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DEFINING SPACE: HOW HISTORY SHAPED AND INFORMED NOTIONS OF KASKA LAND USE AND OCCUPANCY A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of PhD In the Department of History University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By GLENN WILLIAM ICETON © Copyright Glenn William Iceton, June, 2019. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this dissertation 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 dissertation in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my dissertation 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/dissertation 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 dissertation. Requests for permission to copy or make other uses of materials in this dissertation in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of History Arts Building, 9 Campus Dr University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 Canada OR Dean College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies University of Saskatchewan 116 Thorvaldson Building, 110 Science Place Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5C9 Canada i ABSTRACT Beginning in the 1970s, as the federal government began to negotiate comprehensive land claims based on extant Aboriginal title, historical understandings of Indigenous land use and occupancy gained new significance as a means of demonstrating title. As Indigenous groups – such as the Kaska Dena – tried to demonstrate their Aboriginal title, they grappled with the legacy of colonial perspectives of their land use and occupancy. These colonial perspectives had the complex and sometimes contradictory effects of supporting their claims, while simultaneously circumscribing them within a Eurocentric framework. Historical renderings of Kaska Dena land use occurred within specific historical and environmental contexts. Moreover, outsider representations of Kaska Dena land use were shaped by the particular interests of the outsider or colonial observer – be it the interests of pursuing fur trade or bringing Indigenous peoples under state administration. This dissertation examines the historical unfolding of colonial knowledge relating to Kaska Dena land use and occupancy, beginning with contact and extending to the 1970s, when the federal government agreed to negotiate outstanding Indigenous land claims. The dissertation then focuses on how these past understandings of Kaska Dena land use influenced their abilities to advance their territorial rights within the context of comprehensive land claim negotiations and the emerging regime of environmental impact assessments. This analysis also considers how the Kaska Dena mobilized community-based knowledge to sometimes support and sometimes counter colonial representations of Kaska Dena land use. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been completed without the support and assistance of a great deal of people. First, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Bill Waiser, for his feedback on this project’s many drafts. His comments have helped me refine my arguments and strengthen my writing style. I am also indebted to my committee members – Dr. Keith Carlson, Dr. Jim Clifford, Dr. Ken Coates – for their support through my years in the PhD program. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Liza Piper for her insightful comments on the final draft of this dissertation. Beyond my dissertation committee, I would like to thank my graduate school colleagues who provided me with intellectual support as well as much needed levity, when necessary. Students at University of Calgary (where I completed my Master’s) and at University of Saskatchewan whose support and friendship has been indispensable are: Michelle Desveaux, Dr. Jessica DeWitt, Anne Janhunen, Laura Larson, Colin Osmond, Dr. Will Pratt, Dr. Dustin McNichol, Dr. Shannon Murray, Dr. Frances Reilly, Dr. Michael Savage, Dr. Matt Todd, and Dr. Cheryl Troupe. This project was greatly assisted by the helpful archival staff of the various institutions I visited. I would like to thank Lesley Buchan, Donna Darbyshire, Jennifer Roberts, Shannon Olson, and Wendy Sokolon from the Yukon Archives for their help navigating the collections and locating sources. I would also like to express my gratitude to Johnathan Wise and Benoit Thériault for pointing me towards valuable ethnographic materials held at the Canadian Museum of History Archives. Finally, I would like to thank Raymond Frogner for his assistance at the British Columbia Archives. iii The consumption of coffee was essential to the completion of this dissertation. To this end, I would like to thank City Perks for their high octane americanos and for allowing me to occupy a table for hours on end as I wrote this dissertation. My family was a tremendous support during all stages of the PhD program. This network of family support grew during my years in the program! I would like to thank my parents, Mark and Elaine Iceton, for their support as I completed my dissertation, and for not asking (too often) when it would be done. I would also like to thank in-laws Crystal and Calvin Brannon and Don Spinney for their support. I would also like to acknowledge the feline members of my family, Boris, Horatio, and Wilber. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Dr. Erin Spinney, for both her love and support as I went through the highs and lows of PhD life. Having already experienced the trials of edits, rewrites, and the defense, Erin has helped guide me through some of the more challenging moments of the dissertation. I couldn’t imagine this dissertation coming to light without her! iv DEDICATION To Boris and Wilber. Your antics have made life a lot more exciting! v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PERMISSION TO USE …………………………………………………………………….. i ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………… ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………………………… iii DEDICATION ………………………………………………………………………………. v TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………………… vi LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………………………. vii INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………… 1 CHAPTER ONE: “He Had Seen a Smoak at No Great Distance”: Fur Trade Exploration Narratives and Conceptions of Kaska Land Use ……………………………………………. 50 CHAPTER TWO: “Not a Word of Indians”: The View from the Trading Post and Perceptions of the Kaska …………………………………………………………………………………….100 CHAPTER THREE: “It was commencing to get wintery”: Ethnographic Fieldwork, Transportation, and Seasonality in the Yukon-BC Borderlands ……………………………. 125 CHAPTER FOUR: “In Time It Could Be Made to Grow Crops”: Narrative Understandings of Kask Land Use during the Early 20th Century ……………………………………………… 163 CHAPTER FIVE: “Many Families of Unseen Indians”: Trapline Registration and Understandings of Kaska Land Use in the BC-Yukon Borderlands………………………….196 CHAPTER SIX: “Change Cannot be Stopped but, It Can be Controlled”: Aboriginal Title, Environmental Justice, and Historical Narratives …………………………………………… 245 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………………… 295 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………………….303 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Number Page 0-2 Map of Study Area……………………………………………………………………… 9 0-2 Territories Claimed Under the Umbrella Final Agreement……………………………. 10 0-3 Kaska Dena Land Claims in British Columbia……………………………………….....11 0-4 Kaska Dena Council Traditional Territory………………………………………………12 1-1 Map from John McLeod’s 1831 Expedition……………………………………………. 93 1-2 Indian Chart …………………………………………………………………………… 97 3-1 George Dawson Map of Upper Liard Watershed …………………………………… 139 3-2 George Dawson Map of Upper Liard Watershed (closeup view) …………………… 140 4-1 James Teit Map Delineating Kaska and Tahltan Traditional Territories ……………... 193 5-1 Sketch Map of Trapline ………………………………………………………………. 208 5-2 Map identifying names and locations of bands within the Stikine Indian Agency…… 213 5-3 Map of BC-Yukon Border …………………………………………………………... 223 5-4 Map of Yukon-BC-NWT Borderlands ………………………………………………. 230 5-5 St. Pierre Nande Trapline Sketch Map ……………………………………………….. 235 5-6 Map of South Nahanni Traplines, 1951 …………………………………………….. 237 5-7 Map of Pelly River Traplines, 1963-1972 …………………………………………… 241 6-1 Kaska Dena Council Traditional Boundaries in British Columbia……………………. 256 6-2 John Honigmann’s “Map of Cassiar and Its People” ………………………………..... 257 vii INTRODUCTION Beginning in the 1970s the federal government agreed to negotiate comprehensive land claim agreements with the Indigenous peoples of Canada who had not signed previous treaties. With this change in the federal government’s policies, the Kaska Dena found themselves reliant on colonial knowledge in order to prove their Aboriginal title. Colonial records were cited in research reports which were used to demonstrate Kaska Dena land claims. Moreover, in order to demonstrate their Aboriginal title, the Kaska Dena faced a legal double-standard. Their abilities to demonstrate their title to the land in the eyes of the Canadian legal system was contingent on presenting detailed documentary evidence