CANS 200: Understanding Canada (PDF)

CANS 200: Understanding Canada Instructor: Dr Jodey Nurse McGill Institute for the Study of Canada Lecture: Indigenous Peoples, Colonialism, and Canada Wednesday, September 11, 2024 CANS 200: Writing Assignment Instructions Posted All writing assignment options due on: November 13, 2024, by 11:5...

CANS 200: Understanding Canada Instructor: Dr Jodey Nurse McGill Institute for the Study of Canada Lecture: Indigenous Peoples, Colonialism, and Canada Wednesday, September 11, 2024 CANS 200: Writing Assignment Instructions Posted All writing assignment options due on: November 13, 2024, by 11:59pm. Word Count: Approximately 1,250 words (excluding notes and bibliography). Format: The Chicago Manual of Style. All writing assignments must include a title page with your name, student number, course, and instructor’s name. Your title page should clearly convey which one of the three options you selected as well as provide an appropriate title for your assignment. Use a 12-point regular font, keep your margins around 1”, double-space your submissions, and number your pages. NOTE: I strongly encourage you to discuss your selected writing assignment with your TA or me during office hours to make sure you are on the right track. It is your responsibility to ensure you understand the instructions below, so if you have any questions, please let us know as soon as possible. Three options, choose one. Full instructions for writing assignments posted on MyCourses. OPTION #1: Critical Reading Review For this option, you must read and write a critical review of Chapter 9 of Hughes’ text, “August 20, 2016: The Tragically Hip’s Final Concert” (pages 177–195). This chapter was not assigned in the course schedule, however, it provides additional insight into important course themes and offers new ideas for consideration. Similar to a book review, this reading review will require you to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the chapter and give your overall assessment. Remember, a critical reading review is not the same thing as a reading summary; you must evaluate the reading and provide evidence for your assertions. OPTION #2: “A Canadian Symbol” Research and Reflective Essay For this option, you must select and analyze one important symbol in Canada by considering its meaning and significance. Note: you are not allowed to choose the symbols we will discuss from the assigned readings for Week 6 (the national flag and Viola Desmond on the ten-dollar bill). Consider a symbol that is important to Canadian identity and consider the social, cultural, political, and/or economic factors around its creation and evolution. You must also reflect on your own personal association and relationship with this symbol. A symbol may be an object, event, person, or institution. OPTION #3: “One Day That Shaped Canada” Research Paper For this option, you must select a notable day in Canada’s past and then conduct research and write a paper to explain why this day mattered then and why it still matters today. In doing so, you must consider the historical context of that day and how previous forces influenced what occurred as well as how that day shaped Canada afterwards. The course textbook should be used for inspiration, but you cannot use any of the dates selected in Hughes’ book––you must determine another notable date and argue for its importance. Indigenous Peoples, Colonialism, and Canada: Contemporary issue introduced last week: Increasing understanding between Indigenous peoples and settlers in Canada and changing the often-violent dynamics of these relationships June 2, 2015 The release of the Executive Summary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hughes: “…the full fallout of July 2, 2015 remains to be seen…Either Canada’s relationship with its Indigenous communities will stay the same, in which case this day will represent one more empty promise and betrayal. Or the TRC report can usher in a massive rethinking of this relationship, which would mean this day has the potential to be remembered as one of the most momentous in modern Canadian history.” (p. 154) What is a Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Also called Truth and Justice Commissions A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) usually materializes when a government seeks to uncover past abuses and trauma in order to confront these issues Usually begins with an acknowledgement of guilt and apology, but deeds and actions must follow for findings to be meaningful Other examples found in South African, Chile, Rwanda and more Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada 2008–2015 Established as part of a lengthier process that grew out of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) Commission’s explicit aim was to document and preserve the experiences of Survivors from residential schools Also charged with preserving records; led to the creation of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in November 2015 at the University of Manitoba 94 Calls to Action Actionable policy recommendations meant to aid the healing process by acknowledging the full, horrifying history of the residential school system creating systems to prevent these abuses from ever happening again in the future The Calls to Action (CTAs) can be broken down into two categories: Legacy (one to 42) and Reconciliation (43 to 94) Within each are numerous subcategories meant to tackle specific facets of the reconciliation process Note