“How were the First Nations affected by the Canadian government’s policies in the Northwest?”

The Canadian gov’t realized that settlement of the Northwest could not take place until the region was “controlled” and safe for settlers. One of the problems was the presence of American whiskey traders, who traded “firewater” to the First Nations and were based out of Fort Whoop Up The whiskey trade devastated local Blackfoot communities, leading to widespread alcoholism, malnutrition, disease and death The Cypress Hills Massacre in 1873 where over 20 Blackfoot were attacked and killed by American whiskey traders

In response, the gov’t created the Northwest Mounted Police (NWMP) was formed to maintain order in the Northwest Many First Nations thought that the presence of the NWMP would put an end to the lawlessness that had plagued the region “If the police had not come to the country, where would we all be now? Bad men and whiskey were killing us so fast that very few of us would have been left today” Crowfoot, First Nations Chief

Instead of open conflict with the First Peoples over the land, (like the Indian wars in the U.S.), the government negotiated a series of treaties to gain title to most of the land on the prairies From 1871 onwards, a series of seven treaties were negotiated. First Nations families were offered 160 acre plots, protection of certain rights, and promises to assist the FN to become farmers The government establish Indian Reserves where First Nations were to live. Most of these were located away from the fertile farmland that the European immigrants settled Faced with starvation, the disappearance of the buffalo, and the steady influx of white settlers, many First Nations reluctantly agreed to sign the treaties

WHAT POINTS OF VIEW DO THE FOLLOWING QUOTES EXPRESS? “God intends this land to raise great crops for all his children, and the time has come when it is to be used for that purpose. White people will come here to cultivate it under any circumstances. No power on earth can prevent it” “This is our land, it is not a piece of pemmican to be cut off and given back to us. This is our land and we will take what we want” “Can we stop the power of the white man from spreading over the land like the grasshoppers that cloud the sky….consuming every blade of grass in their path? I think not. Before this happens let us ponder carefully our choice of roads”

Much of the farming equipment and instruction promised to the First Nations in the treaties proved to be inadequate. Ploughs were poorly made, seed delivered too late, weren’t allowed to use farming machines etc By 1900, almost all First Nations living on the prairies had abandoned farming WHY DID THE GOVERNMENT WANT FIRST NATIONS FARMERS TO FAIL?

The Indian Act in 1875 gave the government complete control over the First Nations and outline the assimilation of all First Nations FN were wards of the government, living only on reserves Govt permission was required for FN to leave their reserves FN children had to attend residential schools meant to assimilate them FN traditions were banned, such as potlach and sun dance ceremonies In order to live off the reserve, FN needed to pass a 3-year probation period to see if they were ‘civilized’ enough to live off reserve as a non-status Indian

Deprived of their traditions and independence, being forced to live on small, infertile reserves, and prevented from adopting the European ways of farming, most First Nations lapsed into poverty and became completely dependent on the government By 1880 most prairie FN faced starvation, disease and death Between , PM Macdonald’s policy of ‘feed them one day, starve them the next” resulted in almost 10% of all FN on the prairies starving to death

Residential schools were established to “civilize” First Nations children, meaning replacing their Aboriginal culture and identity with a Euro-Canadian one The destruction of Aboriginal identity was one of the key goals of the Residential School system “The gov’t goal is to continue until there is not a single Indian that has not been assimilated into Canadian culture, and there is no Indian question, no Indian Department” Duncan Scott, Minister of Indian Affairs

“Don’t kill the Indian, kill everything that is Indian” Residential schools were located far from the communities to separate the children from their families and culture In school, students were given new names, new clothes, spoke a new language and worshipped a new God Any expression of their culture was forbidden and they were punished harshly “In order to educate the children properly we must separate them from their families. Some people may say that this is hard, but if we want to civilize them we must do that” Hector Langevin, Minister of Indian Affairs, 1885

Christian Churches were often put in charge of running the residential schools Besides being made ashamed of their own culture and identity, students often faced abuse, both physical and sexual Conditions at the schools were quite poor. Children were often malnourished, diseases were rampant The mortality (death) rates at some of these schools was shockingly high (some 50%) due to abuse and disease The actual number of residential school deaths is still being investigated, but is estimated to be in the thousands

Over 150,000 Aboriginal children attended residential schools The last schools did not close until the mid-1990s Residential schools have had a tremendous impact on generations of Aboriginal people WHAT IMPACT WOULD THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM HAVE ON ABORIGINAL CULTURE?

In recent years, numerous class action lawsuits were launched against the gov’t and the churches who operated these schools In June 2008 PM Stephen Harper formally apologized to Aboriginal peoples in Canada for the abuse, suffering, and generational and cultural dislocation that resulted from the assimilative, government-sanctioned residential schools. The Truth & Reconciliation Commission was established to document and inform all Canadians about what happened in residential schools, understand the legacy (effects) of these schools, and participate in the work of reconciliation