The term First Nations People is used to describe the indigenous tribes of Canada. It encompasses the First Nations but does not encompass the Inuit and the Metis tribes. The term Aborigines is often used to describe this group as well. These people are known for their land-keeping practices. The Aboriginal description entails the collective tribes that include the First Nations, the Inuit, and the Metis. The First Nations has been singled out as one of the most populated groups with a staggering population of 958,000 people. The term Aboriginal people denotes the original people that occupied the North of America and their descendants.
According to the Canadian Constitution, there are three groups that are recognized as part of the aboriginal population. Over a million people in Canada identify themselves as Aborigines. These groups practice unique spiritual and cultural practices. They possess unique languages and unique histories. The focus of this paper research paper is to analyze the dynamics of Treaty Nine between the government and the First Nations people.
Having been faced with an ever-increasing demand for natural resources by the local and international markets, the Canadian government had to find a way of supplying resources to its industrial sector. This pushed for expansion to Northern Ontario. Although many people in Canada identify themselves with the Aboriginal culture and way of life, many of them struggle to gain a cultural identity with the assimilation policies that the government has established. Understanding the cultural struggle of the Aboriginal people can be traced back through history. There have been numerous conflicts between the Aborigines and the Canadian government in relation to land rights and access.
For years, this struggle has resulted in defining and shaping the way of life of the indigenous people in Canada. One of the most notable treaties between the Aboriginal people and the government includes the Treaty Nine. The treaty was signed in 1905 owing to the westward expansion of Canada. As Canada put in motion ways to infrastructural development and growth, it instigated a conflict with the Aborigines of the West. The government tried to establish settlement areas in the Northern Ontario area, even as it increased its mining activities.
The challenge was how it would deal with the First Nations people who occupied the area. The plans by the government of Canada to expand the national railway and increase mining activities directly interfered with the way of life of the Aborigines who greatly treasured land ownership. In an effort to convince the First Nations people of the importance of the plans of the government, negotiations were initiated with the aim of establishing a treaty, which would result in the relocation of the First Nations people to a different area.
The treaty involved the Chapleau Ojibways and the Chapleau Cree, who were the most notable groups of the First Nations. These two groups represented the First Nations population in the signing of the treaty by agreeing to the terms and conditions that had been proposed. For the First Nations people, government development was important; however, their culture and way of life were also crucial for their survival. They, therefore, demanded for the aboriginal population to continue living on their traditional land and continue with its practices such as fishing and hunting.
The negations guaranteed that the culture and practice of the First Nation would be maintained, therefore, prompting the signing of Treaty Nine. For the government, the treaty would be instrumental in acquiring the Northern Ontario land. In as much as previous treaties had granted the government access to the land, the Treaty Nine allowed access to land beyond the existing area. The treaty also granted the government the power to relocate the First Nations people to reserves. The focus of the government was on expanding the land for the European settlers and granting the right to build upon the lands.
The core provision of the Treaty was that it allowed for the creation of reserves where the Aboriginal populations would be resettled. Looking at the status of the Treaty in the contemporary society, a number of challenges have been created as a result of its acceptance by the First Nations. For many people, it came with a myriad of advantages; however, the problems seem to far outweigh the benefits of the treaty.
In 2011, for instance, the Treaty Nine was at the Centre of multi-million dollar lawsuit. The Mishkeegomang group that makes up part of the First Nations population argued that the chief who signed the treaty was not literate and thus did not speak or understand English. They group also argued that the absence of any lawyers in the signing of the treaty made it void. In addition, the promises that were made in back in 1905 by the government have since been abandoned.
For the Metis people, for instance, they live in two small reserves that have two high schools for their children. The dams that were part of the treaty resulted in the flooding of the lands and homes of the Mish people, thus causing devastation and widespread poverty. The treaty involved ceding a large portion of the Ojibway and Cree land to the Canadian government. In return, the groups were awarded rights and privileges and monetary payments. The signing of the treaty marked the onset of centralized life in reserves for the Aboriginal groups. They managed to retain their rights to hunt for furs and fish for food on lands that were outside the reserves.
The fact that the government reneged on its promise of allowing the First Nations people to maintain their culture clearly depicts deception on the part of the government. The government simply cheated the communities without minding about their way of life. However, proponents and opponents of Treaty Nine have made different arguments for and against the treaty.
