Laws Recognizing Rights of First Nations

Laws Recognizing Rights of First Nations

• The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III of England
• It outlined how land in North America would be divided after the Seven Years' War
• It granted the British control over French lands in Canada
• The Proclamation recognized First Nations' rights to land west of the Appalachian Mountains
• It allowed the British to obtain land through treaties with First Nations
• Colonists' desire to expand westward led to conflict and later the American Revolution
• British loyalists migrated to North America bringing the Proclamation's promises with them
• Canada's policies required respect for the Royal Proclamation and land acquisition through treaties
• American policy disregarded the Proclamation's stipulations, often leading to conflicts with First Nations

Different Policies

• Canadian policy aimed for peaceful land acquisition, emphasizing negotiation and treaty signing
• American policy had a less restrictive approach
• Settlers often tried to negotiate peacefully but sometimes conflict arose
• The American military successfully fought against resistance, often forcing treaties upon Aboriginal groups

Numbered Treaties

• Numbered Treaties were agreements with some First Nations in Canada affecting their rights and identities
• There are eleven numbered treaties in Canada
• Treaties 6, 7, and 8 affect Alberta
• Treaties 4 and 10 also include parts of Alberta

General Terms of the Treaties

• First Nations would live on reserves with traditional lifestyles
• Annuities(yearly sums of money) were promised
• Rights to education and resources like hunting, fishing, and farming were guaranteed

Perspectives on Treaties

First Nations

• Faced problems like the disappearance of the buffalo, the end of the fur trade, settler pressure, European diseases, and often signed treaties without fully understanding them
• Requested help from the Canadian government
• First Nations did not recognize land ownership in the same way as the British and often recorded treaties in their own languages

Canadian Government

• Desired more land and expansion westward
• Wanted to connect with British Columbia and the west
• Treaties were intended as peaceful agreements
• The government aimed to prevent violence, as exemplified by conflicts in the USA
• Canada documented treaties in writing

Treaty 6

• 1876-1889
• Plains and wood Cree people
• Central Alberta and Saskatchewan
• Reason for signing: the small pox epidemic and vanishing buffalo, along with a promise of medical care
• Some First Nations resisted signing

Treaty 7

• 1877
• Blackfoot
• Southern Alberta to British Columbia
• Reason for signing: building railroads and keeping Americans out

Treaty 8

• 1899
• Cree, Beaver, Chipewan nations
• Parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Northwest Territories
• Reasons for signing: To settle disputes

The Indian Act

• Created in 1876
• Gave the Federal government exclusive authority over Indigenous people and lands
• Established "Indian Agents " to represent the government
• It aimed for Indigenous assimilation and restricted freedoms, and Indigenous people's mobility

Indian Act Today

• Indigenous peoples' rights and freedoms are beyond legal challenge
• Today the Indian Act sets rules for Indigenous people on reserves and bands

Residential Schools

• Forced residential schools aimed at assimilating Indigenous children
• Separating children from their homes and culture
• Forbidden to speak their native language
• Education and cultural traditions were discouraged
• Operated from 1870 to the late 1990s
• Significant accounts of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse emerged later

Residential Schools Apology

• Stephen Harper and other Prime Ministers formally apologized to Indigenous peoples
• Financial compensation was offered to those affected

Affirmation of Rights

• Key factors affirming Aboriginal Collective Rights like the Royal Proclamation

Issues That Exist Today

• Existing problems related to aboriginal rights, treaties, reserve conditions, environmental destruction, and issues around Aboriginal health and education

Truth and Reconciliation

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission aimed to address the residential school crisis
• Completed in 2015 with recommendations that aimed for reconciliation with the Indigenous population

Idle No More

• Indigenous activist group that protested against the Canadian government
• Focused on issues like missing and murdered indigenous women