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TIMELINE OF 5 INDIGENOUS HISTORY

A TIMELINE OF ’S INDIGENOUS HISTORY

Planning your FIRST STEPS learning journey What are the key historical Indigenous people have inhabited the land now events that have affected the known as Alberta for many generations. When Europeans arrived, first peoples were impacted past and current , positively and negatively by the political, economic Métis and populations and social actions of the governments of the time. living in Alberta? In some cases, the actions of individuals also had a significant impact. These historical events have affected generations of people and will continue to affect future generations.

The events that occurred after Europeans arrived on Turtle Island have been documented in various forms and are therefore more readily accessible than the precontact history of Indigenous people. This timeline is not a complete summary of Indigenous history in Alberta, so teachers are encouraged to refer to the resources listed throughout this resource and to engage with Indigenous people in their communities The Alberta Teachers’ Association uses the term Indigenous to mean the original people of the land and for more information about specific events. their descendants and is used in the Alberta context to refer to First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. 2

MNA REGION 6

TREATY 8

A MNA Writing-On-Stone Indigenous Carvings Buffalo Hunt REGION MNA REGION 5

1 10 TREATY

TREATY 6 MNA MNA REGION 4 REGION 2 PRECONFEDERATION ccording to oral history, Indigenous peoples have A inhabited Turtle Island for many generations. MNA REGION 3 Turtle Island is the name used by some Indigenous

TREATY 4 TREATY groups for what is presently called .

Treaty Areas and Métis TREATY 7 Archeological evidence at Vermillion indicates there was Nations of Alberta Map human activity in Valley dating to 10300 BC. Ancestors of the Information specific Blackfeet are nomadic, moving across the land with the seasons following the to each of the TREATY animals they hunt and the plants they harvest. Communal jumps, such areas, MÉTIS and INUIT as Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump west of Fort McLeod, yield huge supplies of is highlighted throughout. meat. is partly occupied by Siouan-speaking people, who first brought horses into Alberta and constructed a fort on the Bow , east of MNA Regional Zones Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) Association present-day .

TREATY 8 Alberta is partly occupied by the in the subarctic and Woodland in the boreal forest. These subarctic peoples are nomadic and move throughout the north following the animals they hunt and the plants they harvest.

TREATY 6 is a diverse landscape of , lakes and forests that are rich in fish , , deer and beaver. Rivers like the Athabasca, North and the Pembina are important waterways. Many different groups live in these areas including the Cree, , Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, Dene and . Key gathering places include Elk Island, Amiskwaciy or “Beaver Hill,” and or “Bear Hills.” People gather here for many reasons: ceremony, trade, meetings, hunting, celebrations and rest. Lakes throughout the area are important camp locations. Stories and knowledge are shared, crafts and goods are traded, and marriages between nations are formed.

Walking Together: Education for Reconciliation 3

Doctrine of Discovery Fort B

1452 1537 The Royal Proclamation establishes the constitutional framework for The Doctrine of Discovery is put into Papal bull: Sublimus Dei, on the topic the negotiation of with the law by European monarchies after of enslavement and evangelization Indigenous inhabitants of the North the Crusades in order to legitimize of Indians, is issued by Pope Paul American Territories.4 the colonization of non-Christian lands III to all the Catholic bishops in all outside of . In the papal letter countries of the world. In this papal Romanus Pontifex, Pope Nicholas V bull, Pope Paul III states that 1780 directs King Alfonso V of Portugal European diseases came with the fur “Indians and all other people to “capture, vanquish, and subdue traders to Alberta. Initial epidemics who may later be discovered by the savages, pagans and other were particularly deadly, and Christians, are by no means to enemies of Christ,” to “put them smallpox claimed thousands of lives. be deprived of their liberty, their into perpetual slavery,” and “to Some people believe that half the possessions or their property; take all their possessions and Indigenous people alive at the time nor should they in any way property.” Thus, when Columbus died from the diseases. be enslaved.” 2 sails west across the Sea of Darkness in 1492, it is with the express 1600 1788 understanding that he is authorized Following traditional ways of TREATY 8 The Northwest Trading to “take possession” of any lands he reciprocal sharing of resources Company establish a trading post “discovers” that are “not under the with those in need, Indigenous at in 1788, making of any Christian rulers.”1 communities across Turtle Island it the first settlement in Alberta. assist the newcomers as they arrive. More than 230 years later, Fort 1534 Indigenous people act as guides, Chipewyan is still isolated by its Jacques Cartier lands on the translators and share knowledge of natural surroundings and can only coast, the traditional territory of the food sources and treating illnesses.3 be accessed by plane or boat in the people. summer and by ice roads in the 1763 winter. Its residents continue to MÉTIS With the arrival of the In the Royal Proclamation of enjoy trapping and fishing activities 5 Europeans, children of mixed blood England, 1763, King George III says on the land. are born to French and English that Indigenous nations own their fathers and First Nations mothers. lands. The King declares that the Later “Métis” becomes the accepted only legal way newcomers can gain term for children born to First control of those lands is by making Nations women and European men. treaties between the two nations.

