Indigenous Perspectives

Looking at what is now Canada from an Indigenous perspective can provide a new
starting point for thinking about this country and our history. In Canada, we learn that
the story of Indigenous peoples begins with the arrival of Europeans to a land that was
‘empty’, ready to be explored, charted and then settled.

For Indigenous peoples, the account begins much earlier. Since the beginning of time,
or in ‘time immemorial’, the Creator placed Indigenous people of the original nations on
lands that are now called Canada, where they have lived and flourished for thousands
of years.1 Indigenous people are accountable to “traditional laws and responsibilities to
care for and protect those territories. These laws and responsibilities reflect the
relationship with the land itself and all other life with whom they share the land.”2

The map below shows the languages spoken in North America at the point of contact
with Europe. As you can see, the borders between Canada and the United States, and
between Canadian provinces, bisect the lands of the Indigenous nations and language
groups. Language areas were not as well-defined as this map suggests, but it does
provide a general overview of the diversity of the original people and languages of North
America.

Colonial Perspectives
Image of a 1872 painting by John Gast, It is important to know about colonial history in
Canada because it has broad implications for understanding the socio-political realities
of Indigenous people today.

When Europeans arrived in the 'New World', they justified their assumption of political
sovereignty and title to Indigenous lands by reinterpreting the Doctrine of Discovery.
The doctrine was based on the notion of terra nullius – a Latin term referring to empty,
essentially barren uninhabited land. At the time of contact, under norms of international
law, the European discovery of such land gave the discovering nation immediate
sovereignty and all rights and title to the land. Over the course of time, however, the
concept of terra nullius was extended to include lands that were not in possession of
"civilized" peoples or were not put to proper, "civilized" use.2

This history contributes to a troubled relationship with Indigenous people. “These kinds
of arguments which distorted the reality of the situation converted cultural differences
into inferiorities and continue to have an impact on government policy and court
proceedings up to the present day.”3 Some of the early beliefs held by the first waves of
European immigrants characterized Indigenous people as less than human and this
contempt manifested in a variety of ways.

Alexander Morris, nineteenth-century treaty negotiator, stated "Let us have Christianity

and civilization among the Indian tribes...Let us have a wise and paternal
government...doing its utmost to help and elevate the Indian population who have been
cast upon our case...And Canada will be enabled to feel, in a truly patriotic spirit, our
country has done its duty to the red man."

Creating and sustaining this hierarchical relationship necessitated the cooperation of the
Canadian state, the settler societies, missionaries and others.5 The motivation to enact
policy and practices was rooted in beliefs about imperialism – also known as 'empire
building'. The steep reduction of First Nations populations, for example, could not have
gone unnoticed by the European settlers and missionaries. If we keep in mind, however,
that during that time, First Nation people were seen as less than human and as inferior
to Europeans, then the apparent lack of concern and corresponding actions may be
understood.

t first contact, relationships between Indigenous people and settlers were respectful,
and Europeans depended on Indigenous people for survival and advantages in trade,
diplomacy and war.1 Agreements followed Indigenous protocols and ways of
understanding about how relationships for trade, peace and friendship were created and
continued. European traders who arrived in North America found both pre-existing trade
networks and pre-contact treaty-making practices, which they had to learn, work within
and adopt.

The treaties of alliance, often called “peace and friendship” treaties, were understood to
be “a nation-to-nation relationship between settler and First Nations” that required
continual renewal and extension.3 Treaties were agreements for alliance, trade and
peaceful co-existence, not for surrendering sovereignty.

Initially, trade and alliance were the primary motives for contact, but that shifted when
settlers began to create colonies of settlement, as in farms and towns. Europeans no
longer considered relationships with Indigenous people as vital to their goals. The result
was a dramatic shift in British and British-Canadian policy “to measures designed to
alter the essentials of Aboriginal societies through so-called ‘civilization’ policies and to
dispossess them through territorial treaties.”

