Chapter 4: History of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, United States, Mexico and the Carribean

David D. Varis

Section 2 : Southern Door ~ Learning with Open Heart and Mind

Chapter 4: History of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, United States, Mexico and the Carribean

Introduction

As I stated previously, I am not a historian. But I do appreciate learning about the historical accounts of nation states. I find myself drawn to history to gain a deeper insight into peoples, both collectively as a society, and individually.

Over the span of five decades, I have visited and worked in the far reaches of Turtle Island. These locations have included Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut (formerly Northwest Territories); Iqaluit, capital of Nunavut, Coast Salish Territories, British Columbia (representing the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples); Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) of Siksika Nation, Alberta; Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation, Saskatchewan; St. Peters Reserve and Peguis First Nation, Manitoba; Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Bay of Quinte, Ontario; Waseskun Healing Centre, St. Alphonse Rodriguez, Quebec; and countless First Nation communities in Wolastoqey and Mi’kmak’i.

My travels have also included places is the southwest United States (lands of the Navajo Nation), western Mexico (lands of the Aztatlán and Huicholes Nations), southeast Mexico (lands of the Yucatec, Mopan, and Q’eqchi’ Maya Nations), and Cuba and Dominican Republic (lands of the Taínos, the Ciboneys, and the Guanajatabeye Nations). I only state this as understanding Indigenous peoples’ lives, cultures and histories, is in my mind easier if one can stand on the lands on which these peoples stand, and where their ancestors stood in their time. I honour all those who have contributed to where we are today. Figure 21 presents a cultural performer on the Pacific coast of Mexico in Puerto Varatta in Jalisco state.

Figure 21: Cultural performer on Pacific coast of Mexico

I have been fascinated by the evolutionary advances of humanity, and, more and more, intrigued how culture continues to be the single most powerful agent to bind peoples together, educate future generations, solve highly complex problems, and provide meaning to our lives. While equally absorbed in tracing the political, economic, and social trajectories of nations, in teaching the history of Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (Canada, United States, Mexico and the Caribbean), it has become evident that history has dramatically shaped the lives of Indigenous peoples in these territories.

What may seem like a straight-forward story of colonizing nations over-powering First peoples for their own benefit, it is far from that. It is messy, complicated, disturbing, and for all intents and purposes a highly charged matter. Many past accounts, when written from a dominant culture perspective, failed to describe the full nature of what occurred.

I am not a historian nor would I do a good job in summarizing all the key milestones in Canadian history as it pertains to Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations. This is where I will highlight several readings and videos for viewing so you will have sufficient knowledge about these historical relations. James S. Frideres, Professor Emeritus, Sociology University of Calgary, has published countless texts relating to Indigenous peoples in Canada. His chapter, Knowing Your History, in the third edition Indigenous Peoples in the Twenty-First Century (2020) is the most concise accounting of the 500 year relationship between Indigenous and non-Indiegnous peoples in Canada. Before examining this account, Therefore, I will simply facilitate a learning pathway based on writings and perspectives that I feel should provide a clearer picture of what this history entails including all the complexities, realities, and relational impacts.

Topics at a Glance

History of Canada
History of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean
James Frideres and his Historical Review: Chapter 1: Knowing Your History in Indigenous Peoples in the 21st Century
Five Colonizing Nations: Britain, France, Portugal, Netherlands, and Spain
Examples of Mainstream Rewriting of History

To begin this learning pathway, let us examine with a ‘critical’ lens some historical accounts. I trust that this course will contribute to broader academic outcomes than just certain knowledge respecting Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations. I hope one outcome, principally skills based, will be for you to 1) gain critical thinking skills; 2) identify and understand potential biases about identities and groups of people including Indigenous peoples; and 3) effectively engage with multiple cultural groups (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) to the extent of gaining certain cultural competencies that one can utilize in a future career.

History of Canada

You will find identified some prominent views about Canada in some links below. I would like to know if these are correct or not? Please assess each, taking careful note of what is presented, and be able to respond if it is correct or not. If not, why?

Discover Canada – Canada’s History (Government of Canada)

Early History of Canada

History of Prince Edward Island

The Writing of History

What did you discover? What questions were on the top of your mind when reviewing these sites? Did you consider applying the typical five W questions:

Who prepared this?
When was it created?
Where was it created?
What was stated?
Why was it created in the manner it was?
And how (a sixth W question) was it created?

