HIST 3711: Unit 2 Engaging Colonialism

Stages of Colonialism

Colonialism 1.0

• French aimed for loot rather than settlement 

• 1534 leader of Stadacona (Iroquoians) met Cartier - cooperative but some mistrust/conflict

Colonialism 2.0: Settler Colonialism - 17th 

• Permanent occupation not just colonial agents (traders, solders, governors) to establish an uncontested settler state

• Began Micmac and St. Lawrence Valley “vacant” after the disappearance of the St. Lawrence Iroquois 

• Indigenous roles in conflict minimized over conflict between empires - with Indigenous roots (Wendat)

Colonialism 3.0: Expansion

• British North America 1783 & Expansion

• Division between settler society and London/Paris eg. Proclamation Act of 1763 established principles for settler expansion - ignored by settler society (eg. Maliseet)

• Cultural assaults & changes by Indigenous themselves but focus on Unit 2 is on diplomatic confrontation

Indicate how military alliances were understood - Wendat

• Commerce & Military: initiated by Wendat with trade being conditional on military support against Iroquois

• Jesuits: allowed to fostering stronger connection to goods

Indicate how military alliances were understood - Iroquois

• Commerce & Military: alliance with Dutch later British providing access to goods & political power 

• Great Peace of Montreal 1701: remain neutral buffer state with French & British - internal divisions - Mohawks (Wendat traditionalist adoptees dislike of French & near British major trading hub Albany) 

• American Revolution: post loyalist (Mohawks) displaced to resettlement in BNA

Indicate how military alliances were understood - Micmac

• French & Military Resistance: to counter British expansion (without significant territorial loss) & goods - Not total in French interest some did not partake in Port Royal defense opting for seasonal movements 

• Maritime Resistance: towards British settler society during colonial conflicts - economic independence

• Political Resistance: Strategic Use of Treaties with British during 18th

Indicate how military alliances were understood - 1812

• Tecumseh: formed pan-Indigenous alliances with British General Brock support to resist American expansion onto land after attack on Prophetstown - death led to disbanded

Describe the causes of conflict between Indigenous and colonial societies from Indigenous perspectives. 4

• Encroachment - Loss of Hunting and Gathering Grounds

• Starvation and Epidemics

• Violation of Treaties

• Wanting to take away autonomy through Criminalization

Describe the causes of conflict between Indigenous and colonial societies from Indigenous perspectives - Encroachment

• Settlers & Resource Development: loss of Hunting and Gathering Grounds

• Micmac: fall of New France fueled British conflict felt entitled to land with Utrecht 1713 as conflict before was more or less because of French influence - Displaced Maine Native from Father Rale’s War encouraged Nova Scotia Natives to avoid same fate

• Post Revolution: Later British population pressure & resource development (logging) - poverty & starvation - Micmac petition to Queen Victoria led to Indian Affairs position - thought it would be throwing good money after bad & they would share the same fate of the Beothuk 

• 1812: American expansion on undefined border

• Anishinaabe: were pushed into less arable areas by the wheat boom of the early 19th

• Plains: solution to seeks treaties in age of uncertainty (HBC land transfer, settler population pressure, bison population decline, smallpox, starvation, CPR)

Describe the causes of conflict between Indigenous and colonial societies from Indigenous perspectives - Treaty Violations

• Micmac: 1726 & others aimed to protect hunting & fishing grounds later had disputes - 1760s treaties led to longer lasting peace 

• Provisions: rations, aid, equipment promised in numbered treaties (Cree) - Big Bear to resist signing agreements​ (concern about autonomy) 

• Gaps in legal interpretations: renewal vs one time - unmet verbal promises - thought to share land as selling land was foreign concept

Describe the causes of conflict between Indigenous and colonial societies from Indigenous perspectives - Starvation & Epidemics

• Reserves: overcrowding & malnutrition (TB & Russian Flu Pandemic from CPR)

• Farming: unsuccessful as poverty farming policy to not compete with setter farming - discouraged equipment so wheat crops could not be milled

• Treaty Violations: withholding rations - starvation as policy to sign treaties - conditions led to mistrust

