Impact of European Contact on Indigenous Labor in BC Quiz

Indigenous Response to European Contact in British Columbia

• European interaction with Indigenous culture led to the destruction of the latter, attributed to superior technology and the belief in "primitive societies" as stagnant.
• This narrative devalues contemporary Indigenous society and portrays them as victims, negating their active role in shaping their own history.
• The "enrichment thesis" suggests a period of cultural flourishing among Aboriginal people after first contact, but European settlement had a fatal impact, leading to the demise of Aboriginal culture and history.
• The text discusses the labor participation of Aboriginal people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, examining autobiographies and government sources such as the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) and the Department of Fisheries (DOF).
• There is a substantial amount of data available on the labor participation and activities of Aboriginal people during this period.
• Trapping, commercial fishing, and agriculture were significant employers of Aboriginal people, with trapping remaining a primary source of income in the 1920s.
• Challenges in the fur industry included price and supply fluctuations, as well as increased competition from non-Aboriginal trappers.
• The fishing industry was the largest employer of Aboriginal labor, employing 30 to 40 per cent of the Aboriginal population in British Columbia between 1925 and 1940.
• The cannery industry employed a significant number of Aboriginal people, with many women and children contributing to the workforce.
• The decline of the fishing industry was influenced by technological advancements and financial factors, leading to the closure of many canneries and impacting the labor force and fishermen.
• The closure of canneries had a significant impact on both the cannery labor force and the fishermen, as many canneries used to provide boats to Aboriginal fishermen on a shared basis.
• Technological advancements, such as gas-powered boats and refrigeration, led to the decline of the fishing industry and the concentration of canneries in urban areas.

Aboriginal Economic Conditions in British Columbia from WWI to 1960s

• During WWI, Aboriginal people in southwestern British Columbia experienced economic prosperity due to high fish prices and scarcity of unskilled labor.
• In 1918, some Indigenous individuals on the West Coast earned up to $1,000 in a week, a significant economic boost.
• Department of Indian Affairs' annual report in 1919 mentioned higher prevailing wages for farm laborers, sawmill, and logging workers.
• Wartime inflation led to a decrease in real income, which returned to pre-war levels in 1929-30 but declined during the Great Depression.
• The Great Depression severely impacted the Carrier-Dene community, leading to scarce employment opportunities and reliance on relief work.
• Aboriginal people in British Columbia endured economic fluctuations and the full force of the Great Depression, like other Canadians.
• During WWII, there were substantial increases in wages and employment levels for Aboriginal people, with many joining the military.
• The Department of Fisheries limited Aboriginal access to food resources during WWII and continued to withhold fishing permits after the war.
• In the 1950s, hunting regulations and clam harvesting restrictions further limited Aboriginal people's food resources.
• The gradual reduction of Aboriginal access to subsistence resources forced them to rely more on the wage economy.
• Various factors hindered Aboriginal people's success in the capitalist economy, including government restrictions and personal racism.
• The government's alternative to the subsistence economy after WWII was the expansion of the welfare system, with Aboriginal income from the government rising to 17% by 1954 and 25% by 1966.

Indigenous Women's Employment in Canada

• The "family wage" concept linked women's employment options to the expectation of becoming part of a male breadwinner household.
• The Indian Act encoded political discrimination against Aboriginal women, while the state actively promoted the male breadwinner model.
• The Indian Affairs Branch (IAB) had longstanding work solutions for Aboriginal women, including domestic service, even before 1957.
• Domestic service was seen as an initial introduction to wage labor for young Aboriginal women, with the intention of leading to service or factory jobs.
• The IAB promoted domestic jobs to prevent female juvenile delinquency and perceived domestic workers as morally fragile.
• Aboriginal women's presence in urban spaces was seen as incompatible with the natural Indian character, making them vulnerable to racism and violence.
• Efforts were made to train women for jobs in white- and pink-collar sectors, but cultural transformation assumptions were pervasive.
• The IAB overlooked the structured imperatives of the cycle economy in many Aboriginal communities.
• The IAB's distribution of pamphlets on Indian life depicted Indigenous peoples as "primitives" in need of paternalistic assistance.
• A local committee in Winnipeg aimed to integrate Indigenous individuals into urban jobs, but faced challenges due to perceived problematic work habits.
• The IAB required placement officers to assess candidates' formal education, language skills, and character traits before enrolling them in a program.
• Hairdressing offered some Aboriginal women a better job than domestic work, but it wasn't always enough to support a household.

Indigenous Labor and Economic Development in Canada

• Economic challenges led Aboriginal women to seek wage work to support their families
• The state's response to economic challenges included temporary measures influenced by colonial perspectives on Indigenous labor
• The Indian Affairs Branch promoted Aboriginal involvement in seasonal fieldwork during the 1950s
• Aboriginal people made efforts to provide their input on economic development and labor policies
• Politicians tended to view Indigenous people as having to choose between "traditional" trapping and "modern" work roles
• Calls for economic development and justice did not challenge the existing gendered division of labor
• The challenging conditions in the postwar period prompted Aboriginal women to seek new economic opportunities and greater mobility
• The 1957 Labour Placement and Relocation Program aimed to address economic development for Aboriginal people by providing full-time jobs, steady incomes, and integration into Canada's industrial economy
• The program offered employment counseling, liaisons with unions and businesses, on-the-job training, job placement assistance, and financial aid for relocation
• The program bore similarities to the American relocation program initiated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• The Indian Affairs Branch developed the Labor Placement Program with the support of both Aboriginal demands for increased job opportunities and recommendations from contemporary social science experts
• Labor placement programs followed two distinct gender tracks: men were directed toward resource work or typically blue-collar jobs in urban areas, while women were trained for white-collar and service occupations

Challenges Faced by Aboriginal Women in Urban Labor Market (1950s-1960s)

• In the 1950s and 1960s, Aboriginal women migrated to urban areas seeking employment or to escape difficult conditions on reserves.
• The Lagassé report discussed the discrimination faced by Aboriginal women in the labor market, their naivety, and their tragic involvement in criminal activities.
• The report perpetuated racist stereotypes of Aboriginal women, compromising any critique of their confinement to low-wage jobs by framing it as a moral issue.
• The exploitation of their labor and condemnation of their sexuality were closely interconnected, justifying violence against Aboriginal women.
• Aboriginal women faced challenges, including inadequate education aimed at cultural assimilation and deeply racist perceptions regarding their culture, abilities, and morality.
• The state's role in managing and reorienting Aboriginal labor became increasingly interventionist during this period, influenced by social science studies and idealized images of the white middle-class family.
• Labor placement solutions for the economic challenges faced by Aboriginal communities followed two gender-specific paths: relocation programs for male breadwinners and job training programs for single women.
• Aboriginal groups advocated for improved labor placement programs, promoting a more comprehensive vision of economic justice for Indigenous peoples.
• The programs developed to address these issues were highly limited and reinforced lessons in gendered and racialized labor, situating Indigenous women at the bottom of the employment hierarchy.
• Aboriginal women were particularly susceptible to material disadvantage and racist denigration, often being portrayed as more "primitive" women.
• The state actively promoted a patriarchal male breadwinner model and viewed women as auxiliary workers in need of moral protection.
• The regulatory regime encompassed the state's view of women and shaped Indigenous people's attempts to change the system, potentially obscuring themes of agency and resistance.