1 Newcomb, Steve. 1992. “Five Hundred Years of Injustice: The Legacy of Fifteenth Century Religious Prejudice.” Shaman’s Drum Journal, Fall: 18–20. Also available at http://ili.nativeweb.org/sdrm_art.html. 2 Papal Encyclicals Online. 2017. “Sublimus Dei.” http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Paul03/p3subli.htm. 3 . 2015. “Indigenous Agency Timeline Handout.” Calgary Anti-Racism Education. Also available at http://www.ucalgary.ca/cared/ laindigenousagencytimeline. 4 Hall, A J. 2006. “Royal Proclamation of 1763.” The Encyclopedia website. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/royal-proclamation-of-1763/. 5 of Wood Buffalo (RMWB). “Fort Chipewyan.” RMWB website. http://www.rmwb.ca/living/Communities/Fort-Chipewyan.htm.

Stepping Stones | 5 | A TIMELINE OF ALBERTA’S INDIGENOUS HISTORY 4

Battle of Queenston Heights, 13 October 1812 C Mistahi maskwa ( ca. 1825-88), Plains Cree chief, trading. D E

1812 1829 1866 During the , First Nations The Beothuk, the original people TREATY 6 The sacred warriors and Métis fighters play of Newfoundland, suffer from Stone, sometimes called “Old Man important roles in the defense of the British attacks, starvation, illness Buffalo,” is taken from a hilltop near British territories against invading and exposure. Shanawdithit, the by George McDougall, a American forces. More than 10,000 last known member of the Beothuk Methodist missionary. First Nations First Nations warriors and Métis people, dies of tuberculosis; thus, believe the meteorite is a protector fighters fight beside British troops the Beothuk culture and of the buffalo and bringer of and Canadian settler militias in become extinct. and prosperity, and if removed, the nearly every battle of the war.6 buffalo will disappear. In 1874 the 1849 Manitou Stone is given to a museum The is es- MÉTIS TREATY 8 Oblate priests establish in , but is returned to the tablished at the junction of the Red the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in 1972.8 and Rivers in . Mission in Fort Chipewyan. After 1836 the colony is adminis- tered by the Hudson’s Bay Company 1857 and populated by francophone and The federal government 1867 anglophone Métis people. enfranchisement policies are the The Dominion of , consisting most common legal process by of four , is formed under 1818 which First Nations people lose Confederation: Ontario, Quebec, TREATY 7 The Convention their Indian status under the and . of 1818 extends the border between . First Nations people the and British North lose legal Indian status if they The (BNA) Act, America from of the Woods, earn a university education (eg, in also known as the Constitution Act, across the to the medicine, education or law); serve puts “Indians and lands reserved Pacific Ocean. This border divides in the ; leave for Indians” under the control of the First Nations and Métis communities the reserve for a long period of time federal government. and cuts people off from each other. (eg, for employment); and, for Indian The buys a women, if they marry non-Indian vast piece of Rupertsland from the men or if their Indian husband dies Hudson’s Bay Company. This territory or abandons them.7 consists of 3.9 million square miles, including land in present-day and Ontario, most of Manitoba, most of Saskatchewan, south and central Alberta, and the .

