course and construction could continue Natives put up barricades to stop the land from being developed This started a 78-day standoff

Police Involvement July 11, mayor Jean Oullette asked for help from the Quebec police force, the Sûreté du Québec The Mohawk people decided to stay and only use weapons if necessary Police used tear gas and flash bang grenades to try to get the protesters to disperse Mohawks asked their women, the keepers of the land, what to do

Shots fired Unclear who fired first, but 15-minute gun battle SQ had to retreat One person, Corporal Marcel Lemay, fatally injured

Further support Native bands from the area and throughout Canada and the US pledged their support A local band set up a blockade of a nearby bridge Police set up barricades so that no one could get in or out of the area

Military Involvement The premier of Quebec, Robert Bourassa, called in the military 2500 military personnel were mobilized High tension, but no further shots exchanged Not under the war measures act

Treatment of Natives 34 arrests Unable to get supplies through police barricades, many Natives were malnourished and confined to small areas On August 29, 1990: the Mohawks negotiated an end to the protest at the Mercier Bridge September 26, 1990: Mohawks laid down their weapons and left the area

Media Coverage Media can often influence how we perceive events The media took a variety of perspectives Can you guess what they might have been? What does this mean?

Media Activity Each group will read a different article about this conflict. Your group will answer the following questions: Summarize the article What perspective is it taking? Why do you think that is? Who is the audience? What are they trying to convince the reader? Why? Be prepared to share your findings with the class

Media Perspectives: Break Down From: http://iportal.usask.ca/docs/Native_studies_review/v9/issue1/pp15-31.pdf

Results of Oka First Nations Policing Policy created in Canada The land that was owned by the golf course was purchased by the government of Canada and given to the Kanesatake Mohawks Native peoples demonstrated that they were ready to fight for their rights Responsible for policing aboriginal communities in Canada

Stompin’ Tom http://www.cbc.ca/revisionquest/2010/2010/0 7/14/july-14-july-17-oka-20-years-later-what- have-we-learned/