It is important for the future well-being of Native-newcomer relations, treaty

implementation, and the social cohesion of Canada that everyone comes to recognize
that ‘we are all treaty people.7
Understanding how the attitude towards Indigenous people shifted when they were no
longer valued partners helps us recognize how Canada has not fulfilled the promise of
the early treaties. Many non-Indigenous Canadians have little awareness of how these
treaties form part of the foundation of the Canadian state and upholding these treaties is
what gives legitimacy to our presence on this land

The words above of Duncan Campbell Scott, Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs,
reflect a prevailing worldview that provided the impetus for a phase of colonialism
known as assimilation. During this time, the Indian Act of 1876 was created to control
First Nations people. Its authority, influence, and powers remain in place today. The
Indian Act did not, and does not today, apply to Inuit and Métis people although they
experienced the impacts of colonization in similar ways to First Nations people.

The Indian Act rests on the principle “that the aborigines are to be kept in a condition of
tutelage and treated as wards or children of the state”.2 The Act gives the state far-
reaching powers that extend from defining how one is born or naturalized in Indian
status, to administering the estate of an Indian following death.3

Over the last century, the Indian Act provided the legal framework which allows the
state to control First Nations political structures, landholding patterns, and resource and
economic development. It has been responsible for multiple oppressive controls
including:

defining who is legally entitled to be an 'Indian' person

restricting eligibility for voting

determining whether one could own property

Status Indians were prohibited from attending university or hiring lawyers to challenge
the expropriation of traditional lands. Women and their descendant lost Indian status,
including the right to live in the community when they married non-Indigenous men.
Cultural and spiritual practices, as well as the use of traditional medicines, were made
illegal and banned. These colonial policies and practices assail the very core of First
Nations values and traditions and, as a result, have had far-reaching repercussions for
generations of Indigenous people.

Indian Hospitals and Sanatoria

Decorative image, Nanaimo Indian Hospital circa 1940Colonization created the context
for tuberculosis to become a significant medical crisis in Indigenous communities. In the
1800s the loss of hunting grounds, the bison slaughter, military invasions, and forced
dislocations caused poverty, malnutrition, and famine in Indigenous communities. As a
result, tuberculosis rates soared. The Canadian government, who viewed Indigenous
people as a “lost cause” and a “dying race destined to vanish", was reluctant to spend
money on an “Indian problem” that most Canadian people cared little about.1

From its inception, the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) denied it had any legal
obligation to provide healthcare. Rather than paying for the treatment of Indigenous
people at hospitals serving White settler communities, the DIA preferred to subsidize
substandard, segregated, and inexpensive Church-run medical facilities.2 The aim was
to reduce costs and confine disease to Indian reservations and isolated areas.3

Once government officials, doctors, and municipalities realized Indigenous people were
not a “dying race,” they became concerned that tuberculosis would “spill over” into white
communities.4 Fears about “Indian tuberculosis” reached near-hysterical levels when
medical experts claimed that infection rates were ten and twenty times higher than rates
in non-Indigenous settlers.5 False notions that Indigenous people were especially
susceptible to tuberculosis underpinned these exaggerated claims.

There were tuberculosis sanatoria across Canada, but Indigenous people were often
denied admittance.6 As well, the government imposed coercive regulations and
discriminatory laws. In the early 1950's, the federal government passed legislation that
empowered police and medical authorities to apprehend, examine, and treat “Indians”
who have communicable diseases.7,8 By refusing to submit to medical scrutiny and
treatment, Indigenous people faced fines and imprisonment.

Indian hospitals and sanatoria were not solely medical care centres; they were part of
the broader system of assimilation and colonization. Much like residential schools,
Indian hospitals and sanatoria undermined Indigenous worldviews and cultural
practices. Indigenous people were denied contact with Elders and traditional healers,
and were told that their spiritual beliefs and ways of life were backward and unhealthy.9

There is mounting evidence that Indian hospitals were rife with medical
experimentation. New drugs, vaccinations, and surgeries were all tested on First
Nations, Métis, and Inuit without their knowledge or permission.10 Also disturbing is
recent evidence suggesting an unknown number of Indigenous women were sterilized
without their consent and against their wishes.

Historical Losses and Impacts

Decorative image, flat northern landscape with no treesMany of the disparities that
Indigenous people experience can be understood more fully within the context of
cumulative and historical losses - losses that link directly and indirectly to our colonial
history and legacy.

