Abstract
You may have heard of the song, “This Land is Your Land,” in school, or at some point in your life. Have you ever really taken a look at the lyrics and pondered on what they were getting across? The song starts off: “This land is your land / This land is my land / From Bonavista / To Vancouver Island / From the Arctic Circle / To the Great Lake waters / This land was made for you and me.” I was taught this song in school—I was taught that Canada was land that my ancestors found and it was made for me and everyone here today. This wasn’t the case.
The European ancestors in Canada came to North America and stole the land from the Original inhabiters—the First Nations. The Fist Nations had a strong and fulfilling connection with the land: taking away the land was taking away their life… and that’s exactly what the Europeans did.
This paper goes into depth of how the First Nation peoples were robbed of their land, and were left in the dust to follow under the rules of the newcomers. A day they thought would change their lives to gain education and healthcare; the First Nations lives really did change forever, and not for the good. From the time the Europeans came to right this moment, the land has always been the issue and topic of conflict (Treaties: Negotiations and Rights).
The Land Rob and Betrayal in Canada
Imagine one day you’re minding your business in your home and suddenly, people of a different ethnicity who don’t speak your language walk in and place a symbol of theirs (a flag, or a cross) on your property. You’re confused, and you also can’t communicate with them. Soon enough, you realize that these people want to come inhabit your land. You understand that they have to go grab something—maybe a suitcase or other people—and will be back. You have a big enough yard so you talk with your family, your brothers and sisters, and you agree to share the land with these people. Before you know it, they are governing you and taking away what means the most—the land. They’re breaking the agreements they made with you, and are kicking you out of your own home that was given to you. This is a true story; a story involving the First Nations of Canada. Although this has occurred many years ago, the impacts still live on today.
Canada took part in cultural genocide. They ripped First Nations away from their land, culture, spirituality, beliefs, and all aspects of life. Before the comings of the Europeans, the Original Peoples lived freely amongst each other, the land, and all other life forms. There was no land rights and possessions like there were when the Europeans came. When they first arrived, the newcomers thought they already owned the land. They thought that they could come into North America and belittle the, then current, inhabitants. This wasn’t the case, however. First Nation peoples would not surrender their land—that’s not what the creator wanted them to do. They were to protect the land and life on it no matter the cost. They were one with the land; loosing the land meant losing their identity.
The First Nation brothers and sisters had already foreseen the coming of the Europeans far before they actually arrived (Treaty Elders of Saskatchewan). They already knew that they would have to share the land with the newcomers one way or another, so that’s exactly what they did… so they thought.
At first, the First Nations and the newcomers were adapting well to living amongst one another, but they needed something a bit more set in stone to conduct their relationship—a treaty. Queen Victoria was the first to define a treaty between the Europeans and the First Nations: an agreement between two countries to do certain thing or to help each other (Rarihokwats). This agreement between these two parties was that in exchange for sharing and respecting their land, the First Nations would receive healthcare and education from the Europeans (Treaties: Negotiations and Rights). From the treaty, the First Nations understood that they would continue to live their lives like that had been before the coming of the Europeans; they would resume their hunting, fishing, trapping, ceremonies, etc. However, the Europeans believed in their sovereignty over the Native Americans, and started to issue certain laws.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was put in place by the British Crown to make settlement possible, whilst ensuring the appeasement of the First Nations simultaneously. This Proclamation stated that the parties would meet to discuss the treaty in regard to obtaining land, obtain free, prior, and informed consent, and then compensate for the lands that were obtained (Rarihokwats). It sounded like the perfect plan, but not everything was as it seemed.
Settlers were starting to take the reins when it came to obtainment of the land. They were eager to get the land for good farming land—and most importantly—its resources. The main interest of the settlers were the riches of Rupert’s Land and the Northwest Territories. They weren’t interested in creating a bond and friendship with the Original Peoples. They knew what they were doing. They had a plan to come take the riches of North America and, essentially, the lifeline of the First Nation peoples. An obvious conflict was inevitable at this point considering the mindset of the Crown during this time.
Soon enough, the British Crown started to dictate the ways of life of the First Nation peoples. The settlers began disobeying the Royal Proclamation of 1763, leaving the First Nations in the dust. Promises were broken, and the settlers took the land right from under the Original People’s feet. There was no consent, no meetings—it was pure greed and betrayal. Who gave the Crown the authority to come to this new land and take what did not belong to them? Why was it so okay back then, but theft of any sort today is intolerable? The First Nations peoples never surrendered their land. That’s not what they were taught to do from their ancestors, and from the Creator. Their land was stolen from them, and there is still theft from the First Nations inflicted by the government today.
The First Nations were shoved from their ownership and interconnectedness with the land, and sent to reserves to live their lives. What compensation did they get from the new fraudulent inhabiters since they lost their land? Nothing. They didn’t get any healthcare or education they were promised. The only “education” they got was from the Residential Schools which tore the poor and helpless First Nation children away from everything they knew: their language, culture, identity, and ways of life overall. This was a purposeful, diminishing, and genocidal act on Canada’s part.
There is always two sides to every story. The only written accounts from the treaty are though the governments perspective (Treaties: Negotiations and Rights). It teaches how the First Nations agreed to live on reserves and continue their ways of life there, while the Europeans occupied and controlled the rest of the land. No one would disturb the ways of life on the reserved lands for the First Nations. How does this make sense, however? Does giving up everything the First Nations valued, and lived and abided by make sense? Why would they give up everything for the so-promised healthcare and education—which they didn’t even receive? It doesn’t make sense. This is because it is not the way the two parties interacted, and not how things folded out. The oral understandings, which the First Nation elders know, are a different story from the written government documents. They were forced out of their land. There was no agreement to give up their land for next to nothing. The First Nations were not able to live their lives traditionally on the reserved land for them either; these lands today are not cared about by the government whatsoever. The reserves have the most awful drinking water in Canada today, and the government blames it on the fact that they can’t afford the funds to get a plant to provide them with clean, essential water. The Original Peoples are getting the short end of the stick, and have gotten the shot end of the stick since the arrival of the Europeans. They were here first—the Creator put them in North America to abide by certain fundamental laws with respect and integrity, yet these people were, and are still, forcefully separated from their lands and ways of life.
The teachings of treaty today in school, are covering the terms in the perspective of the government—fraudulent information. There is nothing mentioning the oral traditions, and how the First Nations were ripped of their land and left with next to nothing. As a future educator, I recognize just how important it is to advocate for the Original Peoples who lost all that mattered, and still matters, to them.
Before this course, honestly, I wasn’t aware of the fraudulent government system that was back then, and still is today. It is disgusting and a disgrace what has been, and what still is being, done to the First Nations. I will do everything in my power, as a future teacher, to educate the future generations of what exactly went on here in Canada; what their ancestors did to the Original Peoples; and how we are going to bring a more just society and repair the damage that has been made.
References
Cardinal, H., & Hildebrand, W. (2000). Treaty elders of saskatchewan our dream is that our peoples will one day be clearly recognized as nations. University of Calgary Press.
Starblanket, T. (2008). Treaties: Negotiations and rights. Treaties: Negotiations and Rights | Our Legacy. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from http://digital.scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/exhibit_treaties.
Summit of Treaty 5 Sovereign Nations. (2019). Rarihokwats- Everything you need to know about treaty. Facebook Watch. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=392095734870473.