The Politics of Indian Administration: a Revisionist History Of
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THE POLITICS OF INDIAN ADMINISTRATION: A REVISIONIST HISTORY OF INTRASTATE RELATIONS IN MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY BRITISH COLUMBIA A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Department of History University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By BYRON KING PLANT © Copyright Byron King Plant, March, 2009. All rights reserved. Permission to Use In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of History University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 i ABSTRACT This dissertation examines Native-newcomer relations during the “integrationist” era in Canadian Indian affairs: the two and a half decades after World War Two during which the federal government introduced policies designed to integrate Indians into mainstream Canadian social, political, economic, and administrative life. Particular focus is given to developments in British Columbia, where some of the most concerted steps towards integration took place. Growing public and political demands for institutional desegregation and the granting of rights of citizenry to Aboriginal people recast Indian affairs into a matter of unprecedented intergovernmental importance. Shifting between micro- and macro-historical perspectives, the following chapters consist of a series of comparative policy case studies. Individually, they examine the development, implementation, and effects of the four main areas of federal Indian integrationist planning after WWII: health, education, economic development, and welfare. Collectively, chapters demonstrate how integration was a mission essentially administrative in orientation: every policy undertaken in this period, whether directly or indirectly, sought to implicate the province and other federal line departments in Indian affairs. Not all attempts at “administrative integration,” however, were successful. While BC and the federal government reached joint agreements in the fields of education and health, other areas such as Indian economic development and welfare proved to be a source of significant intergovernmental conflict and impasse. ii Aboriginal people were important participants when it came to integrated health, education, and social welfare. Incorporating ethnohistorical insights and Aboriginal perspectives throughout, this dissertation documents how Aboriginal agency in this period—expressed in a range of innovative actions and words—included important combinatory aspects of compliance, resistance, and accommodation. Many individuals, for instance, demanded access to provincial services as within their rights as Aboriginal people and provincial voting and taxpaying citizens. While post-war integrationist policies varied widely in terms of their local perception and impact, Indian assimilation remained an elusive goal throughout this period. Advances in provincial devolution of Indian administration rarely resulted in the type of social and economic integration envisioned by federal officials. This study looks beyond unitary conceptions of “the state” towards questions of power and local agency. It engages Foucauldian and Weberian theories to show how a combination of intergovernmental politics, intrastate variables, and Aboriginal agency refashioned Native-newcomer relations in this period. Post-WWII administrative contexts served as theatres for the contestation of old, and formulation of new, power relationships. Developments in this era were to have a significant influence on Native- newcomer relations moving into the modern era. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my advisor, Keith Thor Carlson, and my doctoral advisory committee of J.R. Miller, Jim Handy, Robert Innes, Gary Zellar, and John S. Milloy (external examiner) for their expertise and assistance in overseeing this project. My MA advisor, John Lutz, and graduate student colleagues also were invaluable sources of support throughout my academic studies. Robert Cunningham graciously donated a wealth of print and oral materials on the Community Development Program. I also wish to thank Sonny McHalsie, Steven Point, Chris Cook III, Rosemary Ommer, Joy MacPhail, Jenny Kwan, Karen Aitken, and the many Aboriginal people of Alert Bay and Sardis who provided me with unforgettable experiences and an education not found in any university classroom. Lastly, I am grateful to my wife Elizabeth who lent her unwavering support throughout my graduate studies. This research was carried out with the financial assistance of a Canada Research Chair Native-Newcomer Doctoral Fellowship and a Social Sciences and Humanities Doctoral Scholarship. All research materials were used in compliance with University of Saskatchewan and University of Victoria ethics committee approval, and a British Columbia Archives researcher agreement. Oral interviews were conducted with prior sanction from the Namgis and Sto:lo First Nations. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv STATEMENT ON NOMENCLATURE........................................................................... vi ABBREVIATIONS .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE “Introduction: Indian Affairs and Integration after 1945.” ............................................................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER TWO “‘A Sort of Divided Control and Authority over the Indians’: The Integration of Indian Health in British Columbia” ........................................................................................................................................... 49 CHAPTER THREE “‘One Form of Discrimination for Another’: BC Aboriginal People and the Integrated Schooling Experience.” ........................................................................................................................................... 96 CHAPTER FOUR “‘Work Magic’: Indian Affairs and Economic Development Programming.” ..................................................................................................................................... 151 CHAPTER FIVE “‘A Glacial Process’: Indian Welfare Devolution and the 1964 Federal-Provincial Conference on Indian Affairs.” ..........................................................................................................................................206 CHAPTER SIX “Conclusion: The Politics of Indian Administration” ..................................................................................................................................... 264 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................286 APPENDIX A..................................................................................................................307 APPENDIX B ..................................................................................................................308 APPENDIX C ..................................................................................................................309 v Statement on Nomenclature Several terms are used in this study to describe the original and descended inhabitants of the area known as North America. The term “Indian” is used throughout this dissertation in specific reference to those people historically defined as such under the Indian Act. Since “Indians” are subject to historically-changing notions of eligibility, “Aboriginal,” “Native,” and “First Nation” are used in more general reference to those with indigenous ancestry or identity. This includes people having lost Indian status via Indian Act enfranchisement provisions as well as those living off-reserve no longer eligible for federal administrative services. This dissertation attempts to use specific tribal or linguistic designations such as Haida or Kwakwaka’wakw whenever such information is known. The terms “non-Aboriginal,” “non-Native,” and “Canadian” are used interchangeably to describe the descendants of those who began settling in North America following the sixteenth century. vi Abbreviations BCMA British Columbia Medical Association BCMP British Columbia Medical Plan CDO Community Development Officer CDP Community Development Program CEP Community Employment Program CMA Canadian Medical Association DCI Department