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Aboriginal Awareness Alberta School Board Association June 6,2011

Aboriginal Awareness Alberta School Board Association June 6,2011. Bee Calliou Schadeck. Future hope…Educating non-Aboriginal Canadians will create change. Pre-Contact. Pre-Contact. Medicines. A tried specialist, uses herbs, stones, trees, roots, animals’ internal organs

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Aboriginal Awareness Alberta School Board Association June 6,2011

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  1. Aboriginal AwarenessAlberta School Board AssociationJune 6,2011 Bee Calliou Schadeck

  2. Future hope…Educating non-Aboriginal Canadians will create change

  3. Pre-Contact

  4. Pre-Contact

  5. Medicines • A tried specialist, uses herbs, stones, trees, roots, animals’ internal organs • 1536 – Jacques Cartier shown scurvy cure • grind the bark of an evergreen and prepare tea • Rat root (Sweet flag) - calmative, brain tonic and a digestive aid • Pipsisewa – Cree for “breaks into small pieces” ie. stone in gall bladder

  6. Technology • Canoe, kayak, snow shoes, toboggan – cannot improve on design • Utilized instead of the wheel which would not be practical in Canada’s terrain • Tipi – can withstand the strong winds in southern Alberta, extremely portable

  7. Spirituality – World View Dominion vs. Equality • Everything is alive • Everything is connected • The beaver, once a nation with sacredness - now killed for fur • A way of life • Outlawed for 89 years

  8. What Happened? Life before contactSelf-sufficient, sharing toLife todayWrong side of all social and economic indicators

  9. The Origin of Aboriginal & Treaty Rights Royal Proclamation 1763Recognized Indians as “several Nations”Recognized Indian Title British North America Act (BNA) 1867Federal government given responsibility for “Indians and lands reserved for Indians”

  10. What’s so Important about Treaties? • Agreement/contract between Nations • Binding obligations for the benefit of all • Binding in domestic and international law • Sacred covenant...“for as long as the sun shines and the rivers flow…”

  11. Pre-Confederation Treaties Business Case for Treaties Peace and Friendship Treaties Upper Canada Treaties Province of Canada Treaties Vancouver Island Treaties Post Confederation Treaties Numbered Treaties Williams Treaties Nunavut Territory 11 Yukon Territory Northwest Territories Newfoundland 8 Manitoba 10 Quebec Alberta Sask. P.E.I. 9 Ontario 5 Nova Scotia British Columbia 6 2 New Brunswick 3 7 4 1

  12. TreatiesIndians agree to: Sovereign agrees to: Title: “Cede, release, surrender and yield up to the Crown all their rights, titles and privileges whatsoever…” Peace Law and Good Order: “Not hinder or prevent” exploration, or searching for mineral or other valuable productions in ceded area Land Use: Reserve lands - not “sell, lease or dispose of” any portion of reserve lands without consent Reserve Resources – Not to dispose of reserve “minerals or other valuable production” unless Superintendent-General consents Once and for all Expenditure: $12/Indian, tools, seed, farm stock, flag, medal Recurring Incidental Expenditures: Ammunition, twine, clothing, “provisions” for first 3 years Annuities: $25/chief, $15/headman, $5/Indian Education: Pay school teachers as advisable Health: A medicine chest, assistance in case of pestilence or famine Indian Use of Reserved Crown & Ceded Lands: Reserve lands – 1 sq mile/family of 5 Ceded Lands – permit hunting, trapping and fishing, except on tracts taken up for mining, lumbering, settlement

  13. Treaty Rights Interpretation Government View First Nation View Land surrender Extinguish “ownership” Extinguish rights to land off-reserve Unfettered access to resources facilitate settlement Assimilation • Sharing, friendship • People don’t own the land • Did not extinguish rights to land or resources • Continued access to land, “ecosystem”, habitat maintained • Continue to live as before

  14. Larger issue than land and money “Our object is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed, and there is no Indian question, • and there is no Indian Department” • Deputy Superintendent, Indian Affairs, 1920 Duncan Campbell Scott

  15. Assimilation began… Gradual Civilization Act 1857 Indian Act 1867Person defined as “anyone other than an Indian” (1927)Illegal to assemble (1951) –more than 3 men prohibitedIllegal to practice religion or spiritual ways (1951)Illegal to hire lawyers (1951)Illegal to join military, enlist (1960)Illegal to become ordained/clergy (1960)No right to attend university (1960)Illegal to enter a public bar or purchase alcohol (1971)Lose rights if Indian woman marries non-Indian man (1985)Child loses rights if born out of wedlock (1985)No right to vote in Canada 1960, Alberta 1965Illegal to travel off reserve without a pass from Indian agent (1951)

