Sir John A. MacDonald was the first prime minister and the figure who built the existence and set up of the modern foundation of Canada. In Tristan Hooper’s article, "Here is what Sir John A. MacDonald did to Indigenous People," the author talks about MacDonald’s controversial legacy and decisions, which have set up a meta-narrative towards the Indigenous people from a Settlers perspective from a Eurocentric influence. As a product of this Eurocentric worldview, Sir John A. MacDonald supports that the white race was superior and that Indigenous peoples needed to be "civilized" and adapt to European civilization. He put into effect laws like the Indian Act and residential schools, which aimed to obliterate Indigenous culture and identity and …show more content…
Socio-economic status (SES) is defined as when intentions toward Indigenous people are shown and perceived. MacDonald never provided Indigenous people with new food; it was always “rancid,” which made “the Plains First Nations population drop from 32,000 to 20,000” (Hooper, 2018, pg.3). To begin with, a counter-narrative has been to view Indigenous people as inferior and a danger to settler colonialism. This viewpoint is by institutionalized discrimination against Indigenous people by the government of Canada to unify settler groups and use this discrimination, such as the Indian Act in 1876 in Canada, which caused toll consequences. John A. Macdonald has played a role in perpetuating systemic oppression and violence against Indigenous peoples in Canada through policies such as the residential school system, the Indian Act, and the forced relocation of Indigenous communities. For example, James Daschuk claims that “MacDonald...had Indigenous people locked down so tightly that they became irrelevant [and could not do anything] after 1855 [genocide against Indigenous people]” (Hooper, 2018, pg.1). As a result, the cultural superiority of settlers …show more content…
This system had been created to keep Indigenous people out of the border region's economy and society to keep their survival depending on the colonial authorities. MacDonald's actions were part of a complex heritage and extraordinary attempts by settlers to oppress Indigenous people and concentrate power in the hands of a few elites. Despite the destruction of Indigenous culture, language, and sovereignty, the oligarchy, which is politicians and businesspeople who have received help from colonization and the exploitation of indigenous lands and resources, perpetuates this viewpoint. By this arrangement, indigenous people were effectively kept on their reserves, prohibited them from taking part in other communities and being seen as marginalized. Thirdly, the predominant stance held by settlers about Indigenous people is implanted in a capitalist framework that prioritizes economic gain over human well-being. Indigenous people have been called savage, inferiors, negligent, uncivilized, and a scalping party. All this genocide was caused and started by John A. MacDonald and faced by Indigenous communities and their children, who went to residential schools, and some survived the harsh environment. White kids were allowed to succeed while being unaware of humbled by the plight of Indigenous children, whose land
We can therefore deem that the Indian Act was specifically put in place to discriminate against the Aboriginal people of Canada. Although the Canadian government has tried to change the Indian Act and has been amended several times since its’ creation in 1876 it still continues to have significant effect on Aboriginal people in
The Aboriginals had original taught the early settlers how to trap and hunt about the land but in the documents associated with the deed and the land transfer, it was written that “Any claims of Indians too compensation for lands required for purposes of settlement shall be disposed of by the Canadian Government and the company shall be relieved of all responsibility in respect of them.”. Instead of the company leaving land for those who had aided them in the beginning. The singled them out due to racism and did not include them in any of the agreements between the HBC and the Crown in which they would receive land for themselves. This could have also contributed to the prejudice against the Aboriginals in future years because during that time period land was equal to power so those without land were treated as the poor and had no say. The deed also affected those who were against poaching and hunting.
The indigenous population in the geographical location of western Canada had their land officially taken over in 1869. (Daschuk 79) From then on, even with multiple treaties signed, the aboriginal people in this area and on the plains were ravaged with disease, fighting, famine and theft of land from the Canadian government. In this paper, I will first present a summary of James Daschuk’s two chapters outlining the issues stated above, and then an internal critique of the chapters, and, finally, an external critique of the chapters, comparing and contrasting it to Sidney Harring’s ““There Seemed to Be No Recognized Law”: Canadian Law and the Prairie First Nations’. The purpose of this paper is to provide insight and analysis on the aboriginal issues raised by Daschuk.
