Stories Help Us Understand History – Here are a Few

June 7, 2024

Keep an open mind…

Image by jan mesaros 

June is Indigenous History Month in Canada. Further, on June 21, for National Indigenous Peoples Day, we recognize and celebrate the history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis across Canada. History is a rather peculiar thing. In 1891, a Missouri Senator. George Graham Vest, an advocate for the Confederate States of America said the following: “…history is written by the victors and framed according to the prejudices and biases existing on their side.” Many other notable figures have uttered similar sentiments including Winston Churchill who in a speech before the House of Commons on Jan. 23, 1948 said: “For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself.”

In fact, we need to be mindful that all historical accounts are written from a particular perspective and whether by design or by default buries with it the perspectives of others. In Canada many of our historical accounts have been written from the viewpoint of the newcomers and colonists and the result is to minimize the historical experiences of Canada indigenous peoples. The result is the further alienation of the indigenous people from our collective memory and deprives all of us from understanding the full story of how Canada became the country it is today.

In his seminal work, The Fur Trade in Canada: An Introduction to Canadian Economic History (1930), the esteemed University of Toronto political scientist, Harold Innis chronicles the trade in beaver fur from the early 16th century to the 1920s. But unlike others who treated Canadian history as if it began with the first European settlers, Innis wrote that European settlement of the Saint Lawrence River Valley followed the economic and social patterns of indigenous peoples, making for a Canadian historical and cultural continuity that predates and postdates European settlement. It was not simply "heroic" European adventurers who explored our vast geography and were responsible for the formation of Canada as it has evolved, but rather it was every bit as much the result of the cultural and economic contributions of First Nations peoples.

Way back in 1930 Innis observed: "We have not yet realized that the Indian and his culture was fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions.” That was almost 100 years ago and despite the passage of time it still holds true that we minimize the contributions made by the indigenous people.

In order to fully understand the true stories and history and to form a path forward that will define a better Canada, we need to spend more effort on understanding the history of the land from the perspective of the indigenous people.

While Innis’s observation was contained to the examination of the fur trade, we learn and can conclude that the historical experiences include the impact settlers had on all our indigenous people including the First Nations, Inuit and Metis and vice versa! This cooperative and integrated experience of early co-mingling of Europeans First Nations and Inuit is important to understand. The pre-existing diversity is an essential element in defining how relationships evolved and help us understand how we got to where we are today.

Canadian history is far from boring. As one digs into the past we find that we have rather complex relationships and that there is no single voice of history that will suffice. We are slowly coming to realize that for many of us we are blissfully unaware of just how complex our history is.

For example, let’s consider the history as it relates to the negotiation of various treaties. This is a very rich topic but demands understanding a number of key points. Treaties are important agreements between nations and initially various European powers entered into them in good faith to secure alliances and economic cooperatives with various First Nations people. However, the first series of treaties were restricted to people in the eastern part of the country and it was not until after Canada was formed officially through Confederation in 1867 that the so-called Numbered Treaties were negotiated. These numbered treaties were designed to move certain indigenous groups out of the way in order to build the Canadian Pacific Railway and to secure western lands (formerly referred to as Rupert’s Land) as part of the fledgling nation.

The numbered treaties were not intended to create partnerships between nations but rather were established to help achieve the geopolitical goals of the newly formed Canadian government. However, these treaties did not cover all of Canada and interestingly much of mainland British Columbia is not covered by any existing treaty arrangements. Nor were there any historic treaties established with the Inuit people or the Metis. We say “historic Treaties” because modern treaties have been negotiated with the Inuit, for example, in settlement of land claims including with respect to the creation of Nunavut.

We cite the existence (or non-existence) of treaties as examples of how there is a wide spectrum of different experiences for indigenous people depending on their geography and depending on how the relationship with the European settlers evolved over time. It is wrong to ignore the fact that within the study of history we must recognize the diversity of each indigenous group… and there are a lot of them across Canada. While there may be common themes and common experiences it is important to acknowledge that each group has its own history, culture and language. This reality also explains why many indigenous groups and people also do not understand each other’s history.

On Wednesday June 5, 2024 a signing ceremony took place in Ottawa between the leaders of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree to establish the nation's new permanent presence in the Parliamentary precinct. In essence the federal government has recognized that the Parliamentary precinct resides on unceded territory and as such the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation is the host nation.

In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had announced that an embassy building at 100 Wellington Street in Ottawa would become the first national space dedicated to Inuit, Metis and First Nations peoples. However, the government omitted recognizing that the site was located on land belonging to the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. The building, referred to as the new Indigenous Peoples Space, which was gifted to three national Indigenous organizations — the Métis National Council, the Inuit Tapirit Kanatami and Assembly of First Nations — as an Indigenous embassy and cultural centre. Now the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation has been recognized as a fourth partner and as the hosting nation in the creation of that space.

This small example story demonstrates the complexity of the issues we as a country are working on and need to resolve as we make a workable path forward. It shows there is a need for thorough thought and understanding and a true appreciation for diversity. So, while we may use the term Indigenous people in certain contexts to refer to all the people who occupied the land that is now Canada prior to colonization, we must at the same time avoid any generalizations that might get in the way of developing a deep understanding of all the various people who are part of long and vital history. In celebrating Indigenous History month let’s recognize that we are acknowledging what Harold Innis had told us way back when:

“Indigenous history and culture are fundamental to the growth of Canadian institutions – past present and future”.