Integrating the Eagles: Members of Dokis First Nation Reflect on Public Education in Ontario, 1960-1980
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INTEGRATING THE EAGLES: MEMBERS OF DOKIS FIRST NATION REFLECT ON PUBLIC EDUCATION IN ONTARIO, 1960-1980 KAITLYN BLACKLAWS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY NIPISSING UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES NORTH BAY, ONTARIO © Kaitlyn Blacklaws July 2014 ABSTRACT Between 1939 and 1945, thousands of Aboriginal Canadians enlisted for service in the Second World War, left their loved ones, travelled overseas, and even lost their lives. No single reason exists for why these men and women chose to fight alongside Canadian soldiers, although each one received the same token of gratitude for their service; the loss of their “Indian status.”1 As a result of this type of governmental ingratitude, along with the poverty, homelessness, and residential school abuses that Aboriginal peoples continued to face in postwar Canada, organizations such as the National Indian Brotherhood developed to pressure the Canadian government to action. 2 Increasing postwar unrest, combined with the Canadian government’s signature on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, resulted in the creation of a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons in 1946 to investigate potential changes to the Indian Act.3 The Committee recommended the closure of residential schools and amendments to the Indian Act in order to integrate Aboriginal peoples into Canadian society through provincial education in non-Aboriginal schools. 4 Using the stories of Aninshinaabeg from Dokis First Nation and neighbouring communities in Northern Ontario, I argue the early integration of Aboriginal children into public schools was based on the same policies of assimilation as residential schools.5 By the 1970s and 1980s the experiences of some students improved, but under the integration scheme First Nations education in Canada continued to be characterized by discrimination because of the decision making authority of Indian Affairs and the provincial government over local communities, the lack of cultural resources and training available to teachers, and the removal of children from Anishinaabe land into public schools that ignored their language, identity, and culture. 1 Robert Alexander Innes, “The Socio-Political Influence of the Second World War, Saskatchewan AboriginalVeterans, 1945-1960,” (MA thesis, University of Saskatchewan, 2000), 19. 2 “The League of Indians of Canada,” Library and Archives Canada, http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca /008/001/008001-5000-e.php?&e=1&brws=1&st=Aboriginal%20Documentary%20Heritage:%20 Historical%20Collections%20of%20the%20Canadian%20Government&ts_nbr=1&. 3 Innes, “The Socio-Political Influence of the Second World War,” 45. 4 Innes, “The Socio-Political Influence of the Second World War,”15; Helen Raptis, “Maintaining the Illusion of Democracy: Policy-Making and Aboriginal Education in Canada, 1946-1948,” Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy 102 (2010): 7; Section 113 b, Indian Act, 1951. 5 Scholars who suggest that contemporary education of First Nations peoples has continued the residential school legacy of colonialism and assimilation include Marlene Brant Castellano, Lynne Davis and Louise Lahache, ed. Aboriginal Education: Fulfilling the Promise (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2000); John W. Friesen and Virginia Lyons Friesen, Aboriginal Education in Canada: A Plea for Integration (Calgary: Detselig Enterprises, 2002); J. R. Miller, Lethal Legacy: Current Native Controversies in Canada (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2004); Jerry Paquette and Gerald Fallon, ed., First Nations Education Policy in Canada: Progress or Gridlock? (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010); and Jerry P. White, Julie Peters, Dan Beavon and Nicholas Spence, ed., Aboriginal Education: Current Crisis and Future Alternatives (Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 2009). iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the faculty and students at Nipissing University for supporting this project and for providing helpful suggestions throughout the research process. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Catherine Murton Stoehr and Dr. Katrina Srigley. Without your guidance and constant feedback this project could not have been completed. I would also like to thank the Office of Aboriginal Initiatives for their patience and willingness to support me throughout my educational journey. I would like to extend a special thank you to Chief Denise Restoule, Doug Dokis and Sharon Goulais from Dokis First Nation for collaborating on this project, organizing community support, and providing guidance on how to complete this project in a good way. I would also like to extend a special thank you to the individuals who shared their stories of education. Without your willingness to participate and guide me throughout this project it could not have been completed. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their love and optimism. Your support has made this an enjoyable and enriching graduate experience. v TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 7 The Eagles on the River ................................................................................................... 7 Personal Location ............................................................................................................. 9 A Note About Terminology……………………………………………………………………11 IMPLEMENTING INTEGRATION .............................................................................................. 12 Aboriginal Protests and the Canadian Government’s Response ................................... 12 Telling the Story of Aboriginal Education in Canada ...................................................... 16 Integrating the Eagles…………………………………………………………………………26 Integration, 1960s to 1970s: The Impact of Racism on Identity…………………………..28 Integration, 1970s to 1980s: Land, Language, and Culture………………………..……..33 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………….41 Weaving the Strands…………………………………………………………………………..41 The Eagles in the Twenty-First Century…………………………………………………….46 Segregation or Integration?............................................................................................50 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………..…………………………55 vi 7 INTRODUCTION The Eagles on the River The people from Dokis First Nation are Anishinaabe sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, whose traditional territory is Dokis First Nation on the French River in Northern Ontario.6 Their territory, roughly forty thousand acres between the Districts of Sudbury, Parry Sound and Nipissing, was secured under colonial law in 1850 when Michel d’Aigle Dokis signed the Robinson Huron Treaty.7 His signature guaranteed that the lands of Dokis First Nation were passed down to his descendants who are also known as the Eagles on the River.8 Nine of these individuals agreed to share their experiences with education between the 1960s and 1980s. While their stories are very different they all share a connection to Dokis First Nation’s land, community, and way of life, and the experience of leaving the community to attend integrated public schools. These individuals have also become accomplished professionals with careers spanning administrative positions in Dokis First Nation’s Band Office, to national organizations on Aboriginal education. Also included in this project is Elder John Sawyer. Although he is not a member of Dokis First Nation his experiences with integrated education in a neighbouring community share the same connection to land, community, and Anishinaabe identity as his relatives from Dokis. Out of respect for Dokis First Nation’s traditional lands, language, identity, and culture, I have chosen to incorporate their words into my telling of their history. Over a period of three months I travelled from my home in Hockley Valley, in Southern Ontario, to North Bay and Dokis First Nation to meet with ten individuals who agreed to welcome me into their homes and places of employment to share their stories of public education between the 1960s and 1980s. I met with Doug Dokis, Senior Advisor for Actua’s National Aboriginal Outreach Program, on March 14, 2014 at his home in North Bay and heard 6 “Welcome to Dokis First Nation,” Dokis First Nation, www.dokisfirstnation.com. 7 James T. Angus, “MIGISI,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography 13 (University of Toronto, 1994), 4. 8 Michel d’Aigle Dokis’ Ojibwe name, Migisi, means “eagle” when translated to English, and therefore his descendants have become known as the “eagles on the river.” See, Eagles on the River, produced by Ray Pollard, 29 minutes, University of Guelph, 1977, 1 videocassette. 8 his story of attending public schools in Malton, Ontario during the 1960s and 1970s.9 The following month, Professors at Nipissing University introduced me to Norm Dokis. I had the opportunity to meet with Norm at the Ministry of Natural Resources, his place of employment, on April 16, 2014.10 Norm shared his experiences attending Kikendawt Kinoomaadii Gamig, the elementary school located on Dokis territory since 1955.11 This school provided instruction from grades one to eight until the 1960s when the grades that the school offered were reduced from one to four.12 Norm also attended Monetville Public School, approximately a half-hour drive from Dokis First Nation, and Northern Secondary School in Sturgeon Falls, approximately an hour and a half drive from Dokis First