The two authors used the killing of Colton Boushie as background to explain how certain settler-colonial narratives and stereotypes present in the Prairie region of Canada created perpetual forms of racism. More importantly, the authors allude to the fact that these tendencies will continually affect Indigenous peoples unless there are profound
In his essay “To be Indian in Canada today”, Richard Wagamese relies on logos to explain the struggles and obstacles that come with the Federal Court’s decision to recognize Metis and non-status Indians in Canada as “Indians” under the Constitution Act. He then begs the question, “what does it mean to be Indian in Canada today?”(Wagameses). Being First Nations himself, Richard Wagamese knows firsthand all barriers that come with being Indigenous in Canada today. While using logos Richard Wagamese implements many different statistics and percentages in his essay to show the hurdles that Indigenous people face: “To be Indian in Canada today is to see youth languish in chronic unemployment and malaise, endure high rates of alcohol, drug and solvent
Simpson’s book tells the story of the Mohawks and their story of survivance amid the radical transformation brought about by settler colonialism. Her book discusses their struggle, fighting to keep their right to sovereignty as a Nation, separate from the US and Canada. Simpson illustrates the lives of the Mohawks in their reservation, and shows that they are more than the ironworkers that have come to be the stereotype for the Mohawk people. She argues that the Mohawks’ ongoing struggle proves that Settler Colonialism continues to exist, and continues to fail to eliminate and assimilate Indigenous people. Simpson begins by addressing the “question of membership,” that is, the criteria for political membership and formal recognition within
This paper will give an overview of the act and how it impacted the Indigenous community into becoming
With the prohibition of the Indian Act, it restricted Aboriginal people in order to obtain their rights, due to being unable to obtain a lawyer, which could represent them to order to prosecute the government to gain their rights that were stripped from them, due to being the “Others”. The government in many ways made sure to alienate the Aboriginals in order not have a voice which could be heard and allowed the support of people in order to help them, but the Aboriginals were barbaric people they needed to be civilized, this is where “The government took for itself the power to mould, unilaterally, every aspect of life on the reserve and to create whatever infrastructure it deemed necessary to achieve the desired end — assimilation through
This forced them to rely on government for food and other necessities, which resulted in loss of independence and self-sufficiency (Monchalin, 2016). Furthermore, forced relocation was often carried out without consultation from the affected communities. This disregard for Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination further perpetuated the colonialism and oppression of Indigenous peoples (Onderkova,
Theme Colonialism In this book, the author described the impact of colonialism in Canada at different times. In the 19th century, Indigenous people signed multiple unfair acts with white people. For example, in 1876, the Canadian government passed the Indian Act. It was through the apartheid system of The Act that Indigenous people had to live in the reserve land established by white people.
According to Anzovino and Boutilier (2014), “the legislative definition of Aboriginal peoples includes all persons of “Indian” blood who were known to belong to a specific band, living on specific land, with their descendants [and] all persons intermarried with any such “Indians” who resided among them” as well as all children and persons adopted in infancy (p. 90). These persons are immensely proud of their good character, race, beliefs, values and morals. However, they are receiving abuse and a lack of promised assistance from the government. How can Canada act so neglectful and inattentive to those that live north of the suburban area? Are we not all equal and deserve the same rights, especially basic living conditions in order to survive?
The indigenous people are literally crashing into the buildings produced by the colonizing culture, “Look out! Bob shouts. There are Indians flying into the skyscrapers and falling on the sidewalk.” (King 63) and it adequately represents the lack of adaptability of the Native Canadians. Thomas King taps again into the effects of colonialism and notions the indigenous people as uneducated and an untamed species.
They argued that the indigenous peoples were uncivilized and needed to be brought under control through
By doing this, colonial Canadians assumed that aboriginal cultural and spiritual beliefs were invalid in relation to European beliefs (244). The problem with ridding the First Nations Peoples of their languages, as Williston points out is to “deprive them of the sense of place that has defined them for thousands of years” (245). The private schooling system was an attack on First Nations identities, and their identity is rooted in “a respect for nature and its processes” (245).
The colonization of Indigenous peoples has dramatically affected their health, and health-seeking behaviours, in a myriad of ways. The Indian Act of 1876 was, in essence, created to control the Indigenous population. The Indian Act laid out laws and regulations that tightly regulated the lives of natives economically, ideologically, and politically. This included a wealth of ways in which their identities were stripped away, and in which they were taken advantage of by the Government of Canada. This has resulted in a reduced quality of life for Canada 's indigenous population, as well as adverse health problems, and prejudicial perceptions that we still see the impact of today.