The term “Indian” is used in this article to demonstrate a time in our history. Today, this term is considered offensive to most Indigenous peoples. It’s important to ask an Indigenous person how they wish to be identified. (First Nations, Indigenous, the name of their Nation etc.)
Did you know this National Indigenous Peoples Day came from decades of political advocacy and was only declared a statutory holiday in 2017?
According to Wikipedia, “It was first self-declared Indian Day in 1945, by Jules Sioui and chiefs from across Turtle Island (North America). In 1982, the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations) called for the creation of a National Aboriginal Solidarity Day to be celebrated on 21 June. In 1995, a national conference of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people chaired by Elijah Harper, titled The Sacred Assembly, called for a national holiday to celebrate the contributions of Aboriginal peoples to Canada. In 1996, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples recommended that a National First Peoples Day be officially recognized. On 21 June 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a statement pledging to rename the event National Indigenous Peoples Day.”
What’s missing from Wikipedia is what it meant to be “Indian” during the decades leading up to the year of 2017, more specifically the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. During that time period, the Indian Act was in full enactment; Indigenous men could be forced to enfranchise without their consent; Residential Schools were in operational; our lands were stolen and reservations were created; our movement was restricted and we needed permits to travel outside of the reserve; it was illegal to gather in large groups; practicing our culture was banned, our inherent fishing and hunting rights were denied; our regalia was seized and either burned or sold to museums all over the world; the sterilization of women without consent was practiced; Indian Hospitals were operational and known for testing on their patients and other atrocious acts of abuse.
Did you know that during this time, an Indigenous person couldn’t identify as an ‘Indian’ and as a Canadian citizen at the same time? Under the Canadian Constitution, a person was defined, “as anyone other than an Indian.”
If I was a child at this time, a missionary could attend my home with or without the RCMP and forcibly remove me from my family. My parents could be threatened to be incarcerated if they refused. What my parents did not know was that they were relinquishing all their rights as my parents. I became the ward of the priests and nuns. In these schools, I would be subjugated to labour for most of my day, with only 2 hours of instruction. I would be separated from my siblings. I would be abused and harmed in these schools – physically, mentally, emotionally, and sexually. I would be served rotten food and starved if I refused to eat it. If I continued to speak my language, pins may be pushed into my tongue. If I’m female, I might become impregnated. If I attempted to run, I might die trying and be severely punished if I’m caught. I might die in these schools.
If I’m an Indigenous woman in this time, my voice as a Matriarch has been taken. I am no longer allowed to practice any of my ceremonies and dances. My regalia, my drums, my rattles… anything cultural has been collected and burned or sold to museums all over the world. If I married a settler, I am no longer considered an ‘Indian’ and all my Indigenous rights have been removed along with my children’s rights. I can only be married in a church if my marriage is to be legal. If my husband is enfranchised, I am also enfranchised and all my children as well. Being enfranchised meant signing away my status as a ‘Indian.’ If I’m a mother, my children could be taken as early as 3 years old. I will not see them again until they return when they are 16, if they live. I could possibly be sterilized without my consent or knowledge. When I visit a dentist, all my teeth will be removed, and I will be given dentures. If I need to go to the Indian Hospital, I may never come out or be seen again. I may be tested on.
If I am an Indigenous man at this time, I will no longer be allowed to hunt or fish freely. I will need a permit if I want to travel outside of the reserve. I will also need a permit if I want to sell the wood I cut, or vegetables I grew. I will also need a permit if I want to make any repairs to my home or buy any tools. I may be denied any of these permits at any time. In fact, it was illegal to purchase any kind of fishing or farming equipment. I may be forced to enfranchise. I may enlist in WWI or WWII and when I return, I will not be offered free land or free education like other non-Indigenous veterans who return. I will not be permitted to gather in large groups of more than 3-4. I may be appointed to a ‘Band Council’ but then I will conflict with the Hereditary Chiefs and Matriarchs that have overseen our people and lands for time immemorial. I will be expected to be part of the oppression of my people if I plan to lead. I too, will not be allowed to practice any of my cultural or traditional practices I was groomed to carry. These are only a few of the impacts that colonization and the Indian Act had on our people and our communities.
Chief Jules Sioui was considered an ‘agitator’ a ‘revolutionist’ by the Department of Indian Affairs. He gathered Chiefs across Canada to demonstrate their resistance of the Canadian Government and their policies. His efforts resulted in the birth of ‘The National Indian Brotherhood,’ now known as the ‘Assembly of First Nations’. However, over decades of de-politicizing and negotiating, the original proposed National Aboriginal Day of Solidarity has become National Indigenous Peoples Day.
If we were to gather the ‘agitators’ and ‘revolutionaries’ of our time, what would they be fighting for? If this was your history, what would you be fighting for? I ask you, is National Indigenous Peoples Day one of celebration or one of mourning?
aptnnews.ca/aboriginal-history-month/jules-sioui
ictinc.ca/blog/a-brief-timeline-of-the-history-of-indigenous-relations-in-canada
https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/a-brief-timeline-of-the-history-of-indigenous-relations-in-canada