Introduction
The First and Second World Wars led to very many changes in Europe and the world in general. After the war, the six nations, which include Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg, based on the Schuman plan decided to sign a treaty that would help them run their industries of coal and steel under a common management. This decision was reached with a view of ensuring that no member country could on their own make weapons of war and turn against each other as had been witnessed in the past. The aboriginal/indigenous people of Canada also participated in the wars and learnt several lessons, which made them implement some changes in their relationships with the British-Australians.
In this paper, which consists of two sections, I will assume the position of the elder of the six nations and that the year is 1945 after the world wars. In the aforementioned position, I will describe the changes that I have seen in the position of these six nations and the indigenous people of Canada in general as a consequence of these conflicts. In the second section of this paper, I will compare and contrast the two seminar readings; teaching Canada’s indigenous sovereignty soldiers and vice versa “lessons learned” from ranger instructions with best left as Indians: the federal government and the Indians of the Yukon, 1892-1950. These are assigned seminar reading with the former reading Whitney Lackenbauer and the later by Ken Coates. In my comparison and contrast, I will comment on how these selected seminar readings added to my understanding of the history of Canadian indigenous people since 1876 as well as drawing connections between these readings and lecture materials.
Six Nations and indigenous people of Canada
During the First World War, the indigenous people of Canada volunteered in the second year of the war. This followed an amendment of a policy that limited them from external involvement with other nations. When the surviving indigenous soldiers returned home, the government unequally regarded them. The immigrants were accorded privileges that the former were denied. When the Second World War came, most of the soldiers were of indigenous origin. Joan Martin for instance joined the Canadian army in the Second World War alongside her two brothers Ben and Lawrence. Some indigenous people considered joining the Canadian army a tradition, especially the families whose ancestors either perished or survived the World War 1. Joan’s father for instance served in the Canadian army as a volunteer and was wounded in the First World War. The relationship between the six nations before the wars was not perfect.
There were conflicts arising from trade agreements and involvements. These consequently led to the first and second world wars. These outspoken conflicts left the nations seeking solutions to their compromised relations. Upon returning from the First World War, the indigenous people of Canada realized that the immigrants considered themselves superior that they failed to value the former. Therefore, in unity they fought for recognition, which failed and later resorted to independence. After several efforts, the people of Canada recognized the indigenous soldiers shortly before the Second World War. The events of the First World War make this event a memory in the history of the native Indian community.
After several conferences of the six nations, they decided to have a common ground and understanding that would ensure that every member state is controlled by universally accepted policies. These policies ensured equal treatment of every member nation and that every nation consented to these policies before their implementation. Among the founders of these understandings included Konrad Adenauer, Joseph Bech, John Beyen and Winston Churchill. Others also included Robert Schuman, Paul Spaak, Altiero Spinelli, Walter Hallstein, Jean Monnet and Sicco Mansholt. Formation of this agreement was not an easy task and several nations withdrew from negotiations since they viewed that the policies did not favor them. Some nations felt that they were undermined in the policy formulation in favor of greater nations. Others as well argued that the selection process into the membership of the alliance was biased and selective. For these and other reasons that are unknown to me, only six nations could adhere with the regulations and understood the need to work together.
Before the First World War, the indigenous people of Canada were hunters and trappers in the fur business. Their experience in the fur trade enriched their knowledge of the wilderness. Additionally, during the First World War, the British-Australians realized that these indigenous people of Canada were good snipers and scouts. They also had vast knowledge of the wilderness. Therefore, they were enlisted into the military in large numbers and later in the military that fought in the Second World War. Just as they had been neglected in their own country, which they had voluntarily decided to defend in the war, the indigenous people of Canada had difficult times in both wars. Even at the end of the Second World War, the returning surviving soldiers did not receive equal treatment. The indigenous soldiers were unfairly treated and denied most of the privileges that their surviving counterparts received. The settlement schemes were still not the same for both sides.
In the year 1945, we saw the beginning of “civilization” in Europe as peaceful negotiations were put in place engineered by the six nations formerly mentioned in this paper. The negotiations were intended to put to an end the constant bloody occurrences and war between neighboring nations. Trade strengthened these relationships eventually leading to political and economic integration, which consequently led to lasting peaceful relations between neighbors. This action of integration led to different reactions including riots and demonstrations in some European nations that did not accept the idea from conception. However, with time, nations started accepting this idea and there less and less conflicts.