about understanding Canada: Europeans brought with them their patriarchal social codes and beliefs Policies and programs enacted reflected attempts to colonize Hughes: “We must never lose sight of the fact that what ultimately became Canada had its origins as a colonial state…Rather than accept alternative religious and cultural traditions, including diverse social patterns, Europeans sought to force their own ways upon Indigenous groups.” (p. 155) This class, you will learn: About settler colonialism in Canada Canadian imperialism Indigenous peoples' resistance to colonialism Colonization vs. Colonialism Oxford Dictionary: Colonization: is the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area. Colonialism: is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically. "Settler colonialism is a distinct type of colonialism that functions through the replacement of indigenous populations with an invasive settler society that, over time, develops a distinctive identity and sovereignty." – A. Barker & E. Battell Lowman “…a relationship between an indigenous (or forcibly imported) majority and a minority of foreign invaders. The fundamental decisions affecting the lives of the colonized people are made and implemented by the colonial rulers in pursuit of interests that are often defined in a distant metropolis. Rejecting cultural compromises with the colonized population, the colonizers are convinced of their own superiority and their ordained mandate to rule.” – Jurgen Osterhammel Other key terms: Empire: an extensive group of states or countries under a single supreme authority – Oxford Dictionary “Empires are large political units, expansionist or with a memory of power extended over space, polities that maintain distinction and hierarchy as they incorporate new people… The concept of empire presumes that different peoples within the polity will be governed differently.” – Burbank and Cooper Nation-state: a sovereign state whose citizens or subjects are relatively homogeneous in factors such as language or common descent – Oxford Dictionary proclaims the commonality of its people (even if the reality is much more complicated). Imperialism Oxford definition: “A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force” “…an unequal human and territorial relationship, usually in the form of an empire, based on ideas of superiority and practices of dominance, and involving the extension of authority and control of one state or people over another.” - Dictionary of Human Geography Centre and periphery, metropole and colony Operates from the centre Think-Pair-Share You can have imperialism without colonialism, but you cannot have colonialism without imperialism. Is the “Colonial Period” over? Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain - Cartier credited with setting the foundation for further French colonization (1534-) - Samuel de Champlain an enthusiastic advocate of colonization, first in Acadie, and then the St. Lawrence region, earning him the title of “The Father of New France” for his role in establishing the colony (1603- 1635) and Quebec City in 1608 - They were not the first, nor the last, but they helped establish patterns of European imperialism in North America Shifting Empires: New France (1534-1763) British Colonies (1763-1783) and Rupert’s Land (1670-1870; commercial domain of the Hudson’s Bay) British North America (1783-1867) Canada (1867-) The Middle Ground Idea popularized by Richard White Articulated a new vision and a framework for research about Indigenous peoples and newcomer relations “The middle ground”: Both a place and a style of cultural interaction Existence “depended on the inability of both sides to gain their ends through force”; a nonfunctioning or weak state authority; a relatively even distribution of power; and the need or desire to interact with one another A “process of mutual invention” through which each side tried to make sense of a radically alien Other BUT…over time… Settler ideas: False idea that Indigenous land practices, including agriculture, were primitive at best and land underutilized False idea that Indigenous people had no real governments or laws False idea that many Indigenous customs, rituals, ceremonies often “uncivilized” and “barbaric” Clearing the Plains James Daschuk’s Clearing the Plains is described by historian Elizabeth A. Fenn as a “tour de force that dismantles and destroys the view that Canada has a special claim to to humanity in its treatment of Indigenous peoples.” Study reveals Canada’s policies of forced starvation and ethnic cleansing A colonial project and then a national project The Meaning of Confederation Events leading to Confederation suggest continuity with British North America’s traditions of limited democracy Women and Indigenous peoples excluded from the vote Power remained in hands of a small group of white men Indigenous peoples had no representative in conferences creating Confederation Only one section of the BNA Act references Indigenous Peoples Most British North American settlers considered Indigenous peoples an obstacle, “uncivilized” “Fathers of Confederation” dismissed Indigenous peoples as “children” and crafted policies with the aim of cultural assimilation and the dispossession of Indigenous land and sovereignty Canadian Imperialism Imperialism: “…an unequal human and territorial relationship…based on ideas of superiority and practices of dominance, and involving the extension of authority and control of one state or people over