6 Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). 2016. “Indigenous Contributions to the War of 1812.” INAC website. https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/133890626 1900/1338906300039. 7 MCCardle, B. 2006. “Enfranchisement.” The Canadian Encyclopedia website. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/enfranchisement/. 8 Kirman, P E. 2013. “Consultation Process to Continue for Repatriation of the Manitou Stone.” Alberta Sweetgrass, volume 20, issue 6. Alberta Multi-Media Society website. http://www.ammsa.com/publications/alberta-sweetgrass/consultation-process-continue-repatriation-manitou-stone.

Walking Together: Education for Reconciliation 5

Louis Riel E A Buffalo Rift F Fathers of Confederation G

1870 assimilation into Euro-Canadian the treaty negotiations and sign an society. The Act deprives First adhesion at a later date, thereby MÉTIS Led by Louis Riel, the Métis Nations people of the right to govern becoming a party to the treaty. establish a provisional government themselves, denies them Canadian Adhesions to Treaty 6 are signed at and negotiate the entry of Manitoba citizenship and bars them from voting later dates and in different areas, into in federal and provincial elections. including a signing at Fort under the Manitoba Act of 1870. The Act restricts their ability to in 1877. The Manitoba Act states that Métis conduct commerce and to own land. lands will be protected but that all The Indian Act also tries to stop First other lands are the property of the 1877 Nations people from fighting for their Dominion of Canada.9 TREATY 7 Treaty 7 is an agreement land by making it illegal to raise between and several, 1874 money for land rights claims in the mainly Blackfoot, First Nations courts until the 1950s. The Indian Act bands in southern Alberta. Treaty 7 TREATY 8 AND MÉTIS The Holy applies only to First Nations and not to is signed at on Angels school is founded at Fort the Métis or Inuit.10 the . Chipewyan, in what is now Alberta. The school moves to a new building TREATY 6 Treaty 6 is signed by 1878 in 1881, which is enlarged in 1898, representatives of the Crown By 1878, the last remnants of 1904 and 1907. A new school opens and Cree, Saulteaux, Nakota, the once great bison herds cross in 1944, and in the 1950s a day Dene, Assiniboine and Ojibwa south into . In 1830, some school operates out of the residential leaders at and Fort 40 million bison still roam the school. Many of the students at the Pitt in Saskatchewan. The treaty North American plains; however, school are Métis. From the 1950s boundaries extend across central accelerated overhunting of the onward Holy Angels increasingly portions of present-day Alberta by Indigenous groups becomes a child-welfare institution. and Saskatchewan. Treaty 6 is and white settlers alike and other The school closes in 1974. enacted at a time when many First factors contribute to the bison’s Nations people are hungry due to near extinction. These factors 1876 overhunting of the buffalo and sick include disease, drought, westward All laws dealing with “Indians” because of the smallpox epidemic. expansion, commercialization are consolidated under the Indian It is the only treaty that includes a of hunting, colonialism and the Act, which gives greater control to medicine chest, which is interpreted introduction of domestic animals the Department of Indian Affairs as universal healthcare. It also from Europe. As a result, the First to intervene in a wide variety of includes the promise of education, Nations and Métis people lose their issues and make sweeping policies. which is something that generations primary food source, and many die The Indian Act aims to eradicate to come would need. Some First of starvation.11 First Nations’ culture in favour of Nations leaders are not present at

9 Dunn, W, and L West. 2011. “Manitoba Act 1870.” Canada: A Country by Consent website. http://canadahistoryproject.ca/1870/1870-08-manitoba-act.html. 10 Dunn, W, and L West. 2011. “Seven Treaties Signed 1871–1877.” Canada: A Country by Consent website. http://canadahistoryproject.ca/1871-97/1871-03-seven- treaties.html. 11 Foster, J E. 2006. “Buffalo Hunt.” The Canadian Encyclopedia website. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/buffalo-hunt/.

