1. SS 10 DOW FIRST NATIONS LAND TREATIES AND THE NORTH WEST MOUNTED POLICE

2.  North west Mounted Police (NWMP)  Cypress Hill Massacre  First Nations Treaties (numbered treaties)  First Nations farming  The Indian Act KEY KNOWLEDGE POINTS

3.  As more people moved West in the 1870’s (to Alberta and Saskatchewan) conflict began…  American fur traders (nicknamed “Whiskey Traders”) were devistating the First Nations population in the area  Trade in “firewater” devastated First Nations populations  Fights and disease were common and some FN people could not care for their families because of their alchohalism  At this point the North west Mounted Police step in… WHISKEY TRADERS AND THE NWMP

4. In 1872, the Canadian government decided that the Northwest needed some policing Northwest Mounted Police established in 1873 ◦ It was both a police force and a paramilitary organization Paramilitary: unofficial military organization The Canadian Government was worried that they could lose territory to the Americans Their first mandate was to drive out the whisky traders and regain control of the area It took the NWMP a few months to arrive in Saskatchewan. In the meantime… THE NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE

5.  In the spring of 1873  a group of Assiniboin First Nations people were attacked by a party of Whisky traders in Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan  20 Assiniboin people were killed  In response, the NWMP sent 275 officers there to establish control  However, things moved slowly without a railroad… CYPRESS HILLS MASSACRE

6.  By the time the NWMP arrived there (a few months later), the whisky traders had fled back to the US  This reinforces the need for a railway!  At first the NWMP were welcomed by the First Nations people who believed that they would help them… NWMP ARRIVE IN CYPRESS HILLS

7.  The Canadian government wanted to open up the prairies for European and Canadian settlement HOWEVER, This would be impossible until the First Nations land title was settled - The First Nations depended upon the land for their survival - Many First Nations people were nomadic TREATIES WITH THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE

8.  In 1870, the government began negotiating treaties with the First Nations people  Indian Commissioner Wemyss Simpson was sent to speak with the Cree and Anishinabe  At first the First Nations people were willing to negotiate and trusted that when a deal is made, both parties would hold up to their end of that deal. TREATIES WITH THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE

9.  What points of view are expressed in these quotations? Do you think this led to successful treaty negotiations?  “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.” Wemyss Simpson, 1871  “I have turned this matter of a treaty over in my mind and I cannot see anything in it to benefit my children. This is what frightens me. After I showed you what I meant to keep for a reserve, you continued to make it smaller and smaller… Let the Queen’s subjects go on my land if they choose. I give them liberty. Let them rob me.” Ay-ee-ta-pe-pe-tung, 1871 QUOTES

10. First Nations People wanted…Canadian Government Wanted… To retain control of 60% of the land in Manitoba To offer only 160 acres of land for every family of five TREATIES First Nations eventually agreed to 160 acres of land per family (which was what the government wanted), but only with the following conditions… 1) The Government would supply the first Nations people with farming equipment and supplies 2) The government would teach the First Nations people farming techniques

11.  By the end of 1871, Treaties 1 and 2 were complete and the First Nations people had signed away their claim to their traditional homeland.  Treaties continued to be signed across Canada. There were 7 treaties in the Prairies by the end of the 1870’s  The First Nations people signed these treaties honestly believing that the Canadian Government would do what they had promised… TREATIES

12.  The Government did not keep their end of the deal…  Despite the fact that the government had promised to help the FN with farming supplies and teaching them how to farm, they did not do either.  First Nations communities near the Great Lakes did experience some agricultural success, but the Prairies were much more difficult – insects, drought… TREATIES

13.  Here is what the government did do… TREATIES The ploughs that were supplied by the government were poorly made and useless for prairie soil The oxen that were supplied to pull the ploughs could not pull them The seeds sent too late in the year so that they were too late to be planted Farmers were forbidden to use the steam-powered threshing machines required to grind the wheat into flour A government official was quoted as saying that it was ‘unnatural’ for the First Nations people to use machines, even though it is impossible to grow and harvest without them If the FN people were successful and had leftover wheat (surplus) after they fed themselves, they were not allowed to sell it.

14.  It seemed as if the Canadian government wanted the farms to fail…  By the 1900’s, in the face of such hardships, almost all of the First Nations people living on the Prairie reserves had abandoned farming.  Eyewitness Account:  Work together with a partner to complete the eyewitness account assignment. Be prepared to discuss your answers. TREATIES

15.  In 1876, the government passed the Indian Act  This stated (among other things) that:  All First Nations People MUST live on reserve land  All First Nations children must attend residential schools  All traditional ways of life, such as choosing leaders and participating in ceremonies, were forbidden  This act destroyed the First Nations people’s traditional way of life and poverty, isolation, and lack of rights and freedom caused profound suffering for the First Nations people THE INDIAN ACT

16. RIGHTS OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE  As we know, First Nations people were not given a real chance to succeed at farming.  People believed the myth that First Nations people were not suited to farming and that it was unnatural.  Residential schools were made mandatory, which caused a “national policy of cultural extinction.” (pg 267).  1955 Propaganda Video

17. RIGHTS OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE  By 1910, more than 60 government sanctioned and supported residential schools had been established.  Over 150 000 Aboriginal and Metis children were forced to attend these schools.  Overcrowding and unsanitary conditions caused sickness and death for many children.  More than 50% of the children died from living conditions, poor diet, or inadequate medical care.  In 2008, many unmarked graves were found around the former schools which are a testament to the young lives that were lost.

18. RIGHTS OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE  In 2008, the Canadian Government formed the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (TRC). The goal was to give anyone affected by residential schools a chance to share their experiences and create a historical record.  View the 2008 apology

19.  Tells the story of 2 residential school survivors, Lyna and Glen.  Guiding Question: What evidence of cultural assimilation do you see? DOCUMENTARY: WE WERE CHILDREN

20. What do you want to know about Residential Schools?  What were residential schools?  What led to the creation of residential schools?  What were the living conditions at residential schools like?  How did residential schools end?  What were some of the long term impacts of residential schools?  What has the government done to try to deal with the impacts of residential schools?  What was the residential school in the Okanagan like?  Research individually or with a partner and be prepared to share your findings with the class.  Start here http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government- policy/the-residential-school-system.html (google “Canada residential school ubc” and it is the first hit)http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government- policy/the-residential-school-system.html  Other useful resources include; Canadian Encyclopedia, wherearethechildren.ca, and the CBC history of Residential Schools RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS RESEARCH