Advantages of Treaty Nine
The shift to the centralized reserves meant that the largely traditional communities had to make adjustments on their way of life. The new way of life resulted in some individuals taking up employment at the regional levels. A large number, however, opted to retain their traditions and land-based way of life. A number of advantages can be pinpointed in relation to Treaty Nine. The establishment of schools and education facilities in the First Nations reserves allowed the Aboriginal children to be educated. The education has allowed the aboriginal populations to get representatives who have been instrumental in pushing for the rights of the Aborigines.
The schools played a crucial role in ensuring that the Aboriginal populations rise through the ranks of government and push for their rights on a more level playing field. For the national government, the mining companies that operate in the Aboriginal lands continue to rake in huge revenues for the government. The economic importance of the region has proved to be important for the government even as lumbering and mining continue to generate huge profits.
During the 1940s, the lands that had been signed off by the government began to realize increasing development and construction. Airstrips began to crop up in the remote communities that were once occupied by the First Nation tribes and groups. For the first time in many years, the communities of the Aborigines began to realize an increase in government services. The continued use of air travel by many local communities in the primary transport for various goods remains one of the benefits that the Treaty brought to the local communities.
Disadvantages of Treaty Nine
Having managed to relocate the aboriginal people from their native lands, the resettlement into the reserves came with a myriad of problems for the First Nations. Innumerable regulations and laws were soon developed and resulted in a number of restrictions on the way of life of Aborigines. The primary role of the Canadian government, as it turns out, was to ensure that it had eliminated the culture and way of life of the aborigines, so that they could not seek to reclaim their land.
There was the establishment of schools in the First Nation reserves with had the aim of educating the Aboriginal children on a new way of life. Efforts and resources were put in place to ensure that the Aborigines could be cultured into the modern European ways of life. The Aboriginal society was thus separated through the use inability to vote reservations and loss of aboriginal identity. The Aboriginal people lost their tradition and way of life and had to conform to the new system that was being imposed by the Canadian government. The result was the creation of an economically dependent population that could be easily manipulated.
The loss of cultural identity, cultural knowledge and the ties of the Aboriginal people to their land were all instigated by the signing of the treaty. Once the chiefs had agreed to move from their original land, they had no control over the changes that began to take place. Over time, the support of the government to the Canadian reserves was minimized as the country struggled to meet other national needs. The schools and public utilities that once thrived in the reserve areas soon became neglected. Projects such as dams that had been part of the treaty soon became a problem, as they flooded the homes in the reserves.
The inadequate education facilities within the reserves resulted in poor quality of education among the Aborigines. The effect was that in a highly specialized labor market, most of the Aboriginal people remained discriminated against because of their illiteracy and low skill level. In order to survive in the new world where economic exigency was the order of the day, aborigines had to find jobs to earn a living. The jobs that required low skills offered much lower incomes.
Illiteracy and low qualifications in education caused rampant unemployment to a huge proportion of the First Nations population. The Aboriginal people were in turn subordinated and impoverished and suffered government neglect for decades. For many years, the natural environment had been the main source of livelihood for the Aboriginal people. Trees, wild animals, birds, forests, and lakes represented some of the most important resources for the First Nations.
The drastic shift to the reserves became a major hindrance to this way of life. However, most alarming was the fact that the land that had served as the major source of livelihood was being replaced by huge construction sites and buildings. The development of the national railway line was ongoing, and it soon brought about settlement along the line. Previously conserved environments were soon left to the exploits of the government, which was in dire need of resources for the local and international market.
Recommendations
The analysis of the James Bay Treaty 9 in the paper brings to light a number of unresolved issued between the government of Canada and the Aboriginal. Huge injustices have been instigated against the First Nations and the Aboriginal people at large. The signing of the treaty, as depicted in the paper, is filled with controversy, which hugely dents its credibility. The central government had literary cheated their way into acquiring the land of the Aboriginal people.
The promises that were made in the Treaty, such as the provision to hunt, lumbering rights, as well as the establishment of community services have all been neglected. In the recent years, there has been an increasing degree of dissent and uproar among the Cree populations regarding the land rights issue and the James Bay Treaty. Calls for self-government have repeatedly dominated the Canadian airwaves. The Aboriginal communities have begun to voice their concern regarding their lost cultural practice and identity.
For the government, such issues have to be given preeminence as they fall under the category of historical injustices. The first step that can be undertaken by the government includes acknowledging the rights of the Aboriginal people. The only position that offers the government a chance to repay the First Nations is through the recognition of their cultural and traditional rights. The signing of the James Bay Treaty number 9 created a platform upon which the government discriminated the Aboriginal populations.
