Indigenous-crown relations in Canada and the Yukon: the Peel Watershed case, 2017 Item Type Thesis Authors Baranik, Lauren Alexandra Download date 03/10/2021 22:59:54 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/10609 INDIGENOUS-CROWN RELATIONS IN CANADA AND THE YUKON: THE PEEL WATERSHED CASE, 2017 By: Lauren Alexandra Baranik, B.A., B.Ed. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Arctic and Northern Studies University of Alaska Fairbanks August 2019 APPROVED: Mary F. Ehrlander, Committee Chair Leslie McCartney, Committee Member Victoria Castillo, Committee Member Alexander Hirsch, Committee Member Mary F. Ehrlander, Chair Department of Arctic and Northern Studies Todd Sherman, Dean College of Liberal Arts Michael Castellini, Dean of the Graduate School ABSTRACT The history of Indigenous-Crown relations in Canada has varied regionally and temporally. With the Constitution Act of 1982, however, Canada entered a new era. Section 35 of the Constitution recognized Indigenous treaty and land rights, and the Supreme Court of Canada has consistently interpreted this section liberally in favor of Canada's Indigenous Peoples. The Court has upheld the honour of the Crown in emphasizing the national and sub­ national governments' duty to consult diligently when engaging in development on the traditional territories of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit. The “citizens-plus” model of asserting and protecting Indigenous rights, first coined in the Hawthorn Report of 1966, has proved effective in these court cases, most recently in the Yukon's Peel Watershed case from 2014 to 2017. Yet, engaging with the state to pursue and to invoke treaty rights has forced socio­ economic and political changes among Yukon First Nations that some scholars have argued are harmful to the spiritual and physical wellbeing of Indigenous communities, mainly through alienation from their homelands. The Peel Watershed case demonstrates the unique historical development of Yukon First Nations rights and the costs and benefits of treaty negotiations and asserting Indigenous rights. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First off, I would like to thank my committee members who provided invaluable guidance and expertise throughout my research and writing. Mary, I was so grateful to have you as the chair of my committee and to learn from you. Your detailed and supportive feedback kept me on track to finish and helped me to convey effectively what I wanted to communicate. Leslie, your experience and knowledge of working in the NWT and your attention to detail in your feedback was useful throughout, but specifically when writing about the history of Indigenous- Crown relations and the evolution of the Numbered Treaties. I also really appreciate how readily available and supportive you were whenever I felt stuck in my writing or just needed to chat with someone. Victoria, I greatly relied on your knowledge of Yukon First Nations history and culture. Your quick, comprehensive feedback was greatly appreciated, especially during May and June when you were busier. Alex, thank you for your comments and introducing me to a number of authors who allowed me to analyze Indigenous-Crown relations in a new light. To the University of Alaska's Political Science Department, I would like to say thank you to all the professors I had the pleasure of taking a course with. Chanda, thank you for taking the time to sit down with me on a number of occasions to listen to my thought process and provide invaluable resources and advice. To both you and Dr. Lovecraft, I am grateful to have been your TA and to have learned about the United States' politics and governance that led me to learn more about Canada's political system. Thank you, Ben, Karsten, Terrence, and Line for listening to my practice defences. That first one was rough. I would like to say thank you to Selkirk First Nation community members who allowed me to listen to their stories. What I learned over the three years of living in Pelly Crossing I ii could not have learned in university or from a book. My experiences there led me to realize how ignorant I was of the issues facing Indigenous communities and the colonial history of Canada which in turn led me to pursue this thesis. Mussi Cho. And lastly, to my family. Mum and Dad, my life experiences, including this thesis, have been possible because of the supportive, empathetic, and loving foundation that you have provided for me my whole life. You were always just a phone call away to provide encouragement throughout this process. Erica, I know that road trip to Anchorage was not the most entertaining as I was studying the whole time but having you there when I wrote the GRE was invaluable. And to Aurora, you were with me every day, whether you wanted to be or not. Your company is always much appreciated. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vi List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... vii Introduction................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Literature Review and Methods ......................................................................... 9 LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................................................9 Historical Analysis ................................................................................................................ 10 Indigenous Rights in Canada ................................................................................................ 18 Literature Review Synthesis and Conclusion ........................................................................ 22 METHODS .........................................................................................................................23 Chapter Two: History of Indigenous-Crown Relations in Canada to the Modern Land Claims Era ................................................................................................................................... 25 FRENCH CROWN-INDIGENOUS RELATIONS ............................................................................28 BRITISH CROWN-INDIGENOUS RELATIONS ............................................................................30 The Department of Indian Affairs as a Branch of the Military (1755-1830) ........................ 30 The Department of Indian Affairs under Civil Jurisdiction (1830-1867) ............................. 40 CANADIAN CROWN-INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS ........................................................................... 44 Northwestward Expansion (1870-1920s) .............................................................................. 44 The Department of Indian Affairs in the Northwest (the 1920s to 1944) .............................. 56 The Rise of Indigenous Rights (1940s-1969)......................................................................... 62 Chapter Three: The Modern Land Claims Era....................................................................... 68 Liberal Government - Pierre Elliot Trudeau (1968-1979; 1980-1984).......................... 68 CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT - BRIAN MULRONEY (1984-1993) .............................................. 7 1 Liberal Government - Jean Chretien (1993-2003) and Paul Martin (2003-2005)........ 74 CoNSERVATiVE GoVERNMENT - STEPHEN HARPER (2006-2015) ............................................... 76 The honour of the Crown....................................................................................................... 77 LiBERAL GovERNMENT - JuSTiN TRuDEAu (20 1 5-PRESENT)..................................................... 8 1 Chapter Four: History of Indigenous-Crown Relations in Yukon to the Modern Land Claims Era ................................................................................................................................... 86 PRE-CoNTACT .................................................................................................................. 8 8 EARLY FuR TRADE iN THE YuKoN (1800 To 1893) .................................................................... 90 NoRTHWESTWARD EXPANSioN (1893 To 1910S)........................................................................94 THE DEPARTMENT oF iNDiAN AFFAiRS iN THE YuKoN (1920S To 1960) .................................. 106 Inter-War Years ................................................................................................................... 106 iv World War II........................................................................................................................ 110 THE RISE OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS IN THE YUKON (1950S TO 1969) .......................................... 116 Chapter Five: The Modern Land Claims Era in the Yukon ................................................ 120 Liberal Federal Government - Pierre Elliot