2. 14 land treaties were signed on Vancouver Island before Confederation between the First Nations and James Douglas 1899 – the 1 st and only land treaty signed on mainland BC (Treaty 8)

3. The Canadian government signed 11 treaties with Aboriginals Between 1871-1877, 7 treaties were signed dividing up land on the Prairies (once known as the Northwest Territories)

4. Overall objective = assimilation Government of Canada decides who is an Indian; people with “status” have certain rights Forced all First Nations to live on reserves First Nations could not leave reserves unless they had a pass First Nations can’t leave reserves to fish or hunt Aboriginal women who marry non-Aboriginal men lost their Indian status, as did their children Aboriginals who wish to vote lose their Indian status Children will be sent to residential schools

6. Began by federal government in 1892 to educate and assimilate First Nations into European culture Objective: “kill the Indian in the child” How? Children as young as 5 were taken away from their families and required to attend residential schools that were run by the church Children attended these schools year round and rarely had visits with their families Children dressed in European clothing and assumed European names Children learned European subjects and were forced to speak English Children went to school in the mornings and had to complete jobs/chores in the afternoon

7. Result: First Nations children lost their language, culture, and identity Result: Children suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of the Church Result: In adulthood, these students turned to alcohol, drugs, and crime to dull the pain of their experiences Result: Multiple generations of First Nations families have suffered since the last school closed in 1996

8. I Lost My Talk I lost my talk The talk you took away When I was a little girl At Shubenacadie school. You snatched it away I speak like you I think like you I create like you The scrambled ballad, about my word. Two ways I talk Both ways I say, So gently I offer my hand and ask, Let me find my talk So I can teach you about me. ~ Rita Joe

9. The Federal Government under Stephen Harper (Conservatives) officially apologized in the House of Commons on June 11, 2008 Canadian Government Apology

10. Establishment of a 5 year Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission $2 billion settlement reached in 2006 among government, church, and former students Two types of reconciliation payments: Common Experience Payments and Independent Assessment Process By Dec 2008, 96,000 applications were received 71,759 have been approved for payments = $1.3 billion Average payments is just over $20,000 IAP = $88 million Many survivors who have received payment have spiralled downward; has led to suicides, substance abuse, and depression

11. Q1. Do you think the government should apologize for injustices of the past? Q2. If government does apologize, what form should this apology take? - written apology in a letter - official apology read in the House of Commons - money(If so, to whom? How much?) - give back whatever was taken at today’s current value

12. Aboriginals won the right to vote in 1960 without losing their status Many Aboriginals still live on reserves with a poor quality of life Trudeau gov’t outlined new policy – White Paper 1969 Abolish the Indian Act, reject land claims, assimilation Aboriginal Response – Red Paper Self-government, control over their own affairs

13. Aboriginals have taken control of the education of their children (band schools) Concerned about the effects of development and business on traditional hunting, fishing, and trapping activities 1980: creation of the Assembly of First Nations to represent all Aboriginals in their dealings with the federal government Aboriginal rights are entrenched in CCR&F Bill C-31: band councils can decide who lives on reserves Lavell vs. Regina 1985 Aboriginal women could maintain their status when they married outside the reserve

14. Town council wanted to expand a golf course onto Mohawk sacred ground Mohawk erected a blockade Police called in; shots were fired and 1 officer was killed Escalation of conflict; Canadian Forces called in Crisis was solved when the land was purchased by the Cdn gov’t and given to the Mohawk

15. Status of First Nations treaties in BC

16. Socials 11 March 2010