3.3 Native Peoples Historic Barriers Native Leaders and Lobby Groups Landmark Decisions Native Rights and Canada’s Constitution Into the 21 st Century

Native Peoples Donald Marshall Jr. Was a NS Mi’kmaq who fished for a living 1996 he was convicted of fishing off- season without a licence. He appealed this conviction, because of a 1760 treaty giving him the right to fish without government interference. The Supreme Court of Canada agreed with Marshall

Native Peoples Native peoples have a difference approach to human rights and equality When they speak of rights they are referring to collective rights (the rights of a group, rather than an individual) They focus on land and the right to self- government

Historic Barriers When the Europeans arrived in the 1600s, they needed the help of the First Nations people for fur trade, settlement and the Seven Years War. The present system of Native treaties came from the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which gave Britain control over land transfers The Royal Proclamation remain an important legal document, recognized in the Charter 25 (a)

Historic Barriers In 1867, Native peoples were seen as barriers to settlement by European newcomers Between 1871 and 1921, the government made land agreements with Native peoples, removing them from land for settlement, onto reserves to be “protected” and educated in “civilized” manner and eventually assimilated (absorbed into the prevailing culture) In 1868, the Indian Act was passed, legalizing assimilation. It defined who was “Indian” and who was not. It declared that Native men who married non-Native women kept their status, but Native women who married non- Native men lost theirs It also banned cultural practices such as potlatch and sundance ceremonies It replaced the traditional Native self-government with band councils

Historic Barriers Until the 1960s, the federal government gave money to Christian churches to operate residential schools for Native children. The purpose was to assimilate them into European culture. They were taken from their families, they faced punishment for speaking their own language and many were physically and sexually abused. This left the children with emotional scars.

Native Leaders and Lobby Groups In the 1960s, Native people fought to reverse assimilation policy and be recognized as distinct nations. In 1951, the Native Indian Brotherhood was formed to lobby for Native rights and land claims (assertion to the right to certain lands) In 1969, Trudeau release the White Paper. This emphasised individual rights over collective rights It said Native peoples had no special status and called for withdrawal of the Indian Act and existing treaties. This only made Native peoples more determined to fight for their rights

Native Leaders and Lobby Groups In 1982, the Native Brotherhood became the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). The AFN presents views on matters such as treaty rights, economic development, health, housing, justice and social development

Landmark Decisions (The Nisga’a) The Nisga’a people claimed in court they always held title to their ancestral lands The BC courts ruled against them, so they went to the Supreme Court. They dismissed the appeal on a technicality, however it was still significant The Trudeau government reversed the stance they took in the White Paper and introduced a process for negotiating land claim settlements

Landmark Decisions (The Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan) In 1984, 51Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan chiefs took Canada and BC to court to gain ownership of ancestral lands It eventually went to the Supreme Court where they defined the meaning of Native title. The decided “a Native group has title if it can show it had exclusive occupation of the land before Britain declared sovereignty over that land” The court also stated that Native oral histories were accepted in the court as evidence

Landmark Decisions (Developments in the Nisga’a Case) In BC there are more unsettled land claims than the rest of Canada. In 1998, a group of Nisga’a and the BC government reached an agreement that gave the Nisga’a peoples: ◦ Ownership of approximately 2000km 2 of land ◦ The right to establish Nisga’a government ◦ Ownership of surface and subsurface land resources on their lands ◦ A Nisga’a-only commercial fishery ◦ $190 million, payable over 15 years In addition the Criminal Code and Charter still apply as for every Canadian.

Landmark Decisions (Developments in the Nisga’a Case) Criticisms to this agreement include the local non-Natives were not involved in negotiations and they could not vote for tribal members, when their decisions would affect them. In 2001, the BC government promised to have principles changed for treaty negotiations to make them more open

Native Rights and Canada’s Constitution Native rights are addressed in section 25 of the Charter and section 35 of the Constitution Act, In 1987, Mulroney and 10 Premiers, created an agreement, the Meech Lake Accord that was to reform Canada’s Constitution In 1990, Elijah Harper, a Cree, opposed the Accord because it did not recognize the First Nations as equally founding partners in Canada

Into the 21 st Century Despite movements in recognizing rights, Native peoples still face major barriers to equality Wide spread poverty Low educational achievement Serious health and social problems Several Native leaders have declared their communities to be in a state of crisis with drug abuse, alcohol abuse, suicide, low employment and terrible housing conditions

Into the 21 st Century Racism towards Native peoples continues to be a problem Many believe that prosperity will come with Native self-government Others believe Native peoples have the same individual rights as other Canadians and no others and they need to give up their idea of self-government if they are to have any chance of prosperity and equality