Over the years, these populations have continually lost their cultural heritage as a result of the policies of the government. Secondly, the government has to put in place measures that will result in the reduction of the conflict between the Aboriginal community and their natural resource management. As per the signing of the treaty, the Aborigines were promised a continuity of their culture of timber harvesting and game hunting; these rights have, however, been revoked over the years through numerous legislative processes.
The provinces of Manitoba should, therefore, begin to recognize the treaty rights and allow the Aboriginals to harvest timber resources. Although wildlife has been a huge part of the Aboriginal way of life, hunting rights have since been infringed upon. However, they should be reinstated for this community. Another important way of dealing with timber harvesting and wildlife hunting is through a joint management method that incorporates the Aboriginal people and the government. This will result in a more amicable relationship between the two parties.
The federal government has to recognize the right of the Aboriginal people to water. The violation and flaunting of these rights have caused the on-going rift and conflict between the government and the First Nations. The deliberate move by the government to erode the culture of the First Nations people upon their settlement in reserves has with no doubt accomplished its goals. Most of the Aboriginal populations in Canada have an identity crisis in a world that is advancing at a fast rate.
The very first step of eliminating a cultural identity is by disrupting its cultural practices. This was achieved by the government when the James Bay Treaty Number 9 was signed. The only way to restore the cultural identity of the aborigines is by restoring their way of life. These simple analogies provide the Canadian government with a means of finding a lasting solution to the injustices inflicted upon the Aboriginal people. For years, discriminative policies, legislation, and Acts have been passed to tighten the control of the Aboriginal population in Canada.
A direct conflict arose from the utilization of natural resources. For the First Nations and other Aboriginal groups, they have a cultural right to access and utilize some of these natural resources. For the government, on the other hand, it is a violation of natural resource protection laws. The alienation and separation of the First Nations from their land, which was their primary source of livelihood, resulted in the impoverishment of the Aboriginal people. They became economic dependents who had no skill and craft for the labor market.
Having thrived in the natural environment, a drastic shift on to their way of life was unsettling. Restoring the way of life of the Aboriginal people may have been overtaken by events, but the government can develop economic approaches that can help in the advancement of the First Nations. The federal government, in keeping up with its fiduciary obligations, should find ways to ensure that it improves the living standards of the First Nations economically. This population has been discriminated against for years; one of the methods that can be utilized includes the renunciation of half of the interests that are generated from minerals in the Indian reserves.
The relinquished interests can then go into the provision of basic amenities to the Aboriginal people. The Frist Nations have the full right of access to minerals that are mined from their land. The treaty might have robbed them their land, but they have a right to claim any interests that are generated. The final and most crucial step that the government has to make is in regards to returning the Northern lands to the Aboriginal populations. The Canadian government should put in motion the process of ensuring that the titles of the reserve land are returned to the First Nations.
Conclusion
The growing European population resulted in a subsequent growth in the demand for natural resources. In an effort to satisfy the demand, the Canadian government opted to expand northwards to the lands of Ontario. The land was taken from the Aboriginal populations who were its owners, and they were relocated to the reserve areas. For the Canadian government, the economic benefits far outweighed the cultural heritage and identity of the First Nations. The relocation was, however, contingent on the fact that the government would permit access and use to the land by the First Nations. Infrastructural growth, settlement, and population growth have over the years resulted in the diminishing area of land for the way of life of the Aborigines.
The solution has to begin from a political platform so as to allow for the creation of legislations that will guide the process. The implementation of policies aimed at reinstating the position and status of the Aboriginal people requires the political will of the leaders in Canada. The huge interests that are raked in by the lumbering, and mining industries of the Northern lands should be channeled towards ensuring the economic growth of the First Nations. The years of neglect that resulted in their poverty have to be addressed as the first step to protecting the rights of all the communities in Canada.
Every community in Canada has a right to their way of life and culture. The Aboriginal Treaty 9 was a move that resulted in the loss of traditional land by the First Nations. Its signing is filled with controversy and for years, the promises that were made to the communities by the government have since been violated. The urgency of the situation cannot be stressed any further considering the fact that the international community recognizes the plight that most native and traditional communities face. A number of recommendations that have presented in the paper provide some of the ways through which the government can restore the culture and identity of the Aboriginal people.
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