1960’s Reports that Shape our Current Relationships
September 13, 2024
The Canadian Native Flag was designed by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Curtis Wilson in 2014. His design for the flag is meant to represent First Nations in Canada to the public. The hope is this Indigenous Peoples flag brings a better understanding of the First Nations of Canada and a vision for a unified Canada that still revels in its diversity and history rooted by the Indigenous Peoples and First Nations Tribes.
More about the meaning of the design: https://canadianindigenousflag.ca/about-canadian-indigenous-flag/1
Source: https://indigenouspeoplesresources.com/products/canadian-native-flag
Following..
…the Second World War there was a significant public interest in Human Rights issues across the Globe. In Canada this led to some focus on the rights of the indigenous population including much needed amendments to the Indian Act in 1951 which saw the elimination of many restrictions including the pass system. In 1959 status Indians were enfranchised gaining the right to vote. In 1964, the federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration asked the University of British Columbia to undertake, in conjunction with scholars and other universities, a study of the social, educational and economic situation of the Indians of Canada and to offer recommendations where it appeared that benefits could be gained. The report was released in 1966 and was titled: A Survey of the Contemporary Indians of Canada: Economic, Political, Educational Needs and Policies, otherwise known as the Hawthorn Report (1966).
After conducting cross-Canada consultations, the Hawthorn Report concluded that Canada’s First Nations were marginalized and disadvantaged due to misguided government policies including the residential school system, which the Report recommended closing. Hawthorn argued that the history of differential treatment of Indigenous peoples justified permanent recognition of Indians as “Citizens Plus”. The report recommended First Nations be provided with the resources required for self-determination.
“Indians should be regarded as ‘Citizens Plus’. In addition to the rights and duties of citizenship, Indians possess certain additional rights as charter members of the Canadian community”
However, the notion of granting Indians, or any of the indigenous peoples, special status was seen by liberal thinkers as providing unequal treatment and it was perceived as a form of reverse discrimination. Politicians, including Prime Minister Trudeau (the elder) and the then Minister of Indian Affairs and future Prime Minister Jean Chretien, opposed the notion of Citizens Plus as running counter to the basis of a liberal democracy which, in their view, demanded equal treatment for all people. The presumption being that the underlying rule of law that supports a healthy democracy demands that everyone receive equal treatment under the laws of the land.
This narrow view of equality led to the government issuing a “White Paper” in 1969 which proposed eliminating all existing documents including treaties and the Indian Act in order to eliminate the special status of Indians. It included recommendations to close the Department of Indian Affairs, the conversion of reserve lands to private property, and immediate integration of Indians into the general population as full citizens with rights no different than any other Canadian.
The concept was based on Trudeau’s notion of a “Just Society” which was founded on the principle of the “right of people to full and equal participation in the cultural, social, economic and political life of Canada”. Trudeau argued that “to argue against this right is to argue for discrimination, isolation and separation.” Furthermore, he stated “the government believes that services should be available on an equitable basis.. Services ought not to flow from separate agencies established to serve particular groups, especially not to groups that are identified ethnically... All Indians should have access to all programs and services of all levels of government equally with other Canadians…”
Indigenous groups across Canada were outraged and argued that forced assimilation was not the means to achieve equity and that the White Paper had not addressed their concerns. They responded with a document under the aegis of Harold Cardinal and the Indian Association of Alberta called Citizens Plus, which became known as the Red Paper.
The first paragraph of the Red Paper says enough:
“To us who are Treaty Indians there is nothing more important than our Treaties, our lands and the well-being of our future generation. We have studied carefully the contents of the Government White Paper on Indians and we have concluded that it offers despair instead of hope. Under the guise of land ownership, the government has devised a scheme whereby within a generation or shortly after the proposed Indian Lands Act expires our people would be left with no land and consequently the future generation would be condemned to the despair and ugly spectre of urban poverty in ghettos.”2
Summary:
Hawthorn Report 1966 (Academic Research Paper – Government sponsored).
White Paper 1969 (Government response to the Hawthorn Report).
Citizens Plus Red Paper 1970 (Written by Indian Association of Alberta, a group called Citizens Plus, in response to the White Paper).
The White Paper was abandoned by the federal government following presentation of the Red Paper but little else was achieved for many years. There was growing interest in the notion of indigenous self-government and this notion gained attention from many corners of Canadian Society as the government began to pursue repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. Unfortunately, much of this interest was “academic” and little made its way into any concrete government policy for many years to come.
Even today, while progress has been made and several modern treaties3 negotiated that provide for self-government, self-determination and escape from the provisions of the Indian Act there is an absence of any coherent overarching government policy or strategy to give definition to what the concept of Citizen’s Plus would look like.
Nevertheless, the White Paper remains as an important historic document that represents a tipping point which could be said to signal the transition from the period referred to as Displacement and Assimilation to the period of Negotiation and Renewal4. It perhaps represents the final death knell for any government policy of assimilation of indigenous peoples. More importantly, the rejection of the White Paper began a process whereby we are slowly evolving into a society that recognizes the unique rights of Canada’s indigenous people whether it be with respect to Aboriginal title and their unique ties to the land, or with respect to self-government and self-determination while maintaining a relationship with the larger Canadian society, or with respect to the preservation and furtherance of their own cultures.
The White Paper remains as an important historic document that represents a tipping point which could be said to signal the transition from the period referred to as Displacement and Assimilation to the period of referred to as Negotiation and Renewal5.
The future requires rethinking the nature of Canadian democracy. We have recognized the rights of Indigenous people to maintain their culture and dignity but continue to struggle with the creation of a coherent approach that ultimately will not only define the future of the relationship between Canada’s indigenous people and the rest of the Canadian population as “newcomers” but will also help redefine our Canadian identity and its unique approach to democracy.
The two designs on the red side bands are K’utala-Salmon. Salmon seemed the perfect way to convey the importance of family, friendships, and strength in numbers.
There are as many types of people living here in Canada as there are types of salmon. I would like see us coming together in the future, not only my First Nations people, but all of Canada.
Salmon are known for dependability and renewal. Kwakwaka’wakw people think of them as a provider and a symbol of fertility and good health. The salmon is the source of life for our people, and we depend upon the salmon as our main food source in the past, present, and hopefully the future.
The design within the maple leaf is a head of a killer whale in the shape of an oval. The killer whale head is surrounded by some traditional use designs called split “U” shapes
Citizens Plus: A Presentation by the Indian Chiefs of Alberta to Right Honourable P. E. Trudeau, Prime Minister and the Government of Canada. June, 1970.
When we refer to modern treaties we are talking about agreements reached in the post WWII period between the Canadian Federal government and various Indigenous people.
These are the names of the Stages of the development of the relationship, provided by the Report: Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1996, for the last two stages of the development between Canada’s Indigenous people and newcomers of what is now called Canada.
These are the names of the Stages of the development of the relationship, provided by the Report: Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1996, for the last two stages of the development between Canada’s Indigenous people and newcomers of what is now called Canada.
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