Every Canadian will gain if we escape the impasse that breeds confrontation between
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people across barricades, real or symbolic. But the
barricades will not fall until we understand how they were built. Studying the past tells
us who we are and where we came from. It often reveals a cache of secrets that some
people are striving to keep hidden and others are striving to tell. In this case, it helps
explain how the tensions between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people came to be,
and why they are so hard to resolve.1

Colonization has contributed directly and indirectly to the losses of:

 languages
 access to traditional territory
 access to traditional foods and medicines
 traditional roles and governance
 traditional knowledge
 cultural and spiritual practices
 families and communities
 sense of cultural identity
 the right to be the dominant group on their land
 90% of the population
 the privilege to grow up in a society free of racism

Authors of History

Decorative image, two footsteps in the snowDespite the importance of knowing about
the past and the harm caused by colonization, many Canadians are uninformed about
Indigenous people.1 We know that there have been tremendous gaps and
misrepresentations in education, which has compromised our ability to comprehend the
challenges faced by Indigenous peoples and communities.

Education on Canadian history, including colonization, has typically reflected

mainstream views with little input from Indigenous people. Historical works have been
informed by a worldview that does not reflect Indigenous peoples' truths.
Warry (2007), a professor and medical anthropologist, writes about his experience with
the lack of knowledge many Canadians have of Indigenous issues.

This ignorance is widespread. I recently developed training sessions on Aboriginal

history, culture, and health....The majority of participants – nurses, radiologists, and
administrators – frankly admitted to being embarrassed at their lack of knowledge of
Aboriginal peoples and issues....They commented on the failing of an educational
system that continues to ignore Aboriginal peoples’ history and place in contemporary
society. These and other experiences have convinced me that the ‘average’ Canadian
lacks the knowledge of Aboriginal peoples...Moreover, I believe this ignorance makes
Canadians susceptible to supporting misinformed and misguided social policy. Our
belief in the superiority of European values, and our ignorance of Aboriginal cultures
sustain the structural racism that marginalizes and impoverishes Aboriginal peoples.2

Wright (2003) adds to this:

There is no longer any excuse for ignoring the viewpoint of the discovered, the
vanquished, the colonized. And there is danger in doing so... civil wars in Peru and
Guatemala, and the Mohawk conflict in Canada, are fueled by the ignorance of those
countries' white elites. Few things are so dangerous as believing one’s own lies.3

Why was the history of Indigenous peoples not equally recorded and represented?
What are some implications of this?

Events Over History

The activity below provides an historic timeline of colonial relationships in Canada. The
timeline includes many significant events in the history of Indigenous peoples and the
relationship with Canada. The timeline is divided into four sections:

Separate Worlds: until 1497

Contact and Nation-to-Nation Relations: 1497 -1780

Elimination, Displacement, Assimilation and Domination: 1780 - 1960

Resistance, Engagement and Renegotiation: 1960 - present

Instructions: Use your cursor to explore the timeline and learn more about events
through history.
View a transcript of this activity

Were there events on the timeline that you did not know about? What might be some
implications of not knowing the history of colonization in Canada?

We encourage you to do further research into areas of interest, or topics that are
relevant to your work.

Connecting Past and Present

Decorative image, wooden bridge in a forest settingColonization and assimilation of

Indigenous people through the removal of people from their land, Indian Residential
Schools, and a segregated health care system have created a foundation for the many
social and health inequities Indigenous people experience today.

It may be tempting to think that these issues are in the past, but it is important to
recognize that colonization continues today. The Indian Act, unresolved Indigenous
rights and treaty issues, and individual and systemic racism are all examples of ongoing
colonization that continue to impact Indigenous people.

While Indigenous people have always attempted to assert their rights, it wasn't until the
1960's that the Indian Act allowed them to take action through the Canadian legal
system. There have been many legal victories, but all levels of government have been
slow to change relationships based on those decisions.

Indigenous nations have been active in economic development within their territories,
revitalizing language, recovering and renewing cultural knowledge and transmitting
knowledge to the next generation. These actions are restoring communities, and are
important indicators of Indigenous people's strength and resilience.