If your ‘critical’ lens borrowed from Frideres’ work, and particularly his chapter titled, Knowing Your History, about who writes history, you may be on to something important. More directly, Frideres (2020) states,

“In the case of Canada’s Indigenous peoples, their written histories for much of the past 500 years can hardly be called “theirs” because they were produced by non-Indigenous people” (p. 4).

He further states,

“Individuals writing a history will find that it is difficult to represent a culture outside of their own cultural bias. In the end, such restrictions will bear heavily on your reconstructed history, and even with the best of intentions it is likely you will get some things wrong” (p. 5).

Let us examine additional sites of writings about Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island.

History of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean

Using the same critical lens let us see if we are uncovering anything different. In your mind, are these correct or not? Please assess each, and be able to respond if correct or not, and why?

2 Minute History Lesson

Native America: A Documentary Exploring the World of America’s First Peoples (Trailer)

Native Tongues Struggle to Stay Alive

Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean

Effects of European colonialism in the Caribbean | Britannica

Even if you performed a cursory examination as some of the material is lengthy, what was uncovered? Are you feeling more confident in the historical accounting and writings, and if so, why?

Before entering a broader discussion of colonialism across Turtle Island, let’s take some time to review the reading of Indigenous scholar, James Frideres, in his chapter titled, Knowing Your History, which examines the history of Canada in relation to Indigenous peoples.

James Frideres and his Historical Review: Chapter 1: Knowing Your History in Indigenous Peoples in the 21st Century

I will highlight the author’s main points in bullet form under the following the main headings as they appear in his textbook.

Introduction

Historical foundation of Canada’s policy and framework regarding Indigenous peoples (Searle & Mulholland, 2018): Denial of Indigenous sovereignty + Imposition of patriarchal European sovereignty
Two means to approach this injustice is to: Help the victim + Convince ourselves no injustice occurred
Institutions reinforce built-in perspectives of “the way things are,” which deflate the “other” : Raises narrative privilege Settlers have settler imaginary: Represents their views of First

Nations, Inuit, and Métis

This settler imaginary is a set of assumptions that allow us to carry out collective practices

Privilege and Responsibility

Privilege is an institutional (not personal) set of benefits granted to some people who dominate powerful positions in our institutions
White privilege is the ability to make decisions for all without having to take others into consideration
White elite set standards for all, not maliciously, but because it was their “destiny”; e.g. British North America Act (1867)

Most Canadians today

Distance themselves from the responsibilities of previous generations
Argue Indigenous are an uncaused tragedy; refute the relationship of whiteness and Indigeneity
Argue people today cannot be responsible for action in the past
Are so disconnected with the past they have no feeling of responsibility and reject seeing themselves as the benefactors

Key Points from Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, 2015)

Indigenous people argue that norms of fair treatment and equality of opportunity are not met
Canadians are reluctant to see any “bias” within social structures; they see the status quo as legitimate
Most Canadians reject the references to genocide (physical, social, and cultural), considered too harsh and that actions taken were in the sense of righteousness and justified
Individuals who created laws and policies rarely showed guilt or remorse; settlers did not view the actions as criminal
Dominant group engaged in the erasure of truths, removal of knowledge to legitimatize Western ideology, history, which continues to hide Western imperialism while simultaneously maintaining superiority over Indigenous people

Who Writes History?

Historical content keeps points of view or documents of events in some form to be transmitted to the next generation
The written history of First Nations for the most part has not been written by them, so does it capture the essence of Indigenous life accurately?
Between 1850–1950, most items made by Indigenous people would be owned by others
Literature homogenizes the Indigenous Nations under the category of “Indian”
Writing reflects the cultural ethos and perspective of the writer(s)
How accurate would your history be if it were written by people from another culture?