Comparison and Contrast of Assigned Seminar Readings
The first article that I will consider in this assignment is Best Left as Indians: The Federal Government and The Indians of the Yukon, 1894-1950. Ken Coates wrote this article from Brandon University. The article begins by indicating that most studies of Indian policy in Canada and the United States have ignored the regional applications of the policies, but instead focused on the legislative evolution of native people. This article explains the need for balance of the national perspective in a regional concept. It gives evidence that while developing policies and programs, which were intended at compensating the local social and economic conditions, the government agents were required to pay close attention to regional setting.
Ken Coates cites the argument of Francis Paul in his article. The later argued that too much attention has been paid to the origins of the federal programming and too little to the implementation of policy. He also indicated studies of Jacksonian Indian Strategies of the general allotment Act of 1887 and of John Collier’s Indian “New Deal” that was prepared in the 1930’s (Coates, p. 180). He indicates that these studies both succeed in discussing the impact of the prevailing attitudes on government programming (Coates, p. 180), but have failed to trace the changes in the levels of implementation of these policies. Therefore, he concludes that historians have limited information about the regional application of the federal Indian policy (Coates, p. 180). This conclusion was drawn from the ideas of Prucha.
Whitney Lackenbauer wrote the second article that I have considering comparing and contrasting to the first article. The article bears the title Teaching Canada’s Indigenous sovereignty Soldiers and Vice Versa: “Lessons Learned from Ranger Instructions. This article, which is based on a series of interviews with the Canadian Ranger Patrol Group personnel from 2000 to 2006, provides a pioneering exploration of the roles, responsibilities and lessons learned by ranger instructors who trained the Ranger Patrols in their communities and areas of operation (Coates, p. 181). These instructors were from the regular and reserve force non-commissioned officers (NCOs).
At the beginning of this article, the author indicates that these voluntary Canadian Patrol Rangers have served and assisted the armed forced in remote areas for sixty years. They have provided military presence in isolated northern and coastal regions of Canada. The author indicates that these areas cannot be practically or economically covered by other elements of Canadian Force due to their remoteness. These volunteers are lightly armed and are not required to undergo the annual military training. Additionally, the Reservists are managed on a community basis.
The article also provides a background of the Canadian Rangers tracing their long history of service. According to this article, the official establishment of this unit as a component of the reserves was done in 1947. This establishment was based on the template of the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers in British Columbia during World War II (Lackenbauer, 66). The Rangers provided security in the northern and isolated coastal areas thereby providing solutions to the cold war and the security concerns that grew in the local resources. In the early years of these Rangers, civilians undertaking their routine chores as trappers, anglers loggers served as military “eyes and ears” (informers). They were given a little training and equipment and often acted as scouts and guides, as well as reporting on suspicious activities at the boarders. They also used Guerrilla tactics to delay enemies as they awaited military backup. The article records that there have been improvements on the equipment given to the Rangers: initially, they were only provided with an obsolescent.303 Lee Enfield, 200 rounds of ammunition annually and an armband, this improved to include ball cap, sweatshirt, t-shirt and a trigger lock (Lackenbauer, 66). Due to variation in roles, location and terrain, it was impossible to create a standard establishment for the rangers. The patrols were initially referred to as platoons. The administration and management of the Rangers have been in the community level since conception and has not changed since. The article indicates that there are no clear statistics on the ethnic background of the rangers, but according to recent trends, the membership of the Rangers generally represents the host communities and regions. Notably, the negligible cost of maintaining the Rangers has been the major reason behind its survival despite the evolution especially relating to technological advancements.
On their training, the article appreciates that the Rangers are skilled people who require only a little training in order to help them redirect their skills to benefit the community and the Canadian Forces. Therefore, they receive basic training from instructors, who are members of the Regular Force and Primary Reserves. Currently, the rangers are equipped with sufficient equipment and infrastructure for their operations and they are given different trainings in different regions. Standardization of the training has become impossible due to the differences in cultural, regional and geographical variations.
This article indicates that both units have benefited from this encounter. The military have gained technical support from the rangers and the rangers have also learned several things from the military. For instance, the rangers could not navigate outside their territories since they navigated their territories through memory. After receiving training from their instructors on how to study maps, they have been equipped with navigation skills even in foreign territories.
In my opinion, these two articles contradict each other since the first article by Ken Coates indicates that the Indians could have been left as they were in policy implementation. However, the second article indicates that the integration between the federal government and the native people has brought abound great achievements that have benefitted both parties. Currently, there are people who earn a living as rangers as opposed to the past when they were volunteers undertaking their normal duties.
