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POLITICAL ACTION OF THE INDIANS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA by LESLIE CLIFFORD KOPAS A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT O F THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n the D e p a r t m e n t of Anthropology and S o c i o l o g y We accept this thesis as conforming to t h e r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA APRIL, 1972 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this .thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of Anthropology and Sociology The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date June 1, 1972 ABSTRACT This thesis traces the development of political action by the Indians of British Columbia. The Europeans who occupied British Columbia in the nineteenth century placed the natives under a colonial style of administration. Without citizenship o r representation in t h e federal or provincial government for m a n y years, the Indians tried t o present their grievances to the government mainly through protest organizations. The effectiveness of Indian protest organizations was weakened by the inability of the natives to unite i n one provincial a s s o c i a t i o n . The diversity of cultural, religious, and economic factors in t h e Indian population caused persistent divisiveness. Regional political organizations were formed to resolve local problems. Finally, the prospect of the removal of the Indian Act provided a catalyst for t h e formation of a single provincial Indian political organization. CONTENTS Chapter Page I . INTRODUCTION 1 II. ABORIGINAL POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 12 Ethnic Divisions Local Groups Tribes Confederacies Warfare III. THE INFLUENCE OF THE FUR TRADERS 2 6 IV. COLONIAL INDIAN ADMINISTRATION 36 V. THE LAND AND POTLATCH ISSUES 46 The Land Title Question The Potlatch Law VI. EARLY INDIAN PROTEST MOVEMENTS 58 Land Petitions The Nishga Land Committee Potlatch Petitions Chapter Page VII. THE ALLIED TRIBES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA . 72 VIII. THE NATIVE BROTHERHOOD OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. 96 IX. THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN BROTHERHOOD . 116 X. POLITICAL INTEGRATION 129 The Provincial Vote The Indian Non-Partisan Party The Federal Vote XI. REGIONAL POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS 136 XII . POLITICAL DISUNITY 152 XIII. THE MOVE TOWARD NATIONAL INDIAN UNITY . 164 XIV. THE UNION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA INDIAN CHIEFS . 174 XV. THE NATURE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA" I N D I A N POLITICS 184 The Indians and the G o v e r n m e n t Indian Political Organizations BIBLIOGRAPHY 194 APPENDIX A: THE ROYAL PROCLAMATION OF 1763 . 199 APPENDIX B: CLAUSE 13 OF THE TERMS OF UNION 202 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to e x p r e s s appreciation to P r o f e s s o r s Harry Hawthorn and W i l s o n Duff for their assistance and constructive criticism in t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of this manuscript. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Social scientists and other writers have gathered a great deal of information about the I n d i a n s of British Columbia. They have described the c u l t u r e s and t h e problems of t h e n a t i v e s in s o m e detail. But one aspect o f Indian life to w h i c h they have given relatively little attention is p o l i t i c a l activity. This was acknowledged by researchers from the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia while compiling a comprehensive study on t h e n a t i v e s o f the province in 1 9 5 5 : "We have not carried out historical research on t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of groups of I n d i a n s organized for political purposes. Such a study would be r e v e a l i n g and instructive."^" But Indian political activity in B r i t i s h Columbia has not b e e n entirely ignored by anthropologists a n d historians. Edgar Shankel, in h i s thesis on t h e develop- ment of I n d i a n policy in B r i t i s h Columbia, described "Ha. B. Hawthorn, C. S. Belshaw, and S . M. Jamieson, The Indians of B r i t i s h Columbia, University o f California Press, Berkeley, 1958, p . 4 7 5 . 1 2 Indian political activities that occurred until 1927.2 Philip Drucker wrote a monograph on the Native Brotherhoods 3 of British Columbia and Alaska. An important Indian political leader, Andrew Paull, was the subject of a thesis by E. Palmer Patterson II.4 The most complete treatment of Indian political activity was written by Forrest E. LaViolette who traced its d e v e l o p m e n t to 1951. 5 Since those studies were completed, however, there has been an efflores- cence of political activity among the Indians of British Columbia. For some time I have believed that the mere recounting of Indian political activity in British Columbia would be interesting. If it complemented other studies that aimed 2 G. E. Shankel, The Development of Indian Policy in British Columbia, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, 1945. ^Philip Drucker, The Native Brotherhoods: Modern Intertribal Organizations on the Northwest Coast, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 168, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1958. 4 E. Palmer Patterson II, Andrew Paull and Canadian Indian Resurgence, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, 1962. ^Forrest E. LaViolette, The Struggle For Survival, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1961. 3 at discovering the reasons for the position of Indians in Canadian society, the account would increase i n significance. My interest in the political activity of the Indians of British Columbia stemmed from three sources: an interest in the history of British Columbia, an interest i n the cultures of the Indians of the province, and a concern for native people confronted with the problem of adjustment to Canadian society. My concern for the people was, of course, a stronger motivating force than my interests i n history and culture. But through knowledge of the history and culture of the Indians, I expected to begin to understand the nature of the problems they faced. This thesis is the result of a search for information about the causes of some of the problems of the native people of British Columbia. It i s about politics because I believe that to a great extent political decisions caused contemp- orary Indian problems, and wise political decisions are essential before they can be resolved. When I began to gather facts for my examination of the political issues, I relied on written sources—and as much as possible on those written by Indians. Had the study been more advanced and had time and finances permitted, I would have travelled to interview p e o p l e who were involved with recent political action. My method, however, was n o t entirely confined to w h a t I read. I have listened t o Indian leaders speak at c o n f e r e n c e s , on t h e r a d i o , and a t informal meetings. I have associated with many other Indians and h a v e personally observed the c o n s e q u e n c e s o f the Indian political situation in B r i t i s h Columbia. I acquired historical and e t h n o l o g i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n from books and newspapers, but I was probably predisposed by my background to a s k t h e q u e s t i o n s I did. I lived t h e first seventeen years of my life in t h e B r i t i s h Columbia coastal village of B e l l a Coola. The population of about 1,000 i n t h e B e l l a Coola valley was nearly evenly divided between Indians and w h i t e s . Most of t h e w h i t e people were descendents of N o r w e g i a n s who had settled in t h e v a l l e y i n 1894. Many of t h e m were prejudiced about Indians, but r a c e relations were generally amicable. My parents were "out- siders," as t h e l o c a l vernacular termed late arrivals. Our family tended to b e more friendly than most with Indians b u t not to t h e e x t e n t of comradeship. As a child, I adopted some of t h e p r e j u d i c e s o f rural British Columbia.

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