Stepping Stones | 5 | A TIMELINE OF ALBERTA’S INDIGENOUS HISTORY 6

Indian Industrial School, , Saskatchewan, 1895 H Students and parents from the Saddle Lake Reserve, Alberta I

1880 1885 roles in the North West Resistance. This is recognized as the largest Ceremony ban: Section 3 of An MÉTIS The Canadian government’s mass execution in Canadian history.14 Act Further to Amend The Indian promises of land to the Métis under Some sources report witnesses in Act, made practices like the the Manitoba Act are not fulfilled, attendance include First Nations , pow wow and other and after 10 years of delay, the children from the nearby Battleford ceremonies a criminal offence. government introduces the “scrip” Industrial School. Cree leaders Anyone participating or helping in a system. While some Metis do and Big Bear are ceremony can be imprisoned. receive land allowances, most are imprisoned for treason although they issued paper scrip, transferable 1883 did not take part in the North West certificates, which unscrupulous Resistance battles.15 Indian residential schools first land speculators pressure them to appear in Canada in sell cheaply.16 In order to control the movements of 1883–84, with schools opened Indigenous people, the pass system in Qu’Appelle, and Louis Riel is the leader of the is introduced in 1885 and enforced Battleford. The purpose of the Métis people in Manitoba and until the 1940s. It requires all First residential schools in Canada is to fights to preserve their rights, Nations people living on reserve educate and “civilize” or westernize culture and lands in the Red to get written permission from an First Nations peoples to make River Rebellion (1869–1870). He Indian agent when they need to them adopt a more western—ie, later joins Gabriel Dumont in the leave their community. If caught European—lifestyle. Separating North West Resistance (1885) in without a pass, they are either children from their parents and northern Saskatchewan, near the incarcerated or returned to the forcing religion on them, it is Métis settlements of Duck Lake reserve. The pass system is repealed believed, are the only means by and Batoche. The Canadian army is in 1951. which to achieve the “civilizing” able to crush the Métis Resistance of the First Nations peoples. These at a final battle at Batoche despite 1887 schools are funded by the federal support from local farmers and the TREATY 7 is government and administered by Blackfoot and Cree people. Riel is formed in 1887, including land that Christian churches. The official arrested and later hanged in Regina had been previously allocated to partnership between the federal on November 16, 1885.13 First Nations in Treaty 7. The Stoney government and the churches ends Nakoda First Nations are removed in the 1970s, but some churches TREATY 6 Cree war chief Wandering from Banff National Park between continue to operate schools until the Spirit and seven other warriors 1890 and 1920. The national park’s 1990s.12 are tried without legal counsel and exclusion policy meets its goals of hanged in for their sport hunting, tourism and game

12 “Residential Schools: The Background.” 2002. The Making of Treaty 8 in Canada’s Northwest website. http://wayback.archive-it.org/2217/20101208174512/http:// www.albertasource.ca/treaty8/eng/1899_and_After/Implications_and_Contentions/residential_schools.html. 13 “Historical Significance: The Métis People.” 2017. Rupertsland Institute Métis Centre of Excellence website. http://www.rupertsland.org/about/historical_significance. 14 Ogg, A. 2015. “An infamous anniversary: 103 years since Canada’s Largest Mass Hanging 27 November 1885.” Cree Literacy Network website. http://creeliteracy. org/2015/11/26/130th-anniversary-of-infamy--largest-mass-hanging-27-november-1885/. 15 “Battleford Hangings.” 1972. Saskatchewan Indian, July 1972. Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, Saskatchewan Indian Digital Collection website. http://www.sicc.sk.ca/archive/saskindian/a72jul05.htm 16 Gaudry, A. 2009. “Metis.” The Canadian Enclyclopedia website. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/metis/.

Walking Together: Education for Reconciliation 7

Students and parents from the Saddle Lake Reserve, Alberta I , 1885 J Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta K

