As Canadians prepare to celebrate the country's 150th birthday, First Nations across Canada have had different reactions. I asked several people in our community what this occasion meant to them.
As Canadians prepare to celebrate the country's 150th birthday, First Nations across Canada have had different reactions. I asked several people in our community what this occasion meant to them. One person said that “history did not start from confederation ” while another said the occasion marks “150 years of heritage loss. ”
These statements speak to our reality as First Nations people.
Like other First Nations, the Stoney Nakoda believe that we have lived on this land since existence. Chief John Snow writes in his book, These Mountains are our Sacred Places that our people have lived on the Great Island (North America) since time immemorial.
First Nations history precedes confederation and indeed European exploration.
Prior to contact, First Nations had existing political and social organizations. Various cultures and languages flourished on the land that we now call Canada.
Indigenous knowledge systems were tied to that land. This is why different traditions and practices existed and still exist.
The Stoney Nakoda knowledge system for example is connected to the land which surrounded us. Hence the importance of the mountains. The Salish people have very different systems in place as do the Anishinaabe.
The Stoney Nakoda were essentially free and independent prior to confederation. After entering into treaty agreements in 1876 this would change because reality and existence changed.
The Stoney Indian reservation in 1877 represented a small fraction of the land that the Stoney Nakoda once occupied.
This affected our way of life, our culture, and language. Ultimately it affected Stoney Nakoda knowledge. 150 years of heritage loss is, to our people, a true and sad statement.
Confederation marked a time of significant change for First Nations people. Confinement to reservations not only stemmed the flow of Indigenous knowledges but it also meant hunger, starvation, and eventual dependence.
This is significant because pre-treaty, First Nations were independent and proud people. Government policies changed all that.
Marginalized and viewed simply as tax burdens, Canadians forget that we are by far the largest tax payers in this country. First Nations provided the land on which many prosper in exchange for broken promises. I have stated before that when you consider the value of the land that is Canada and the value of all the resources found within it, First Nations have paid taxes, upfront.
To argue that we are a defeated people is erroneous because there was no war between First Nations and Canada. Treaties were negotiated instead.
One person said major league baseball has existed longer in response to my query.
That is a significant statement because it speaks to over 150 years of progress for most Canadians versus a longer period of oppression for the original inhabitants of this land.
Canada as a country was established for settlers.
As a result, societal progress was limited to new Canadians. First Nations were removed, placed on reservations and confined. Progress was simply not possible.
Prior to confederation, newspapers in Canada wrote extensively about the “heathen savages ” to advance settlement. 150 years later, media outlets continue to write negatively about First Nations people. Marginalization and confinement still persists.
For First Nations, 1877 was when everything changed and nothing changed!