  16. “Aggressive Assimilation” • 100,000 children • Denied academic education • Denied language • Denied connection with family • Denied spiritual ceremony • Denied connection to the land • Denied community, traditional learning

  17. May 2006 – Indian Residential Settlement Agreement ApprovedSeptember 2007 - IRSSA ImplementedSeptember 2007 - IRSSA Implemented Of approximately 150,000 former students, 80,000 alive today Common Experience Payment (CEP) $1.9-billion package As of April 15, 2010 - $1.55 billion paid, representing 75,800 cases $10,000 for the first year, $3,000 for each subsequent year Independent Assessment Process (IAP) (until Sept 2012) Students who suffered abuses (sexual, physical, psychological) As of May 2010: Over 16,000 applications received, 5,800 hearings have been held Over $615MM awarded 1 to 10 pts - $5,000 to $10,000 121 points or more – Up to $275,000

  18. “We are sorry”Harper Government apology June 11, 2008

  19. Truth and Reconciliation CommissionOctober 15, 2009 "When the present does not recognize the wrongs of the past, the future takes its revenge" Former Gov. Gen Michaëlle Jean 21 21

  20. “Sixties Scoop” The adoption of Aboriginal children in Canada between the years of 1960 and the mid-1980sThe mechanism to addressproblematic child welfare issues It was common practice in BC in the mid-sixties to “scoop” from their mothers on reserves almost all newly born children70% of the children were adopted into non-Aboriginal homes44% increase Aboriginal children in care in Alberta

  21. Time of ChangeTurmoil & Reform 1960s Civil Rights Movement Quebec’s Quiet Revolution 1969 Trudeau’s White Paper Cardinal’s Red Paper Hopi Legend 1970s Mackenzie Pipeline Berger Inquiry Court Decisions… Calder (1973) SCC 1982 Constitutional Reform “aboriginal and treaty rights are hereby recognized and affirmed”

  22. 1982, Section 35,Canadian Constitution - Aboriginal Inuit Inuvialuit (Western Arctic) Inuit (Central & Eastern) Indians Non-Status Status Treaty Non-Treaty Bill C 31 Métis On Settlement Off Settlement

  23. Treaty Areas & Reserve Land Metis Settlements & MNA Regions

  24. Canada endorses United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Rights November 12, 2010 Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo "Today marks an important shift in our relationship, and now, the real work begins," he said. "Now is our time to work together towards a new era of fairness and justice for First Nations and a stronger Canada for all Canadians, guided by the Declaration's core principles of respect, partnership and reconciliation."

  25. Perceptions/Stereotypes • Indians are rich • Free housing • Huge Treaty $$$ • Don’t pay taxes • Political nepotism • Indian time – always late • Prone to addictions, crime • Hostile • Majority live in extreme poverty • No ownership • $5 per year • 60% live off reserve, pay taxes • Not unique to Aboriginal communities • Clock time vs. the right time • Symptom of poverty • Lack of trust, past experience

  26. 40% Live in Poverty Poverty may be defined as a human condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. United Nations Committee on Social, Economic & Cultural Rights, 2001

  27. High Unemployment Aboriginal vs Total Population Unemployment Dances With Dependency, Calvin Helin

  28. Athabasca Tribal Council 2006 Labor Pool Analysis

  29. Health Crisis Life Expectancy – 5 to 7 years below the national average Infant Mortality – 1.5 times higher Suicide – 6 times higher (leading cause for 10 -24 yrs) Tuberculosis – 8 to 10 times higher Diabetes – 2 to 3 times higher HIV/Aids – 6 times higher FAS – 25 to 30 times higher 114 communities on boil water advisory

  30. Education – a key priority for First Nations to achieve their full potential in this country • The First Nations education system compared to provincial schools has been chronically under funded for 20 years • Schools receive at least $2,000 less per student • Too often our students go without basics like safe buildings, libraries, vocational education, sports and recreation programs or even gyms. • In FN communities 40% of the population is under 19

  31. Education – No High School Diploma 67% of FNs on reserve 46% of FNs living off reserve 29% of Metis 16% Provincial average for non-Aboriginal

  32. Barriers – Hierarchy of Needs • Lack basic needs • Addictions • Feel different, not accepted • Low self-esteem • Education not meaningful • Relationships • The relationship between student and teacher is the heart of Aboriginal education • Knowledge and UnderstandingBuilds Trust

  33. Commissioner Murray Sinclair 9th Session of the United Nations April 27, 2010 “That history is something that we all must teach our children and grandchildren. That history must be offered in classrooms across the country. We call for these things so that in a few generations, in place of disruption, dysfunction and disrespect, we will see a Canada where the relationship between Indigenous Canadians and non-Indigenous Canadians is founded on mutual respect”.

  34. Be Part of the Solution The chief characteristic of a leader is the power & ability to walk a mile in someone else’s moccasins.

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