conservation, as well as the goals die. Between Edmonton and Saddle ALBERTA JOINS CANADA of those attempting to “civilize Lake, near the of Daverne, the Indians.” Hunting for food is there is a hill called the Pile of 1905 considered savage and uncivilized.17 Bones; in Cree it is oskana-asassti- The provinces of Alberta and kwa. First Nations people on their Saskatchewan join Canada. 1894 way to settle on the Saddle Lake Reserve are said to have camped on The Indian Act is amended to 1907 make attendance at day schools, the hill. Many died of smallpox and First industrial schools or residential had to be left there. TREATY 6 AND TREATY 8 Nations people are expelled from schools compulsory for First Nations the area that is now known as Jasper children. Parents have no choice 1899 National Park following the park’s but to send their children to school. TREATY 8 Treaty 8 is signed between creation in 1907. Not permitted to Sometimes the police arrive to take Queen Victoria and various First carry out a traditional lifestyle, they the children away. These schools are Nations, including the Woodland are forced to leave, taking with them often very far from home, and the Cree, Dunne-za (or Beaver) and their stories, their cultural traditions children have to stay at school for Denesuline (Chipewyan) in and their intimate knowledge of the all or most of the year. Parent visits , northeastern park area.19 are restricted by the pass system , northwestern designed to keep First Nations people Saskatchewan and the southern on reserve.18 Northwest Territories. Father 1922 , a trusted Catholic TREATY 8 Wood Buffalo National 1895 missionary, is asked by Canadian Park is created on acquired through Treaty 8 with TREATY 6 Proper health care for officials to be present to help the local First Nations. Located in Indigenous people is slow in coming, convince First Nations that it is in northeastern Alberta and southern particularly in northern regions of their interest to enter into the treaty. Northwest Territories, it is the Canada. The mission at St Albert, A number of isolated First Nations largest national park in Canada at run by the , becomes communities are missed by federal 44,807 square kilometers. The park the Edmonton General Hospital. treaty-makers at the time Treaty 8 is is established to protect the world’s The hospital hires physicians on signed. Those First Nations later start largest herd of free-roaming wood a government salary, and the land claims processes. Approximately bison, and it is one of only two remaining medical team is staffed 13 of those land claims have been known nesting sites of whooping by nuns. Despite the free labour settled; however, two claims, those of cranes.20 provided by the nuns, hospitals the Lubicon Lake Nation and Bigstone operate at a deficit and begin to Cree Nation, are ongoing. empty as Indigenous people in them

17 Alexander, R. 2014. “Banff Indian Days affirmed stereotypes, reinforced culture.” Rocky Mountain Outlook, April 3, 2014. Rocky Mountain Outlook website. http://www.rmoutlook.com/Banff-Indian-Days-affirmed-stereotypes,-reinforced-culture-20140403. 18 Miller, J R. 2012. “Residential Schools.” The Canadian Encyclopedia website. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools/. 19 “Aboriginal Peoples: Backgrounder, Mountain National Parks.” Parks Canada website. www.pc.gc.ca/~/media/pn-np/ab/jasper/pdfs/plan/plan5/Aboriginal%20 Groups.ashx. 20 Finklestein, M W. 2009. “Wood Buffalo National Park.” The Canadian Encyclopedia website. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/wood-buffalo- national-park/.

Stepping Stones | 5 | A TIMELINE OF ALBERTA’S INDIGENOUS HISTORY 8

Girl carrying her baby sister in her mother’s parka, , Nunavut L Caribou on Tundra, Nunavut

1925 1945 to 1967. In 2010 Health Canada 1960 reported the rate of TB among TREATY 8 Over 6,000 plains bison The : From the 1960s Inuit was 185 times higher are introduced to Wood Buffalo to the 1980s, thousands of First than among Canadian-born, National Park, where they hybridize Nations and Métis children are non-Indigenous people.22 with the local , and forcibly taken from their homes and introduce bovine tuberculosis and adopted or fostered, usually by non- brucellosis into the herd. Parks 1951 Indigenous people. officials have attempted to undo The pass system is repealed, and this damage since that time with First Nations people are allowed 1969 to leave their reserves without successive culls of diseased animals. The Government of Canada first obtaining permission from introduces a White Paper that an Indian Agent. 1938 would abolish the Indian Act, MÉTIS The Métis in Alberta begin which the government views as to organize as a political movement 1957 discriminatory; dismantle the in 1928. In 1938 Alberta’s Métis TREATY 8 In 1957, a disease-free special legal relationship between Betterment Act sets aside land for wood bison herd of 200 is discovered the government and the First 12 Métis settlements, which are near Nyarling River in Wood Buffalo Nations; and remove the distinct later reduced to 8.21 National Park. In 1965, 23 of these legal status of “Indian.” Harold bison are relocated to the south end Cardinal, of the Indian Association 1950 of . Through of Alberta, helps lead a resistance conservation efforts the herd has INUIT The tuberculosis (TB) and creates what becomes known successfully grown to more than epidemic reaches northern as the Red Paper, which states, 2000 individuals and has been used to communities. The Inuit have little “the only way to maintain Indian restock other areas of North America.23 resistance to the disease, and a culture is to remain Indians.” After large number of them die from it. opposition from many First Nations, By 1956, one-seventh of the entire 1958 the government’s White Paper is Inuit population is being treated TREATY 6 The becomes abandoned in 1970. for TB, while one-third of the the first and only First Nations population overall is affected. Many community to be involuntarily 1970 children are removed from their enfranchised by the federal TREATY 6 Members of the Saddle homes and sent south for treatment government. They originally had a Lake First Nation near St Paul in TB sanatoriums, some never to reserve near the present-day publicly protest the living conditions return. One of these sanatoriums of Callihoo. In 1985 the Michel Band at the residential school in their was the Charles Camsell Hospital regained their Indian status under community. They peacefully take in Edmonton, which operated from Bill C-31 but have yet to see any of over the Blue Quills building their land returned to them.24