Indigenous History

The view that Indigenous people did not contribute to Canada’s history was written into Canadian texts by elites who benefitted by representing the Indigenous people in a negative light

Primary views:

Indigenous peoples did not contribute to Canada’s development
They have lost cultural vibrancy
They are headed for extinction
Covered up the physical, psychological, and cultural violence, reduced to wardship, neo-liberal philosophy
Forgotten are Indigenous technologies, social organization, ecological knowledge, and the direct assistance and adaptation to the settler people

First Nations and Inuit People before 1500

An estimated 500,000 Indigenous people inhabited what is now Canada
Semi-nomadic and sedentary by Great Lakes and West Coast, kinship units, extended family and clans
Little separation of social, economic, and spiritual dimensions of people’s lives
Some societies were matrilineal and inclusive of women in the political sphere, while others viewed women as sacred
Life organized around annual cycles
Sense of family and community
Pre-contact conflict focused on control over trade routes, obtaining slaves, and political organization and control
Across Canada, there are seven major cultural areas with over 50 languages in 12 language groups, each with their own political and social structure tied to the ecological niche in which they lived

Contact and European Settlement

About 1000 BC, Vikings sailed across the Atlantic and settled for several years
Jacques Cartier, 1534—near present-day Quebec City; returned to France with two sons of Donnacona
Samuel de Champlain, 1603—encountered Inuu, Kanienkehaka; founded Quebec City in 1608
Brought with them the concept of the patriarchal family and the idea that the white man’s burden was to “civilize,” and reorganize based on their concepts
Brought about the displacement of women’s roles in government and leadership and reorganized the family
Men were brought into line with patrilineal system using punitive measures against the women
1876 Indian Act cemented the new social system dispossessing women from all power, denied votes, and forced into the reshaped version of family
Interface with Indigenous people can be described in phases

Phase 1 (1610–1680)

French and English made inroads with considerable conflict
First Nations are allies
First Nations and Inuit were essential to settler survival; taught settlers about land and survival about foods, clothing to wear, travel, and routes
Symbiotic relationship
Europeans supplies metal tools and firearms, and other material objects

Phase 2 (1680–1815)

Royal Proclamation, 1763—recognized Indigenous interest and common use of ancestral lands
Resistance by First Nations Iroquois (1609–1701), Fox (1710–38), and Mi’kmaq (1613–1761) wars
Peace and Friendship Treaties
First Nations drawn deeper into economy of the settlers through trade
Become dependent on trade goods
Devastation by diseases began to have an impact
Pre-contact First Nations numbers reduced to barely 100,000 by the end of the 19th century
French fur trade in its infancy was controlled by the Compagnie des Indes occidentals
Company first dealt with fur and moose hide trade, then changed to timber, minerals, and food stuffs
Fur trade was profitable and allowed the French to control the settlers
Local animal populations declined
1860, Hudson Bay Company established
Defeat of French (1759) and Montreal (1760) and Treaty of Paris (1763)
War of 1812, First Nations as allies, promises made are ignored, First Nations now viewed as impediments to progress

Phase 3 (1815–1860)

Colonization seriously impacts the way of life for First Nations
Settlement, disease, First Nations doomed to extinction
Beothuk do become extinct; last known died in 1829
First Nations numbers decline
Epidemics decimate First Nations populations—no resistance to typhoid, smallpox, common maladies

Phase 4 (1860–1920)

Canada moved the jurisdiction of First Nations from military to civil society
Provided some degree of self government with limited power
Creation of the reserves
Indian Act established in 1876
Canadian government denies citizenship rights to First Nations people, including the right to vote
Métis and Inuit are not recognized under the Indian Act at the time
Assumption that First Nations are incapable of making adult decisions and need special protection of the Crown
Creation of residential schools
Enfranchisement legislation put into place
Riel Resistance **** reminded the government that Indigenous people still pose a threat and needed to be extinguished forever, made subservient, or dependent (embedded link that describes a significant part of Canadian history and the Métis Peoples in Canada)
By 1867, more than 100 treaties and land surrenders negotiated; today there are more then 500
1850–1923, 66 treaties were negotiated and signed between the government and First Nations people to extinguish First Nations and Métis land rights for expansion of the railway and settlement
1850 Robinson Huron (Ontario) treaties became the template for future treaties; changes to the template only occurred if more concessions were made by the First Nations
Numbered treaties open the west; notable concession of the Medicine Chest in Number 6
Implementation of treaty agreements were not fulfilled and if challenged by First Nations, they would be threatened or ignored or defrauded
Results in Ottawa taking over lands and natural resources in less then a century
Once treaties were signed, the government deemed their responsibility resolved; period of benign neglect
Widespread settlement
Government dominates over the First Nations, seen as superior race; manifest destiny added to the belief of superiority
If First Nations resisted, starvation policies would ensure the First Nations capitulated
Over time, lands would be removed from reserves as cut-off lands deemed not needed by the First Nations
Government action and inaction
Reserves established and Indian agents ensured rules were followed
First Nations communities were systematically denied provisions to develop land; provisions of farm implements, animals, and agricultural equipment largely ignored
Indian agents were instructed to discourage farming and encouraged small gardens and in some cases government refused to supply equipment
Social barriers put into place with the pass system, which continued in some areas up to 1940s

