Module 9, Indigenous Peoples and Health Flashcards
Indigenous Peoples
a term used to describe First Peoples from anywhere in the world. The use of Peoples plural is intentional to indicate while there are some commonalities in experiences and across cultures, there are many diverse ‘Peoples’
- this term is increasingly used at UBC after much consultation with local Indigenous communities
- the terms the people most people prefer and it is plural
- first peoples from anywhere in the world
Aboriginal or First Peoples
refers to all original peoples in what is currently known as ‘North America’ and their descendants
- the term was defined in the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982
- is used as an encompassing term that includes First Nations, Métis and Inuit - more of a broad term
- was popular back in the day
First Nations
term came into usage in the 1970s and replaced the term ‘Indian’
- there are 600+ recognized ‘nations’ including 11 in the ‘metro Vancouver region’ - the plurality of the nations where there are 600 recognized nations
- the UBC campus is on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam People (they do not use First Nations just by their name but there are one of the 600 nations - shows that people have choice and agency)
Inuit
refers to specific groups of Indigenous Peoples who live in the north (replaced the term ‘Eskimo’)
Métis
refers to people of Indigenous and mixed European ancestry dating back to particular place/time – Métis Nation(s) - manitoba, saskatcwen and ontario
Indian
refers to the legal identity of a First Nations person who is registered under the Indian Act
- an outdated and offensive term that references colonialism
- still used in some ‘official’ ways (policies, acts, names of organizations) - lives on in policies, embedded within our laws and relationships betweens laws and Indigineous people
- used by ’insiders’ – within communities or in reference to self
- terms that are not used or used with extreme cautions
Historical Population
- Indigenous Peoples have inhabited this land ‘since time began’ (archeological and anthropological evidence dates back 12,000 years)
- at point of contact with Europeans, it is estimated there were 100 million Indigenous Peoples in North and South America
- between 75 and 95% were wiped out by European diseases - diseases that were brought over and they had no immunity over and were not familiar with
Historical Context (1500s and 1736 Royal Proclamation)
1500s – Europeans began to colonize what would come to be called North America starting with eastern shores; moved across the continent over the next 200 years
1736 Royal Proclamation – Aboriginal nations recognized by British crown as “autonomous political entities with a right to have their own land and govern their own affairs.”
- acknowledges the sovereignty and the autonomy of Indigenous people and their right to the land however that is not to suggest there was a peaceful equal relationship but they acknowledged them as land owners who were there before
Colonialism
a process by which one nation imposes itself economically, politically and socially over another
Historical Context (1800s)
1800s - growing influx of settler immigrants (as well as growing population/births) -> rise in racism, loss of power among Indigenous Peoples - rapidly growing rate of people arriving and settling in Canada
European settlers and policies became increasing concerned with cultural assimilation and domination
Culture Assimilation
the assumption that Aboriginal peoples and immigrants will give up their culture and become indistinguishable from the dominant Canadian majority
- one culture asserting their dominance over another culture with the intent of making their culture the dominant culture, the prevailing culture, of making Indigineous people culture no longer exist but also make them adopt the Canadian identity
1867 British North America Act
- act passed by British Parliament that created the Canadian Confederation and set out its constitution
- rather than being full partners in Confederation, Aboriginal Peoples were classified as ‘wards of the state
- federal government ‘responsible for Indians and lands reserved for Indians’ - becomes their guardians and of their lands (condition for the reserves of the reservation lands)
- sets out the terms for over governing systems - divisions between provincial, territorial and federal governments but there is a lot more in the act
- Indigenous people were not in these conversations, there are not characterizied as people with their own right to assert their culture or to have a particular role in the governance of this new country but rather as wards of the state (refers to individuals are seen as incapable of governing their own affairs and people who require care or protection from the government)
- not equal relationships between government and Indigenous
Confederation - Legacy of Exclusion
when the fathers of Confederation came together in 1864 in Charlottetown, and then again a year later in Quebec, to lay the foundation for Canada, Indigenous people were not present. They were left out, despite the early treaty making. This exclusion has had far-reaching implications for Canada. The work of reconciliation today is, in many ways, at its core about rectifying this exclusion. After Confederation, crown policy became one of assimilation, and not partnership
- the North American Act is one the key moments in our history where they could have been a different relationship considered and instead Indigenous people were not apart of the conservation and the terms that were set had long lasting implications and for how healthcare in provided today
The great aim of our legislation has been to do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the other inhabitants of the Dominion as speedily as they are fit to change
- this was deliberate and intentional - the political leaders did not try to hide that they were enacting policies to assimilate Indigenous people as it was publicly declared
- our project is to assimilate their population and make them adopt a Canadian culture
Indian Act (first passed in 1876)
the Act has been amended many times but still exists today. In the past it has included prohibitions on (denied):
- voting
- sitting on juries - if they went to court they could receive jury by peers
- being conscripted during war
- holding religious or spiritual ceremonies
- gathering in groups of 3+ - we do not want you to organize, share your culture or practice any cultural practices
- possessing alcohol
- owning property
my notes:
- has been amended many times - responsibilities for the federal government towards Indigenous people
- how damaging it is to one’s ability to practice your culture or to pass on any sort of culture and traditions as the intent was to disrupt passing on of culture