21 “History in Brief.” Métis Settlements General Council website. http://www.msgc.ca/about-us/history. 22 CBC Digital Archives. 1989. “Tuberculosis treatment in south takes Inuit from their families.” Midday, January 30. http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/tuberculosis- tb-treatment-in-south-takes-inuit-from-their-families. 23 “Plains Bison, Wood Bison: Which is Which?” 1994. Smoke Signals, volume 5, no 4. Also available at https://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/specialstock/resources/ Smokearticles/1994_Nov_Subspeciesdifferences.pdf. 24 “Michele Band History.” Michel First Nation website. http://www.michelfirstnation.net/our-story.html.

Walking Together: Education for Reconciliation 9

Patient with two children at the Charles Camsell Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta M

and transform it into the initial 1983 1989 First Nations–controlled education TREATY 8 Wood Buffalo National MÉTIS The Alberta Métis centre in Canada. This inspired a Park is designated as a UNESCO Settlements Accord is adopted, movement across the country for World Heritage Site for the biological providing a framework for Métis Indian control of Indian education, diversity of the Peace-Athabasca land and self-government.28 and two years later, a policy paper by delta, one of the world’s largest that name, produced by the Assembly freshwater deltas, and for its 1992 of First Nations. Many First Nations population of wild bison. Parks In 1992, Louis Riel is postsecondary institutions promoting MÉTIS Canada is responsible for the recognized as one of the founding pride in Indigenous knowledge now legal protection of the park, and fathers of Confederation. A operate across the , including staff work collaboratively with monumental statue of Riel is , Maskwacis 11 Indigenous groups to manage unveiled on the grounds of the Cultural , Yellowhead Tribal the park and facilitate traditional Manitoba legislature in 1996 in the College, Old Sun Community College harvesting and other cultural same general area where many of and Red Crow Community College.25 activities within the park.26 the historical events surrounding Riel took place. 1971 1984 INUIT Inuit form the Inuit Tapiriit INUIT The Comprehensive 1993 Kanatami (ITK) organization, Land Claims Agreement is the first The Nunavut Land Claims which represents and promotes INUIT land claims agreement signed north Agreement and the Nunavut Act the interests of Inuit in Canada on of the 60th parallel and only the are negotiated concurrently, environmental, social, cultural and second in Canada at that time. 27 which results in Nunavut officially political issues. Tapiriit Kanatami separating from the North West means “Inuit are united in Canada.” 1985 Territories on April 1, 1999 to The federal government passes Bill become Canada’s newest territory.29 1975 C-31 with amendments to the Indian St Mary’s Mission at TREATY 7 Act that return Indian status to all 2001 Standoff, the last Indian residential those who lost it through marriage The Cree file school in Alberta, is closed. TREATY 6 or other circumstances. Nellie a land claim to regain their original Carlson and Kathleen Steinhauer land, which includes much of south 1982 of the are Edmonton. They win their case at In the Constitution Act of 1982, the among those who fought to eliminate the Alberta Court of Appeal in 2006, “aboriginal peoples of Canada” discrimination against First Nations but the case is currently before the includes Indian, Inuit and Métis women in the Indian Act. . peoples of Canada.

