On and Off the
Reservation; By Force and By Choice
My maternal great
grandmother lived on land that was accessible only by walking in. She spoke
about the times that she walked out to catch the train to come to town for supplies.
My grandmother lived on the Mississauga First Nation. My mother grew up in
Sault Ste. Marie. I live here as well. My paternal great grandmother lived on
Thessalon First Nation, until the government reduced the size of the reservation.
She no longer lived on the reservation because the borders were changed. My
grandmother and father lived in the town of Thessalon. My father did not want
his young family to be anywhere near the reservation. What was the basis of
his strong feelings against living on the reserve?
What is a reservation? The Indian Act describes an Indian Reserve as
a tract of land set aside under the act and treaty agreements for the exclusive
use of an Indian band. Their members possess the right to live on reserve
lands, and band administrative and political structures are usually located
there. These lands are not owned by bands, but held in trust for bands by the
Crown. The Indian Act grants the Minister of Indian Affairs authority over much
of the activity on reserves.
How did these reserves start out? Prior to Confederation and the Indian Act, the
colonial drive to civilize the Anishanaabe by introducing them to agriculture
and religion, this lifestyle was based on private property. As early as 1637, the government funded churches
run by missionaries, with land to be held for the Indians who were their responsibility.
This would become the rough model for subsequent reserves in Canada. In the 19th century, the Robinson
Treaty in Ontario, included provisions for the creation of reserves. The Anishinaabe agreed to share lands and
resources with settlers in exchange for the guarantee the traditional
activities such as hunting and fishing would continue undisturbed. The Anishinaabe
understood that the lands and their practices would be respected and that they
would not be confined within such a small space indefinitely. Indian agents told
the Anishinaabe that the reserve system was to encourage agriculture. Many Anishinaabe
found that they were moved to land unsuitable for agriculture, rocky areas with
poor soil quality or steep slopes. Settlers took the most fertile lands for
themselves. Later, Indian agents used the Anishinaabe’s minimal agricultural
production to move the boundaries of reserve lands, making them smaller again.
What happened on reserves? Reservation creation impacted all aspects of
Anishinaabe life. On a fundamental level the reserve system was a government
sanctioned displacement of the Anishinaabe. It divided up land and Nations that
existed for thousands of years. Families, houses, and clans who hunted and
gathered together for generations were joined with other families and houses that
disrupted social networks and kinship systems that determined who could hunt,
fish, and gather in particular areas.
What kind of houses did they live in? The government sponsored the construction of
housing on reserves. The houses were designed with the Western nuclear family
in mind. These houses could not accommodate larger, more extensive Anishinaabe
families. They were built on small government budgets that were not well built.
The houses were another way to break families apart.
Was there anything else impacting the Anishinaabe
families? In 1880, the government
established the residential school system across Canada. Indian agents and missionaries,
forcibly and without consent, took children away from their families and
familiar surroundings. In 1920, under the act, it was mandatory for every
Indian child to attend a residential school and it was illegal for them to
attend any other educational institution. Control of the lives of Anishinaabe
went beyond the residential school system. Starting in the 1960s and into the
1980s, large numbers of Anishinaabe children were forcibly and without consent,
taken from their families and communities and placed in foster care. Many of these
children were adopted into non-native families in Canada. This practice was
termed the “Sixties Scoop” by Patrick Johnson in his 1983 report Native
Children and the Child Welfare System. The child welfare system operated under
the same principles of the residential school system: it assumed that Anishinaabe
parents could not provide appropriate homes or upbringing for their children
and that the disorganised nature of reserve communities required that the
children be removed.
What are the ongoing effects of these policies? The forced assimilation policies of the Anishinaabe
are prime sources of poor health and devastating social consequences. These
include individual identity, mental health, structure and integrity of
families, communities, bands, and nations. Narrative and life histories tell us
that the residential school experience has had continuing psychological,
social, and economic effects on survivors. Trans generational effects of the
residential schools include: the structural effects of disrupting families and
communities; poor parenting skills based on experience in punitive
institutional settings; emotional response with little or no warmth and intimacy
in childhood; repetition of physical and sexual abuse; loss of knowledge, language,
and tradition; and systematic devaluing of Anishinaabe identity. These effects have
led a loss of individual and collective self-esteem, to individual and
collective disempowerment, and the destruction of communities.
How do others look at Anishinaabe? Forced assimilation has also had an effect on
how the rest of the population look at Anishinaabe. Popular media still show
the stereotypes of savage and drunken Indian. Racism still exists, though often
subtle. The continued lack of historical awareness of the Anishinaabe’s
experience with colonization and the continuing impact on their well-being and
social options is part of the problem. Anishinaabe efforts at self-governance
are slowed by government bureaucracy.
Where do the Anishinaabe live now? In an
article posted on line through CBC News Manitoba, Joseph Quesnel wrote that
urbanization is inevitable and that people move where there is opportunity. The
article also reported that the people who live on reserves earn less money and
have social problems that include alcoholism, domestic abuse, and suicide. Anishinaabe
report that the high cost of living, lack of jobs, and poor housing are the
reasons they will not go back. Off reserve living provides a better life for Anishinaabe
because of access to resources, education, and opportunities.
What was the basis of his strong feelings against
living on the reserve? The
Anishinaabe were forced onto reservations by Indian agents. Land that was of
little value to the agricultural system they were supposed to implement. Land
that had boundaries that kept shrinking, effectively removing some people from
the reservation. Reservations and rules of travel outside the boundaries
enforced by the Indian agents broke the bonds of social networks and kinship
systems that the Anishinaabe relied on for thousands of years. Hunting,
fishing, and gathering practices were disrupted by the implementation of the
Indian Act. Cheap housing designed for Western families did not fit the extended
families of the Anishinaabe. The government’s attempt to “take the Indian out
of the child” included the practice of the residential school and the “sixties
scoop”. The negative stereotype of the
Anishinaabe and the racism shown to the people continue due to lack of knowledge
of the history of the Anishinaabe. Whether
we live on the reserve or off, the Indian Act, and other policies that govern the
Anishinaabe have given us a life riddled
with many huge problems. The term “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” certainly
applies in the case of live on the reserve or live off the reserve.
Resources:
Harris, Cole (2002). Making Native Space: Colonialism,
Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press, 291. Retrieved from: http://indigenousfoundatins.arts.ubc.ca/?id=8356
Johnston, Patrick (1983). Native Children and the Child Welfare System. Publisher:
Canadian Council on Social Development. Ottawa, Ontario
Miigwich: Kimberly
thank you Kimberly for this eye-opening post. It truly is a lose lose situation to live on or off reserve because in the history of Canada, every attempt has been made to isolate and oppress First Nation peoples. To this day, there is still a great deal of unresolved conflict and the devastating impacts of the oppression carry over into nearly every facet of Canadian life.
ReplyDelete-Kayla T.
I agree with Kayla, thank you for this eye opening post. It is unfortunate that no matter what it is a lose lose situation. I really and truly hope that one day First Nations people will not be oppressed and have the things they deserve.
ReplyDeleteKarlie