another.” – Dictionary of Human Geography “…the impact of settler colonialism is starkly visible in the landscapes it produces: the symmetrically surveyed divisions of land; fences, roads, power lines, dams and mines; the vast mono-cultural expanses of single- cropped fields; carved and preserved national forest; and marine and wilderness parks; the expansive and gridded cities; and the socially coded areas of human habitation and trespass that are bordered, policed and defended. Land and the organised spaces on it, in other words, narrate the stories of colonisation.” – Tracey Banivanua Mar and Penelope Edmonds, cited in Daniel Rück, The Laws and The Land, p. 3. Shaping Land in Canada Myths created to justify settler colonialism: Pristine Myth and Noble/Ignoble Savage Policies created to remove Indigenous peoples from the land and replace them with settler societies The Acquisition of Rupert’s Land Following Confederation, the Macdonald government moved swiftly to transfer the Northwest to the new country 1869: Hudson’s Bay sells its claim to the land for £300 000 (about $1.5 million) and a grant of one-twentieth of the land most suitable for farming Resistance The Métis, The Red River Resistance, and the North-West Rebellion Louis Riel Louis Riel: Remembering Controversy over how he is remembered today Riel’s case was a sensation abroad Contemporaries understood him within an imperial framework Read and Webb: “The Métis leader became something of a blank canvas upon which commentators and readers could paint what they wished.” Anglo-Franco rivalry Protestant and Catholic antipathy Imperial expansion Anti-imperial resistance Treaties with First Nations 1871-1877: Seven treaties were concluded with Indigenous Peoples living east of the Rockies First Nations agreed to the treaties because they wanted guarantees for their future well-being which was threatened by the disappearance of the buffalo and the influx of settlers Treaties established reserves where First Nations could farm, and promised implements, seed, and training Treaties also recognized traditional hunting and fishing rights Disagreement in the interpretation of the treaties The Indian Act, 1876 Basic premise that First Nations remained incapable of integrating into “civilized” society and therefore needed supervision in their economic, political, and social activities Act introduced processes to replace traditional political structures with elected band chiefs and councils, and subjected all reserve activities to the supervision of white bureaucracies Made gender distinctions; Indigenous women who married non-status men lost their status, as did their children Later revisions also denied status Indians the right to perform traditional religious practices or to drink alcohol  The Liberal State vs. Indigenous Land Perspectives Liberal State: Premised on the rights of the individual, including private property rights Depends upon a delineation between the private and the public sphere Political institutions protect public interests and private individuals/groups can freely pursue their private interests Movement to centralization and homogenization of interests Indigenous Perspective: Part of their lifeworld; holistic understanding Relationship with the land informed by their spirituality and beliefs; practices reflect that Indigenous perspective of land it that it is not just a resource to be used, but "as system of reciprocal relations and obligations [that] can teach us about living our lives in relation to one another and the natural world in nondominating and nonexploitative terms" (Glen Sean Coulthard, Red Skin, White Masks) Residential Schools System “When the school is on the reserve the child lives with its parents, who are savages; he is surrounded by savages, and though he may learn to read and write his habits…training and mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write. It has been strongly pressed on myself, as the head of the Department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men.” – John A. Macdonald, Address to the House of Commons in 1883 “It can start with a knock on the door one morning. It is the local Indian agent, or the parish priest, or, perhaps, a Mounted Police officer. The bus for residential school leaves that morning. It is a day the parents have long been dreading. Even if the children have been warned in advance, the morning’s events are still a shock. The officials have arrived and the children must go. For tens of thousands of Aboriginal children for over a century, this was the beginning of their residential schooling. They were torn from their parents, who often surrendered them only under threat of prosecution. Then, they were hurled into a strange and frightening place, one in which their parents and culture would be demeaned and oppressed.” (p. 9) Gordon’s Indian Residential School in Punnichy, Saskatchewan Some Points to Consider Canada’s treatment of Métis and Indigenous peoples demonstrates the new nation’s imperialist policies: territorial expansion, ideas of superiority and practices of dominance, the extension of authority and control Historical actors and events can be remembered differently by different people; the past is not objective Settler colonialism: sometimes conducted with soldiers and guns, but often an invasion of colonial values and laws; about the extension of authority and control and ultimately dispossession and assimilation of Indigenous peoples Next class: The Conquest in Quebec and the Aftermath