25 Blue Quills First Nations College. 2001. Pimoteskanaw. Blue Quills First Nations College 30th Anniversary Commemorative Book. http://www.bluequills.ca/wp- content/uploads/2012/02/BQ-30th-Anniversary-Book.pdf. 26 “Wood Buffalo National Park.” 2017. UNESCO World Heritage List website. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/256. 27 Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC). 2017. http://www.irc.inuvialuit.com/document/inuvialuit-final-agreement. 28 “History in Brief.” Métis Settlements General Council website. http://www.msgc.ca/about-us/history. 29 Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAC). “Backgrounder to Nunavut Land Claims Agreement—Settlement Agreement.” 2015. INAC website. http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1430768382647/1430768614729.

Stepping Stones | 5 | A TIMELINE OF ALBERTA’S INDIGENOUS HISTORY 10

Chief Fontaine and Prime Minister Harper after apology for residential schools N in Banff National Park, Alberta O

2007 “safe and comfy” schools for First the Government of Canada’s Nations children and youth, and commitment to work in partnership The Indian Residential Schools classes that respect First Nations with Indigenous communities, the Settlement Agreement is cultures. Shannen knew that it was provinces and territories to fully implemented with the aim of hard for First Nations students to implement the recommendations of bringing a fair and lasting learn in under-resourced reserve the NTRC. resolution to the legacy of Indian schools. Shannen died in a car residential schools. The Indian accident when she was 15, but her Residential Schools Truth and 2016 crusade lives on in a movement Reconciliation Commission is The Canadian Human Rights called “Shannen’s Dream.”31 established.30 Tribunal rules in a landmark decision on a case brought by The National Truth and The Declaration on Dr Cindy Blackstock. The ruling Reconciliation Commission (NTRC) is the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that the federal government initiated, and three commissioners becomes part of international law. of Canada has a longstanding are appointed: Justice Murray Canada is one of four countries practice of underfunding child and Sinclair, chair, and Mary Wilson and to object to the declaration. family services on First Nations’ Wilton Littlechild. The Commission Chief Wilton Littlechild from reserves and failing to ensure that holds seven national events across , lawyer First Nations’ children can access Canada, including one in Edmonton and later appointed commissioner government services on the same in 2014. of the Truth and Reconciliation terms as other Canadian children. Commission, is one of the authors of The federal government is ordered the declaration. 2010 to cease its discriminatory practices. TREATY 7 Parks Canada and the Dr Cindy Blackstock is a member 2008 Stoney Nation sign a memorandum of the Gitxsan Nation of BC, the of understanding acknowledging the Prime Minister Harper rises in the executive director of the First traditional cultural and ceremonial House of Commons and offers a full Nations Child and Family Care use of the land in Banff National apology on behalf of for Society, and an associate professor Park and giving band members free 33 the Indian residential school system. at the . access to the park forever.32 2009 The Government of Canada 2015 announces at the United Nations Fourteen-year-old Shannen The NTRC releases its final report in that Canada is a full supporter, Koostachin of Attawapiskat First 2015 containing 94 calls to action. without hesitation, of the United Nation makes a speech at the Prime Minister Trudeau announces Nations Declaration on the Rights of University of advocating for Indigenous Peoples.

30 Indigenous and Northern Affairs (INAC). “Indian Residential Schools.” 2016. INAC website. http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100015576/1100100015577. 31 First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS). “About Shannen Koostachin.” 2016. FNCFCS website. https://fncaringsociety.com/about-shannen- koostachin. 32 Alexander, R. 2012. “Stoney Nakoda park pass honours traditional connection to Banff.” Rocky Mountain Outlook, September 3. Rocky Mountain Outlook website. http://www.rmoutlook.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120913/RMO0801/309139996/-1/rmo/stoney-nakoda-park-pass-honours-traditional-connection-to-banff. 33 Kirkup, K. 2016. “Cindy Blackstock Says Feds Have Ignored Legal Order On First Nations Children.” Huffington Post, September 16. Huffington Post website. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/09/16/cindy-blackstock_n_12043886.html.

