Brief background of Indigenous peoples' history with Canada
Since first contact with settlers, Indigenous peoples have endured many challenges during the ongoing colonization of Canada. Large numbers of Indigenous people have been killed by illness brought from Europe, and more lives were lost through power struggles by colonial powers for the land and resources that have been used and stewarded by Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous peoples were crowded onto reserves through laws enacted to restrict the interactions they could have. This persecution escalated to include the banning of Indigenous culture and languages. The creation of Indian residential schools and day schools perpetrated rampant child abuse, and attempted to extinguish Indigenous languages and cultures. Horrific racism against Indigenous peoples continues today, with some federal and provincial politicians continuing to advocate for the genocide attempted by Indian residential schools and day schools. While this demonstrate the systemic racism within Canada, it also demonstrates the resilience of Indigenous peoples.
Please refer to the linked resources for more information.
Systemic racism in Canada
Canada has created many racist power structures that continue to harm Indigenous peoples, one of which is the Indian Act. The Indian Act was formed with the intent to assimilate and control Indigenous people. It contained misogynist laws such as stripping Indigenous women of their status if they married a non-Indigenous man (and precluding their children's status). These laws also stripped an Indigenous person of status if they obtained a post-secondary education. Losing status would often result in removal from living on a reserve.
The Indian Act dictated how Indigenous people lived. It prevented them from owning their own land, and put them under the jurisdiction and theoretical "care" of the federal government. Additionally, the Indian Act has restrictions on how an Indigenous person obtains their status. In order to receive status, one must prove that they are Indigenous "enough" to receive status. The notion of blood quantum, or being a certain percentage Indigenous, is a colonial mindset and further segregates and harms Indigenous peoples.
Please refer to the linked resources for more information.
Indian day schools and Indian residential schools
Indian day schools and Indian residential schools were designed to assimilate Indigenous children into Canadian society. Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their homes and families. Most, if not all, children suffered horrifying abuse while under the care of the church, which ran the schools across Canada. Indigenous children were starved, abused, and were prohibited from speaking their language, practicing their culture, wearing traditional clothing, and maintaining their natural long hair, among other atrocities.
Indian day schools and Indian residential schools operated from the 1870s until the last school closed in 1996. They operated for over a century, and affect multiple generations of Indigenous peoples, creating an intergenerational trauma that continues to impact Indigenous peoples and communities today.
Two class action lawsuits have been undertaken for survivors of these institutions. A lawsuit respecting Indian day schools is ongoing, and a lawsuit respecting Indian residential schools has been settled, with the implementation of reparations ongoing. In 2006, the federal government created the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement, which provides some compensation to the survivors of Indian residential schools. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was created through a legal settlement between residential school survivors, the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit representatives, and the parties responsible for the creation and operation of the schools: the federal government and the church bodies.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's mandate was to inform all Canadians about what happened in Indian residential schools. The Commission concluded its mandate in 2015, and transferred its records to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation for safekeeping.
Please refer to the linked resources below for more information.
The “Sixties Scoop” refers to the tremendous relocation and eventual adoption of Indigenous children into non-Indigenous families from the 1960s through the 1980s. Many Indigenous children were relocated, without consent, from their secure families to foster homes, and were then adopted into non-Indigenous families across North America, and even abroad. This was prompted by a change in the Indian Act in the 1950s that provided Canada's provinces with control over Indigenous children's welfare.
The children of the sixties scoop faced extreme emotional distress and a loss of culture and now, as adults, many survivors of the Sixties Scoop have post-traumatic stress to work through, and now face the challenge of finding family and reconnecting to culture. The Sixties Scoop is another example of Canada attempting to assimilate Indigenous peoples. There is a Sixties Scoop Settlement, which provides compensation for children removed from their homes during the Sixties Scoop.
Please refer to the linked resources for more information.
The Indian hospitals were racially segregated hospitals, originally serving as tuberculosis sanatoriums, but later operating as general hospitals, for Indigenous peoples in Canada. They operated from the late 19th to the late 20th centuries. The hospitals were used to isolate Indigenous tuberculosis patients from the general population, because of a fear among health officials that "Indian TB," as officials called it, posed a danger to the non-Indigenous population.
By the 1980s most of the hospitals closed or were converted. At least three major Indian hospitals operated in British Columbia: at Prince Rupert (Miller Bay), Sardis (Coqualeetza), and Nanaimo. Charles Camsell Hospital in Edmonton was the largest of the Indian hospitals in Canada.
The Indian hospitals were chronically understaffed and the staff onsite were often undertrained and sometimes unlicensed. The hospitals were also often overcrowded. Practices such as experimental treatments, or painful and disabling surgeries were common, as were sterilizations without consent. Although enforced hospitalization and the physical restraint of patients was not permissible in a general hospital setting, they were considered common practice at Indian hospitals. There were also many forms of abuses, underfeeding, and isolation.
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Land reserve system: clean drinking water (historical and current issue)
Access to clean drinking water is a human right that many in Canada take for granted. Despite Canada being a resource-wealthy country for water, Indigenous communities across the country continue to lack this basic necessity. Many Indigenous nations in Canada have been without clean drinking water for decades, or longer. The longest boil-water advisory within Canada has lasted for a quarter-century, and is located in the Neskantaga First Nation, in Ontario. The Canadian government has pledged to end the boil-water advisories by 2021.
Please refer to the linked resources below for more information.
Land reserve system: barriers to Indigenous education (historical and current issue)
Indigenous communities face many challenges when it comes to post-secondary education. Intergenerational trauma from Indian day schools and residential schools has left many generations wary of academic institutions, and the emotional distress that can reside there. Western academia looks at education through a colonial perspective, resulting in a lack of Indigenous role models in post-secondary institutions and curriculum. Indigenous students face many additional barriers such as financial burden, a lack of access to academic resources and institutions, and a lack of Indigenous curriculum. Many post-secondary institutions are attempting to reduce these barriers by offering Indigenous student-centered programs and certifications, as well as Indigenous culture and language-based education.
Please refer to the linked resources below for more information.
Truth and Reconciliation Act
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created in 2008 to acknowledge the trauma left by Indian residential schools, and to listen to survivors. The commission compiled reports of the abuse and suffering endured by the survivors of Indian residential schools in Canada. The result of these reports prompted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to create the 94 Calls to Action. The 94 Calls to Action are dedicated to the continuation of Indigenous culture, health, and safety. The 94 Calls to Action include, among others, calls relating to Indigenous child welfare, health, education, and reconciliation in Canada. A number of programs and funding sources have been established to advance these 94 Calls to Action.
Please refer to the linked resources below for more information.