2. Motivations The goal of the Canadian government (PM Macdonald) was to open the prairies to Canadian and European settlement and the railway Aboriginal title had to be settled first 1870 – all land other than the Selkirk settlement still held by aboriginal nations
3. negotiations Treaty negotiations began in 1870 with the Native Peoples and the Department of Indian Affairs Indian Commissioner W. Simpson sent to Manitoba to begin talks with the Cree and Saulteaux peoples. Concluded Treaties 1 and 2 (August, 1871)
5. Seven Treaties Manitoba Natives signed away their claim to traditional homeland Government wanted the land Little room for negotiation Settlement could not take place till Native title to land was terminated Natives had no options – starving, disease, death
6. Terms: Promise vs. reality Natives wanted to retain 60% of their land Simpson told to offer 160 acres for every family of 5, Farm equipment Supplies Farming instruction Offer not really acceptable to natives but they knew it was the only offer Final size of reserves very small compared to original Native territory
7. Reality for Natives Government had no intention of living up to promises Natives welcomed chance to farm as traditional lifestyle went with the extermination of the bison herds Standards of living declined Promised tools, supplies, and animals never materialized
8. Government blames Natives Government blames natives for their own problems Didn’t want Native to prosper or sell surplus wheat for cash “unnatural for Natives to use machinery” yet could not farm w/o it Natives abandon farming and dependent on govt by end of 19th C
9. More changes 5 more treaties concluded between 1874 – 1877 Government gained access to all land suitable to agriculture Indian Act, 1876 Natives required to live on reserves Native children had to attend residential schools Catholic missionaries Hired as translators Encouraged Natives to sign treaties to avoid starvation Felt natives could be more productive members of society Complete cultural destruction for the Natives
10. Residential schools The Canadian government believed it was responsible for educating and caring for aboriginal people. Best to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs. Ideally, native traditions would diminish, or be completely abolished in a few generations. Policy called "aggressive assimilation" to be taught at church-run, government-funded industrial schools, later called residential schools. children were easier to mould than adults, and boarding school was the best way to prepare them for life in mainstream society. Attendance was mandatory. Agents were employed by the government to ensure all native children attended.
11. Residential Schools Cont. At its peak in 1939, there were 800 schools operating in Canada. Last one closed in 1996. In all, about 150,000 aboriginal, Inuit and Métis children were removed from their communities and forced to attend the schools. http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/