Walking Together: Education for Reconciliation 11

Castle Mountain in Banff National Park, Alberta O Prime Minister Trudeau and Chief Bellegarde at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly. P

TREATY 7 Siksika First Nation members vote to accept a financial NEXT STEPS settlement from the Government of Canada to compensate the Siksika »»» for illegal use of the Castle Mountain As Canadians journey on the path to reconciliation, area granted to them in 1892. is it critical that we understand how the events Included in the settlement, band of the past have shaped our shared history and members will have free entry to continue to affect all Canadians including First Banff National Park forever and the Nations, Métis and Inuit. At the opening of the option to purchase the leases of four National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at businesses in the Castle Mountain the University of Manitoba, Honorable Justice 34 area. Murray Sinclair, commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, spoke about this. He The Supreme Court of Canada MÉTIS said we must begin by understanding “truth.” To rules in Daniels v. Canada that do this we must acknowledge the truth about what Métis and nonstatus Indians are happened in the Indian Residential School system. “Indians” under section 91(24) of We must learn as much as we can about the truth the Constitution Act, 1867. This ruling of what happened and how it has affected the clarifies that the federal government individuals, their families and our entire society. has primary responsibility for The second step is “reconciliation.” Reconciliation the Métis. The full impact of the needs to be our major focus in the future. We must Daniels v. Canada case has yet to be focus on what can we do about this now and how determined.35 can we deal with the damage that has been done to the relationships among the people in our society.

Intergenerational trauma resulting from the residential school system and the assimilation policies of the past is a shadow that falls on our classrooms and school communities. Teachers, through the programs of study, and in their personal contacts with the school community, have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of past historical events and contemporary issues and to recognize the resilience of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. These positive actions will contribute to reconciliation with First Nations, Métis and Inuit and go a long way towards building

34 Indigenous and Northern Affairs. 2017. “Canada and the Siksika a better future together. Nation Advance Reconciliation with Signing of Castle Mountain Settlement.” News release. January 25. https://www.canada.ca/ en/indigenous-northern-affairs/news/2017/01/canada-siksika- nation-advance-reconciliation-signing-castle-mountain-settlement. html?=undefined&wbdisable=true. 35 Barretto, J, T Isaac and H Weberg. 2016. “Supreme Court of Canada Clarifies Meaning of ‘Indian’.” Osler, April 15. Osler website. https:// www.osler.com/en/resources/regulations/2016/supreme-court-of- canada-clarifies-meaning-of-indi.

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Continuing your learning journey IMAGE CREDITS A. Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1981- 55-68 Bushnell Collection a) How can teachers promote the hope of reconciliation while still acknowledging the detrimental affects of past assimilation B. Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. R9266- 340: D Collection Peter Winkworth policies? C. Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1954-153-1

D. O.B. Buell / Library and Archives Canada / PA-118768

E. Library and Archives Canada / PA-012854

F. Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1946- 110-1 Gift of Mrs. J.B. Jardine

G. Library and Archives Canada / c006799

H. National Archives of Canada. / R8236-0-7-E

I. Woodruff / Library and Archives Canada / PA-040715

J. Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1972- 26-774

K. Indian and Northern Affairs. Departmental b) Who are the resilient First Nations, Métis and Inuit role models library albums [graphic material] (R216- for today’s youth and what are their stories? 956-8-E)

L. Library and Archives Canada / Rosemary Gilliat Eaton fonds / e010975474. Reproduced with the permission of Library and Archives Canada.

M. Library and Archives Canada / Rosemary Gilliat Eaton fonds / e010975309. Reproduced with the permission of Library and Archives Canada

N. The Canadian Press / Fred Chartrand

O. Wikimedia Commons, https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castle_ mountain_2003.jpg. Photo taken on June 7, 2003 by Kmfl64 and reprinted with permission through a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

P. The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld

Stepping Stones is a publication of the Alberta Teachers’ Association Walking Together Project intended to support certificated teachers on their learning journey to meet the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Foundational Knowledge competency in the Teaching Quality Standard. Walking Together would like to acknowledge the contributions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit community members within Alberta in developing these resources.

For additional resources and information on Walking Together visit www.teachers.ab.ca. www.teachers.ab.ca walkingtogetherata @ATAindigenous

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