Uvic Thesis Template
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Running head: YOU’VE GOT TO PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE You’ve Got to Paddle Your Own Canoe: The effects of federal legislation on participation in, and exercising of, traditional governance while living off-reserve by Tsaskiy (Ron George) Bachelor of Social Work, University of Victoria, 2006 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies © Tsaskiy (Ron George), 2017 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. YOU’VE GOT TO PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE 2 Supervisory Committee You’ve Got to Paddle Your Own Canoe: The effects of federal legislation on participation in, and exercising of, traditional governance while living off-reserve by Tsaskiy (Ron George) Bachelor of Social Work, University of Victoria, 2006 Supervisory Committee Dr. Darlene Clover (Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies) Supervisor Dr. Catherine McGregor (Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies) Committee Member YOU’VE GOT TO PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE 3 Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Darlene Clover (Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies) Supervisor Dr. Catherine McGregor (Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies) Committee Member This project describes the challenges and impediments members of two clans experienced while growing up and living off-reserve. Members of the Gitimt’en clan and their father clan, the Likhts’amisyu, descendants of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs Gisdayway (Thomas George), and Tsaybaysa (Mary George) respectively, and which includes the writer, related personal experiences of living off-reserve amidst the dominant colonial culture. Approximately 70% of the total Indigenous population in Canada live off- reserve. These experiences were documented through the Wet’suwet’en hereditary system which is an oral, transparent, publicly witnessed, and ever evolving living history. Through this project, our clan realized commonalities of experience, both positive and negative, as well as potential strategies to continue our hereditary governance system with increased efficiency and unity while we continue, through legislation, to live off- reserve. Consideration that the off-reserve population comprises approximately two thirds of the Indigenous population in Canada, and is yet to be recognized by government authorities, added legal challenges disproportionate to those of the dominant culture, and to the on-reserve population. Research for this project involved increased contact amongst clan members. Through increased contact and discussion, we discovered methods to ensure consultation and inclusion in our hereditary system while living off-reserve. Members of the Gitimt’en clan also worked toward increased communication with the Wet’suwet’en on-reserve population, as well as with both provincial and federal government authorities. YOU’VE GOT TO PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE 4 You’ve got to paddle your own canoe. While the copyright of this thesis rests with myself as the author, I declare that the Gitimt’en and Likhts’amisyu clans of the Wet’suwet’en people, descendants of Gisdayway (Thomas) and Tsebaysa (Mary) George, have inherent cultural rights and ownership of all oral histories and cultural information on the Wet’suwet’en people living off-reserve as contained in this volume, and further claim first rights to any intellectual property arising from the cultural knowledge as derived from Wet’suwet’en elders and other Wet’suwet’en cultural specialists. I also respectfully acknowledge that the oral histories and cultural information from other Aboriginal nations that I cite in this thesis in the same manner represents the intellectual property of these respective Nations. YOU’VE GOT TO PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE 5 Table of Contents Supervisory Committee....................................................................................................... ii Abstract...............................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgments............................................................................................................. vii Dedication.........................................................................................................................viii Chapter 1 The Journey Begins.............................................................................................1 Purpose.............................................................................................................................1 Explanation of Purpose....................................................................................................2 Introduction of the participants........................................................................................3 Rita’s offspring, my cousins:............................................................................................... 6 Questions........................................................................................................................13 Wet’suwet’en oral tradition, the basis of this project, is important for transparency.........13 Sub-questions.....................................................................................................................13 Correcting History......................................................................................................... 14 Background of Study..................................................................................................... 15 Terminology Used in Study........................................................................................... 17 About the Author............................................................................................................23 Chapter 2 Methodology..................................................................................................... 28 Delimitations..................................................................................................................34 Chapter 3 Historical Background, Historical Context....................................................... 35 The Invisible Seventy Percent....................................................................................... 36 Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny................................................................ 38 Proclamations, Policies, and Politics............................................................................. 40 Racism............................................................................................................................41 Blame for enfranchisement: An Off-Reserve Experience..............................................45 The exodus off reserve...................................................................................................49 Colonialism, distorted history, and stereotypes............................................................. 50 The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP)...............................................53 Chapter 4 Findings.............................................................................................................55 Growing Up Off-Reserve...............................................................................................55 Education....................................................................................................................... 59 Experiences in Education...............................................................................................62 Governance and the Indigenous Red Curtain................................................................ 85 Disadvantages of being “Illegal”................................................................................... 86 Early Contact................................................................................................................. 89 Constant Advocacy........................................................................................................ 90 On-Off-Reserve dichotomy........................................................................................... 96 Perceptions of Indian-ness........................................................................................... 113 Experiences with Governance......................................................................................118 Governance Solutions.................................................................................................. 120 Role of the Father Clan................................................................................................123 Reconciliation.............................................................................................................. 124 Racism..........................................................................................................................126 Experiences in Racism.................................................................................................128 YOU’VE GOT TO PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE 6 Racism from Cradle to Grave...................................................................................... 131 Chapter 5 The Journey Continues: Summary, Conclusions,