POL214H1 S: Introduction to Canadian Government Final Exam (Part II of Course)

Week 8, 9, 11, 13

Indigenous

earliest known inhabitants of a geographic location

Colonialism

the exploitation, domination, and subjugation of a people by an imperial power

Settler-colonialism

a “structure and not an event;” Canada identifies as this type of state

Self-determination

• “the possibility for a political community to decide its future”

• act of “reclaiming status” as peoples; shifting relationship to the state

Self-determination vs. sovereignty vs. self-government

1. “internal autonomy in political, economic, and cultural terms”

2. supreme control over a state

3. ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation

Nuance of Canada’s Three Founding Peoples

• contributions of Indigenous peoples are missing/not protected like how British and French contributions are

• calls for recognition in legislation

Concerns about Indigenous linguistic demographics

• concern about the decreasing number of Indigenous people speaking their native languages

Number of First Nations within Canada

630

Politics of recognition with First Nations

status vs. non-status

living on reserving vs. not

represented politically in part by the Assembly of First Nations

Metis

• identity is contested

• complex

• rights finally entrenched in Constitution/charter

Politics of recognition with Metis

• what is the role of the colonial staff in deciding status and who is Indigenous

4 Inuit regions

• Nunavut

• Inuvialuit Settlement Region

• Nunatsiavut

• Nunavik

How did the Royal proclamation impact Indigenous people?

• gave a lot of land to Indigenous people that can be signed away (treaty rights) for money

How did the 1867 Constitution Act impact Indigenous people?

• gives jurisdiction over Indigenous people to federal government

How did the 1876 Indian Act impact Indigenous people?

• grants federal control over most aspects of lives of First Nations

Type of policy used to encourage assimilation

Enfranchisement

How did enfranchisement policies work?

• Canadian citizenship would only be given if an Indigenous person gave up their status…if they didn’t have citizenship then they were unable to vote

• Often made Indigenous peoples wards of the state

1951 - Evolution of the Indian Act

• amendments address some overtly racist policies

• ex. First Nations could get degrees without loosing status

• still the BNB commission refers extensively to only 2 founding peoples

1969 - Evolution of the Indian Act

• White Paper on Indian Affairs

  • Trudeau largely ignored group equality rights and used this to end Indian Affairs

• Aboriginal rights movement gains momentum

1973 - Evolution of the Indian Act

• Calder decision - S.C.C. finds Aboriginal rights (title to land) existed outside of colonial law

The Calder Decision 1973

• S.C.C. ruling that recognized Aboriginal rights to land that existed outside of colonial law

• Found that Aboriginal title existed at the time of the Royal Proclamation of 1736

• decision is cited frequently in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Importance of the Calder decision

• lays foundations for land negotiations in Canada to this day

• Canada has to begin to recognize Aboriginal title (traditional use & occupancy of land) differently

What changed after the Calder decision?

• comprehensive land claims or modern treaties based on indigenous title

• Specific land claims - arise from non-fulfillment of previous treaties

Examples of Territorial Disputes

• Oka Crisis 1990

• Nunavut created in 1999

• 1492 Land Back Lane - Caledonia Ontario

Oka Crisis 1990

• golf course expansion into traditional/treaty land

• armed standoff, police officer killed

• armed forces brought in

• moment of Canada-wide solidarity

1492 Land Back Lane - Caledonia Ontario

• contributed to land back movement

• idea of returning land to convey reconciliation

Indigenous perspectives on Mega-Constitutional Politics

• sections 25 and 35 of Constitution Act further define rights

• Meech Lake Accord fails to address Indigenous concerns

• Charlottetown Accord proposed to recognize right to self government

How did section 25 of the Constitution Act further define Indigenous rights?

• aboriginal and treaty rights

How did section 35 of the Constitution Act further define Indigenous rights?

• affirmed existing treaty rights

What led to the creation of a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples?

• the Oka Crisis

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)

• outlines detailed framework for nation to nation relationship

• investments in self-govenment

What did the Kelowna Accord propose?

• address discrepancy in life outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada

• would have invested $5 million / 10 years; fell off agenda after Harper’s election in 2006

Why did the Kelowna Accord have less impact politically?

• Funding cap

• Political shifts of will

What did the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada emerge from?

• Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement

  • Biggest class-action lawsuit in Canada

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

• inform Canadians about what happened in residential schools

• completed work in 2015 and issued 94 calls to action

  • varying level of extent to which calls to action have been fulfilled

• history wasn’t well known outside of Indigenous communities

Nuance of Indigenous sovereignty and self-government

• Self-government is still stuck in the settler colony

• no true independence from Canadian state

Issues still faced by Indigenous peoples

• poorer health

• more likely to face violence

What does Alfred say about Indigenous reconciliation?

• reconciliation in its current form is meaningless because it fails to address the core issue: land theft”

• trys to overwhelm resistance, culture, distinctiveness

• settlers who are alive today continue to benefit

• based on the “good Indian”

What is the “founding crime of the country”?

• stolen land

What does Alfred propose as a “new” reconciliation?

• resurgence

• nurturing culture