SS 10DOW

FIRST NATIONS LAND TREATIES AND

THE NORTH WEST MOUNTED POLICE

North west Mounted Police (NWMP)

Cypress Hill MassacreFirst Nations Treaties (numbered treaties)

First Nations farming The Indian Act

KEY KNOWLEDGE POINTS

As more people moved West in the 1870’s (to Alberta and Saskatchewan) conflict began…

American fur traders (nicknamed “Whiskey Traders”) were devistating the First Nations population in the area

Trade in “firewater” devastated First Nations populations Fights and disease were common and some FN people could

not care for their families because of their alchohalismAt this point the North west Mounted Police step in…

WHISKEY TRADERS AND THE NWMP

In 1872, the Canadian government decided that the Northwest needed some policing

Northwest Mounted Police established in 1873◦ It was both a police force and a paramilitary organization Paramilitary: unofficial military organization

The Canadian Government was worried that they could lose territory to the Americans

Their first mandate was to drive out the whisky traders and regain control of the area

It took the NWMP a few months to arrive in Saskatchewan.In the meantime…

THE NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE

In the spring of 1873a group of Assiniboin First Nations people were attacked by a

party of Whisky traders in Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan20 Assiniboin people were killed In response, the NWMP sent 275 officers there to establish

control

However, things moved slowly without a railroad…

CYPRESS HILLS MASSACRE

By the time the NWMP arrived there (a few months later), the whisky traders had fled back to the US

This reinforces the need for a railway!

At first the NWMP were welcomed by the First Nations people who believed that they would help them…

NWMP ARRIVE IN CYPRESS HILLS

The Canadian government wanted to open up the prairies for European and Canadian settlement

HOWEVER,

This would be impossible until the First Nations land title was settled- The First Nations depended upon the land for their survival

- Many First Nations people were nomadic

TREATIES WITH THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE

In 1870, the government began negotiating treaties with the First Nations people

Indian Commissioner Wemyss Simpson was sent to speak with the Cree and Anishinabe

At first the First Nations people were willing to negotiate and trusted that when a deal is made, both parties would hold up to their end of that deal.

TREATIES WITH THE FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE

What points of view are expressed in these quotations? Do you think this led to successful treaty negotiations?

“God intends this land to raise great crops for all his children, and the time has come when it is to be used for that purpose. White people will come here to cultivate it under any circumstances. No power on earth can prevent it.” Wemyss Simpson, 1871

“I have turned this matter of a treaty over in my mind and I cannot see anything in it to benefit my children. This is what frightens me. After I showed you what I meant to keep for a reserve, you continued to make it smaller and smaller… Let the Queen’s subjects go on my land if they choose. I give them liberty. Let them rob me.” Ay-ee-ta-pe-pe-tung, 1871

QUOTES

First Nations People wanted…

Canadian Government Wanted…

To retain control of 60% of the land in Manitoba

To offer only 160 acres of land for every family of five

TREATIES

First Nations eventually agreed to 160 acres of land per family (which was what the government wanted), but only with the following conditions…

1) The Government would supply the first Nations people with farming equipment and supplies

2) The government would teach the First Nations people farming techniques

By the end of 1871, Treaties 1 and 2 were complete and the First Nations people had signed away their claim to their traditional homeland.

Treaties continued to be signed across Canada. There were 7 treaties in the Prairies by the end of the 1870’s

The First Nations people signed these treaties honestly believing that the Canadian Government would do what they had promised…

TREATIES

The Government did not keep their end of the deal…Despite the fact that the government had promised to help

the FN with farming supplies and teaching them how to farm, they did not do either.

First Nations communities near the Great Lakes did experience some agricultural success, but the Prairies were much more difficult – insects, drought…

TREATIES

Here is what the government did do…

TREATIES

The ploughs that were supplied by the government were poorly made and useless for prairie soil

The oxen that were supplied to pull the ploughs could not pull them

The seeds sent too late in the year so that they were too late to be planted

Farmers were forbidden to use the steam-powered threshing machines required to grind the wheat into flour

A government official was quoted as saying that it was ‘unnatural’ for the First Nations people to use machines, even though it is impossible to grow and harvest without them

If the FN people were successful and had leftover wheat (surplus) after they fed themselves, they were not allowed to sell it.

It seemed as if the Canadian government wanted the farms to fail…

By the 1900’s, in the face of such hardships, almost all of the First Nations people living on the Prairie reserves had abandoned farming.

Eyewitness Account: Work together with a partner to

complete the eyewitness account assignment. Be prepared to discuss your answers.

TREATIES

In 1876, the government passed the Indian ActThis stated (among other things) that:

All First Nations People MUST live on reserve land All First Nations children must attend residential schools All traditional ways of life, such as choosing leaders and

participating in ceremonies, were forbiddenThis act destroyed the First Nations people’s traditional way

of life and poverty, isolation, and lack of rights and freedom caused profound suffering for the First Nations people

THE INDIAN ACT

RIGHTS OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE

As we know, First Nations people were not given a real chance to succeed at farming.

People believed the myth that First Nations people were not suited to farming and that it was unnatural.

Residential schools were made mandatory, which caused a “national policy of cultural extinction.” (pg 267).

1955 Propaganda Video

RIGHTS OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE

By 1910, more than 60 government sanctioned and supported residential schools had been established.

Over 150 000 Aboriginal and Metis children were forced to attend these schools.

Overcrowding and unsanitary conditions caused sickness and death for many children.

More than 50% of the children died from living conditions, poor diet, or inadequate medical care.

In 2008, many unmarked graves were found around the former schools which are a testament to the young lives that were lost.

RIGHTS OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE

In 2008, the Canadian Government formed the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” (TRC). The goal was to give anyone affected by residential schools a chance to share their experiences and create a historical record.

View the 2008 apology

Tells the story of 2 residential school survivors, Lyna and Glen.

Guiding Question: What evidence of cultural assimilation do you see?

DOCUMENTARY: WE WERE CHILDREN

What do you want to know about Residential Schools? What were residential schools?What led to the creation of residential schools?What were the living conditions at residential schools like?How did residential schools end?What were some of the long term impacts of residential schools?What has the government done to try to deal with the impacts of residential schools?What was the residential school in the Okanagan like?

Research individually or with a partner and be prepared to share your findings with the class.

Start here http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government-policy/the-residential-school-system.html (google “Canada residential school ubc” and it is the first hit)

Other useful resources include; Canadian Encyclopedia, wherearethechildren.ca, and the CBC history of Residential Schools

RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS RESEARCH