• Exploitation: females by NWMP & Indian agents

Describe the causes of conflict between Indigenous and colonial societies from Indigenous perspectives - Criminalization

• Execution of Natives: 1726 Boston trial

• Indian Act: wards, limit selling goods, status, band elections, residential schools 

• NWMP: Pass system, Cree movement to unite to negotiate treaties - 1885 trials with mass execution & leaders like Big Bear jailed even though tried to stop violence

• “People of the Red River” War: settler road construction workers, women, girls mistreated, threat of smallpox blanket post recovering from largest smallpox epidemic in community - leaders were executed under false pretenses of peace negotiations
  

Describe the treaty-making process and various understandings of the Numbered Treaties

• Early Frameworks: Rooted in Indigenous diplomatic traditions (mutual respect, gift-giving, pipe smoking, renewal) 

• Shift in Approaches: Alliance not valued after fall of fur & hide trade, colonial conflicts, territory knowledge - treaties became tools of control (after the Indian Act​) - coexistence to coercion 

• Indigenous Perspectives: Age of uncertainty (HBC land transfer, bison decline, smallpox, setter influx) - some sought treaties to secure future - seen as agreements to share land, maintain access to traditional resources, provisions for survival (food relief, aid, education, annuities)​ - not one-time agreements - Discrepancies Between Oral and Written Agreements (James Bay treaty with the officials diary documenting the verbal promise(s) "Taken Up Clause" not explained)  

• Colonial Perspectives: Post 1885 Treaties used to ensure peaceful expansion into area (settlers & national railway) - forever land sale agreements - Reserves as temporary to assimilate

Explain the causes and principal outcomes of events in 1869–70 in which First Nations and Métis peoples in the West laid out their grievances against settler colonialism.

• Causes: transfer of Rupert’s Land from HBC to Canada - wanting to create providence without consult - concern over autonomy & settler influx 

• Outcomes: Creation of Manitoba & promises to Metis - Louis Riel exile to US - continued tensions

Explain the causes and principal outcomes of events in 1885 in which First Nations and Métis peoples in the West laid out their grievances against settler colonialism.

North-West Resistance

Métis

• Causes: unresolved grievances with government over rights from earlier resistance

• Return of Louis Riel: coalition with some First Nations - provisional government - uprising for autonomy 

• Battle at Duck Lake: NWMP vs coalition 

• Battle of Batoche: quick mobilization of troops bc CPR- Métis were decisively defeated

• Outcome: Execution of Louis Riel

Cree

• Causes: Unmet Treaty Obligations (rations, equipment, aid withheld), poor conditions on reserves (starvation & overcrowding led TB/deaths), females exploited - leaders organizing collation to renegotiate more favorable terms 

• Frog Lake: Years of frustrations led conflict with death of Indian agent & settlers - Big Bear trying to stop it as would harm political resistance 

• Outcome: Mass Execution & imprisonment of leaders (including Big Bear) at Manitoba prison - surveillance state with Pass system

What was the function of war in Indigenous societies? Were there differences between the Indigenous societies reviewed so far?

• Resistance: Wabanaki: limit settler expansion post-Treaty of Utrecht (1713) through maritime raids & Father Rale’s War - avoid displacement & assess to resources

• Mourning: retaliatory warfare - cultural aspect to grieve & captives during the Beaver Wars bc population loss due to epidemics and conflict - also may have wanted more territory control (buffer between French & English)

• Fox Wars: Wendat/other Algonquin/Illinois used slave raids to limit French expansion & make Fox enemies of French to continue more dominance in fur trade 
  

What role did slavery play in war, diplomacy, and trade in the Eastern Woodlands?

• Slave raids: a tool of warfare for Illinois/other Aloquian to divide Fox-French - Fox slaves in French households fueled tensions - Slave trade incentivized French commanders to encourage or take part in anti-Fox raids - result total war against Fox by French  

• Governor of New France statement: orders from Paris for peace to returning slaves but French colonist & officers continuing using Fox slaves including him - used for domestic work, agriculture, commodities in the fur trade

Describe the various Indigenous objectives in forging alliances with colonial/imperial parties and in mounting wars against them, from the mid-eighteenth century to ca. 1820.

Defending Territory and Resources

• Pontiac War, War of 1812

• Wabanaki-French to counter British - post 1713 Wabanaki & other native groups sent a letter to British governor as angered by expansion - Wars of Resistance

• Treaty of 1726 - effort coextensive - regulations on resolving disputes with British subjects & promise not to molest hunting/gather/fishing grounds - forced more interest in French British rivalry as before colonialism did not significantly impact day-today life - conscious understanding of how their world had changed since 1710

• Scalping Bounties 1749: Micmac scalps force them out of Nova Scotia

• 1750s: renewed interest in British settlements in Nova Scotia - sparked war to drive each other out

• 1752: stalemate into peace treaty with some bands but ultimately failed (although British never went back on policy of driving Micmac out of Nova Scotia)  

• Wabanaki piracy to maintain control of Atlantic frontier against British expansion 

Exploiting Colonial Rivalries

• Wabanaki piracy raids against during imperial conflicts for loot & sell ships - took advantage of imperial conflict getting favorable trade deals & gift giving during peace 

Securing Trade Goods

• Five Nations trading with French & British post 1701  - split during American Revolution - Mi'kmaq with French & after fall of french military presence with British at times (factions with community) 

Slave Trade - Fox Wars

Identify the principal alliances struck between Indigenous nations and colonial powers and settler societies.

• Wabanaki-French alliance: Benefited both sides economically as Wabanaki sold captured British ships

• Haudenosaunee-British: Mohawk sided with the British Revolution - divided the League of Six Nations internally.

• Fox-French conflicts: French sought Fox alliances but struggled to secure them due to slave trade

In what ways—if any—did the experience of conflict with colonists vary for Indigenous communities on the East Coast and around the Great Lakes?

Warfare

• Wabanaki maritime power and piracy to disrupt British shipping - conflicts with colonel powers more economically driven because of loot & seized ships

• Iroquois focused on land-based raiding to control against French & allies including looting furs

Alliance Patterns

• Wabanaki aligned with French as a counterbalance to British coastal expansion - take advantage - able play one off another as both feared alienating them 

• Iroquois alliances with British and Dutch to maintain trade advantages and strengthen defense - Wendat aligned with French 

Settler Encroachment

• Wabanaki faced rapid settler encroachment along the coast post-1713

• Great Lakes more time to adjust - Five Nations post 1701 buffer - facing increased British-American pressures after fall of New France - less Wars of Resistance 

What advantages in conflict did Indigenous communities and their forces enjoy in this period?

• Knowledge of Terrain: guerrilla warfare with ambushes - rugged landscape allowed them to outmaneuver larger English forces - seasonal movements

• Maritime Expertise: raids along the Atlantic disrupting British shipping routes and trade - control over coast

• Diplomatic Leverage: exploiting colonial rivalries secure alliances, trade benefits, military aid  maintaining autonomy (eg. Wabanaki during times of peace)

• Alliances: Allied Natives eventually French against Fox when France initially wanted peace

In what ways does Wicken suggest we recast the Acadian conflict with the British?

• Agency: active defending their territorial rights - 1726 Treaty mention of hunting and fishing rights 

• Argument: 1710 “Conquest” of Acadia not immediately significant for Natives whose presence is ignored by hx - Treaty of Utrecht did not sign - as British expanded forced to adjust leading to 1726 Treaty - more impact in 1726 than 1710

Are there instances in which Indigenous objectives and agendas in conflict superseded those of settler colonies and colonial regimes?

• Wabanaki Raids: independently to disrupt British trade - secure economic autonomy rather than solely supporting French imperial aims.

• Autonomy - placed community interests over imperial goals - 1708 siege of Port Royal some choose eel hunting over military involvement - proposed to Micmac to serve French interests but largely ineffective

• Wars of Resistance: acted independently in 1720s not for French defense 

• Fox Resistance: allied Natives stopping French from forming an alliance with Fox preventing French expansion - Expansion hindered also during Fox resistance

• Wendat-French - commerce that French wanted contingent on conflict against rivals 

• Beaver Wars - large scale mourning wars to repopulate

List wars of resistance in the period from 1760 - 1820

• Micmac Resistance - 1700s

• Pontiac’s Rebellion - 1763

• War of 1812

• Mica Bay Mine - 1849

• Fraser Canyon “War” - 1858

• Chilcotin War - 1864

Account for the wars of resistance in the period from ca. 1760 to ca. 1820 - Pontiac’s Rebellion

• Great Lakes and Ohio Valley

• 1763: inspired by Delaware prophet Pontiac (Anishinaabe) siege on Fort Detroit with other nations taking most forts - failed evicting British (stalemate) but eventually restored middle ground with understanding between the two
  Motivation: British victory over French territory led Indigenous concerns - tensions rose with British policies - (not acting as fathers/brothers, no gift-giving, not providing aid with famines, 1763 cession Canada with reality of French giving up, Delaware Prophet vision

Account for the wars of resistance in the period from (1760-1820) - War of 1812

• Tecumseh: American destruction of Prophetstown led to ally with the British General Brock - effective in early stages of War of 1812 - death in 1813 (Battle of the Thames) turning point with alliance broken apart

• British still were able to push Americans out of Southern Ontario

Account for the wars of resistance in the period from (1760-1820) - Mica Bay

• Motivation: response to continued unmet promises led a group in seizing the mine - Chiefs sent to jail

• Robinson-Huron Treaty: showing 'Little Pine’ fight for Indigenous rights

Account for the wars of resistance in the period from (1760-1820) - Northwest Pacific

• Fraser Canyon “War” - attacked by American gold rushers when defending themselves (rape of women, encroachment, unprovoked attacks) - villages burned - truce - reason for official colonial force - fear American takeover

• Fraser River Gold Rush (1858) - influx gold rushes worked upwards of Fraser River - Chilcotin “Great Road” route - Smallpox epidemic (killing about half the population & from starvation as too weak to made winter supply) - Chilcotin War (1864) 

Describe and explain changes in Indigenous objectives in alliances and conflicts down to ca. 1820

• Nova Scotia: post loss of French military support in 1760s focus on co-existence with British - negotiating territorial & cultural preservation

• Great Lakes & Ohio Valley: Broader Collective Defense to defend against Expansion with loss of French military Rise of Pan-Indigenous Alliances inspired by Pontiac and Tecumseh - Pontiac later shifted from to drive each other out to co-existence

To what extent are resistance movements in Micmac, in the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, Chilcotin territory motivated by cultural, intellectual, and spiritual issues?

Ohio Valley 

• Neolin - Delaware Prophet: rejection of European cultural (materialism, clothing, Christianity as reasons for struggles - return to traditional Indigenous ways - wider Algonquian unity

• Religious Syncretism: elements of Christianity (Indian guilt/sin for adopting colonial practices, heaven/hell) - his vision spread to other nations - Motivating Pontiac War - multiple nations against British 

Great Lakes 

• The Prophet and Tecumseh (brothers) encouraged Indigenous to reject European cultural - inspire indigenous front against American expansion not all nations supported unity due loss of autonomy concerns 

Micmac 

• Spiritual beliefs with respect for the land for resistance - seen as a gift from ancestors

Chilcotin

• 1880s: Transition into into ranchers - modern cowboy identity 

• Regulations: 1900s limit deer hunting, harvesting fur, fishing permits to pushing “civilized society” though still continued traditional practices - more reliance on government aid & residential schools came much later in area (continued speaking of Chinook) - racism affected limited desirable jobs

What does Richter present as a possibility in the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War? What made that goal elusive and ultimately unattainable?

• 1764 Plan: British proposal radical for its time with Indigenous rights - Pontiac’s War showed need for respect

• Boundary Enforcement: prevent unchecked expansion by settlers

• Trade Regulation: curb dishonest trade tactics and alcohol

• Justice: system mediate disputes fairly between Natives and Europeans

• Centralized Authority: to enforce policy uniformly, avoiding the inconsistencies of individual colonial administrations

• Responses: widely opposed by settlers not wanting Crown interventions & taxes needed - canceled with complexity to implement & ongoing settler & Crown divisions with Stamp Act Crisis

What led various indigenous communities and leaders to regard the colonists and the Crown differently?

• Differing Approaches to Land Use: Land hungry Colonists pushing beyond agreed boundaries disrupting traditional practices - Crown more concerned with stability & trade - Royal Proclamation of 1763, Plan of 1764 

• Fox Wars: Paris interest in peace with stopping slave trade returning slaves & vs private interests of officers/colonist in slave trade

What prompted the Chilcotin attack on colonists in 1864? What were its consequences?

• Fraser River Gold Rush (1858) - influx gold rushes worked upwards of Fraser River -Chilcotin “Great Road” route - Smallpox epidemic (killing about half the population & from starvation as too weak to made winter supply- fueling anger/fear toward white settlers)  

• 1864: attempt to construct a road through land - road workers mistreated Chilcotin (poor pay, refusing food, abuse/exploit women, threat smallpox) 

• Response: surprise attack on road workers in 1864 with more attacks on other whites on supply train & settlers - British response ineffective till leaders were deceived, captured, tried & executed for murder under false pretense of peace talks by British

• Aftermath: War prevented the construction of the road further major encroachment - reputation as strong defenders of their land - Residential schools coming later (1940s) Chinook still part of culture to this day

How has the Chilcotin resistance been portrayed in different accounts and in different media?

• Former: Group seen as problem tribe with reputation for violence

• Historical Analyses: interpret the attack as a resistance against colonization consider consider land encroachment and exploitation

How did Micmac treaty negotiations proceed in the early 17th & differ with British?

• Alliances with French: negotiated trade treaties based based on Indigenous framework - mutual respect, peace, friendship - 

• Religious Integration: agreed to Catholic missionaries with French settlers while preserving their own traditions with some conversions

• Cultural Integration vs. Resistance: customs blended with European spirituality (Catholicism) while resisting Protestant, farming assimilation, British encroachment - highlighting diplomatic flexibility
  

According to Battiste, what expectations and goals did the Micmac have as regards education?

Control Over Education: deeply tied to cultural practices​ - education as a treaty right - modern reforms a provincial & federal responsibility

What was the background to the numbered treaties?

• Royal Proclamation of 1763: recognized Indigenous land rights

• Treaty of Niagara 1764: treaty of alliance with Covenant Chain

• Indian Act 1876: kinship-based treaties to legal governance under Canada

• Canadian Goals: peaceful access to western lands - national railway post 1885 NW Resistance

• Indigenous Expectations: belief in traditional protocols early European newcomers adopted - believed treaties were based on mutual respect, under regular review not forever agreements

• Background: Industrial Revolution (repeating rifle & railways), fur trade to bison hide trade - starvation (bison overhunting, Wabanaki logging & settlers affecting traditional practices - Anishinaabe military weak, circled by settler societies pushed to reserves by 1860

What key lessons do we learn about the treaty-making process from James Bay Treaty Nine?

• Indigenous Goal: requested treaty to protect traditional livelihood in age of uncertainty (influx of settlers, railway, unauthorized resource dev affecting traditional ways - wanted similar rights Robinson Treaties (guaranteed hunting rights, reserves, annual payments) vs Canadian want for land for settlers & resource development

• Oral vs. Written: Indigenous verbally assured of their unrestricted rights to hunt, fish, trap not fully reflected in the treaty document - difficult/unable for chiefs to read

• Differing Interpretations: friendship treaties - land to to be shared vs permanently surrendering sovereignty

• Taken Up Clause: diary silent on explanation on government able “take up” the land at any point for its own

• Lack of Genuine Consultation: suggests focus on quick agreement & clear reserves not be on resource rich land 

How does Keith Smith describe and define the purposes of reserves?

• Temporary: assimilate Indigenous to settler society 

• Limited Autonomy: occupancy rights rather than full ownership - Indian Act

To what extent was the economic deck stacked against Indigenous communities on reserves?

• Reduced Sizes: based on local settler demand - smaller average reserve in Canada compared to US especially in BC - challenged WW1 (Allied Tribes of BC) to today - TB

• Land Quality: best agricultural lands & resource development rich land (minerals, hydroelectric, logging - Treaty 9) not on reserves - for government/settlers 

• Restrictions on Economic Activity: Indian Act restricting as needed permit to sell goods that come from land  

• Less Assess hunting & fishing territories: confiding to land & Pass Systems restricting movement out of reserve 
  

How had the context of resistance changed on the Plains between 1870 and 1885?

• Shift from Bison Economy: Post-1870 collapse of bison (repeating rifle & hide trade) - national famine - malnutrition causing widespread TB, measles, Russian flu 

• Impact of Treaty-Making: Viewed treaties were not honored with aid withheld & cut - "work-for-rations." reserves not practical for traditional hunting/gathering patterns

• Tools of Control: starvation policies as a tactic to force treaties & reserves  

• NWMP: transition to under Indian affairs - defenders to agents of oppression - agents & police exploiting women & girls (starvation)  

• CPR: full-scale colonization of Plains possible - new telegraph technology for rapid deployment

• North-West Rebellion

To what extent were Riel and the Métis pursuing goals that were different from those of the Cree?

• Sought Independence: Riel’s Provisional Government with goal getting other Indigenous groups to create a large-scale uprising

• Legal Resistance: Peaceful Coexistence - Cree address unmet treaty promises & conditions on reserve with starvation & TB - organizing council to sent petitions but stopped by NWMP - Frog Lake killings in moment response to years mistreatment - Big Bear trying to stop

In what ways did the Blackfoot & Cree strategies overlap?

• Fight for Bison: Battle of Belly River (1870) - Blackfoot (won) vs Cree - over declining Bison & Blackfoot weak with smallpox - last major battle b/w First Nations on Plains - both vulnerable - signed peace 

• Focus on Community Survival and Tradition Way of life 

• Advocacy for Treaty Promises and Rights

What was the function of the Northwest Mounted Police (NWMP) in managing Indigenous protest?

• Mix military & police law: restrict Indigenous autonomy

• Surveillance: monitor movement & organizing resistance with pass system

• Suppress resistance: Breaking up council to present united front in form of petitions - Battle at Duck Lake coalition - word reached Ottawa <24 hrs bs new telegraph technology & CPR

• Uphold “Laws”: pass system, Indian Act 
  

How has Riel’s legacy changed and been challenged since 1870?

• Early Depiction as a Traitor: leading Red River Resistance (1869-70) and North-West Resistance (1885) - martyr within Indigenous and French communities 

• Reinterpretation: symbol of resistance - romanticized view Canada’s nation building myth of multicultural roots ignoring Metis fight for independence against unjust Canada - saw themselves not part of Canada identity

What is the significance of the concept of “borderlands” in the context of the events on the Plains ca. 1885?

• Cross-Border US & Canada policy: Dakoda, Cree, Blackfoot - “border” impacting groups whose land were on both sides creating “refugees” - used as Medicine Line to escape 

• Post 1885: Cree (eg. Little Bear) fleeing to US who was unwelcoming - US viewed them as refugees justifying removal

James Daschuk makes the case that Canadian leaders in Ottawa and their operatives in the field intentionally worsened conditions for the Indigenous peoples of the Plains. What evidence does he muster?

• Epidemics: reserve & school (overcrowding & malnutrition) breading aground for TB, measles - discontinuing effective vaccine program - starvation with bison overhunting

• Intentional Withholding of Rations: Macdonald discourage dependence for self reliance - Starvation policies were used to push onto reserves (eg. Big Bear signed Treaty years after refusing Treaty 6) - withheld rations being spoiled 

• Relief Quality & Quantity:  “flour and bacon” scandals (illness & death) - cuts after some process on farms despite not being self-reliant (milling equipment not given) 

• Policy of Reward and Punishment: "Loyal" had aid - "rebel" withholding annuities & taking horses/firearms - withheld ration if did not sent children to school 

• Restrictive Policies: pass system - Indian Act 

• Criminalization: resistance to conditions was criminalized - leaders (Poundmaker & Big Bear) were imprisoned & mass public execution (Battleford)

What was the pass system? How did it come to be applied, and why?

• Pass system: policy with no legal backing - obtain a written pass from an Indian agent to leave their reserve for any reason (including visiting family, seeing children in schools, hunting)

• Post North-West Rebellion: to control movement & prevent further resistance