Phase 5 (1920–1970)

The democratic phase when government shifted its philosophy of assimilation; centered on the residential schools and changed to a policy of integration
Revisions to the Indian Act 1951 repealed laws against ceremonies, potlatches, sun dances; allowed First Nations to exercise some control over their lives
White Paper 1969 outlined a plan whereby the First Nations would be legally terminated and treaties would cease to be living documents
Responsibility of health and education would be turned over to the provinces
Government intended to do away with all legally recognized “Indian” people
Protests by First Nations, and political, social, and religious groups would eventually cause the withdrawal of the Paper

Current State of Affairs: From 1970 to Today

Since the 1970s the courts have been filled with challenges to the moral status of land claims on the grounds that Indigenous peoples’ rights that had been systematically ignored
1970 Supreme Court case that won the right for Indigenous people to drink
1982 Constitutional s.35 protection of “existing” rights
Establishment of rights has been growing to include additional rights
Indian Land Claims Commission formed 1991
Since 1970, the government has embarked on a devolution of political and economic control over Bands
Self-government or sovereignty is minimal at this point

Royal Commission on Indigenous People, 1996

Researched for five years
Findings and recommendations on how the federal government can change its relationship with the First Nations people of Canada

Resistance and Indigenous Place in Canada

The Indigenous experience has not been part of the written history of Canadians; assumption that Indigenous people did not contribute to the development of society
First Nations communities, due to their remote locations, had little interaction with Canadians; however, their contributions to society were major—as settlers moved into the territories there was a melding of cultures, and Indigenous people were pivotal to growth in the early economy of Canada
A philosophy of displacement and assimilation were the underlying factors and goals in policies and programming for Indigenous peoples
Policies, which assumed Indigenous peoples are inferior and incapable of governing themselves, were designed to destroy Indigenous institutions, undermine cultural values, and damage identity
There are many forms of resistance: overt, implicit, symbolic

Conclusion

Indigenous cultures have changed considerably over the past few centuries
Many elements of the culture continue to have a powerful influence on the lives of Indigenous people
Federal government has not fully accepted the fact that First Nations have special rights—considerable denial, reluctance, and equivocation still exist
Historical and contemporary strategies to curtail rights have resulted in passing legislation to keep Indigenous people from pursuing litigation

I know of very few Indigenous scholars who have been able to provide a comprehensive summary of 500 years plus on the history of Canada in relation to Indigenous peoples like that provided by Dr. James Frideres. At the time of writing this OER, a fourth edition of his text, is fully available. Yet, I presented his third version, published in 2020), summary here.

Let us now turn our attention to the topic of colonization.

Five Colonizing Nations: Britain, France, Portugal, Netherlands, and Spain

As has been the approach for this chapter, I present several sources of information which should give the reader a broad view of the colonization of Turtle Island from the historical lens.

History of the Colonization of America

European Exploration, Industrialization, and Colonization (Quam, J., & Campbell, S. (2020). The Western World: Daily Readings on Geography. College of DuPage Digital Press)

https://cod.pressbooks.pub/westernworlddailyreadingsgeography/chapter/historical-geography/

Colonization Map

At times it is easier to present an image that makes a specific point. In this case, I present in Figure 21 a map which clearly shows the five colonizing Nations of Britain, France, Portugal, Netherlands, and Spain in 1763.

Figure 21: Map of the Five Colonizing Nations of Britain, France, Portugal, Netherlands, and Spain (1763)

Lastly, I end this chapter with one example of mainstream rewriting of history which I believe encompasses the working together’ concept of reconciliation, where the contributors, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars and experts bring together their skills and talents to produce a historical account that is reflective of the standards and expectations of the 21st century, and the true historical account.

Example of Mainstream Rewriting of History

Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (Canadian Geographic)

Key Terms and Concepts from Chapter

Terms: