Colonization and Capitalism in Canada

January 21

Overview: From mercantilism to capitalism, via the

process of ‘primitive accumulation’ or ‘accumulation by dispossession’

The colonization of Aboriginal land The development of a (racialized) labour

market

The Early Staples John Cabot, 1497 led to the European

fishery off Newfoundland but did little to encourage European settlement

Jacques Cartier, 1534, led to the fur trade of the 1600s to 1850 but population growth in New France was slow.

New France 1534 Jacques Cartier explores the east

coast. 1604 first French colony established in

Acadia 1608 Samuel de Champlain establishes

colony at Quebec City

New France The economy was focused on two activities,

agriculture and the fur trade. The fur trade led to the exploration of much of

North America and the French claimed not only New France, but also the Ohio Valley and down to Louisiana.

Immigration to New France was limited. By the time of the Conquest, the population of New France was approximately 70 000.

Timber, Agriculture and Settlers Canada experienced a boom of timber

exports to Europe in the early 1800s. Quebec was divided into Upper and Lower

Canada in 1791, due to the influx of Loyalists.

By the 1830s, Upper Canada was exporting wheat.

The State and Infrastructure Development The first half of the 1800s was the era of canal building. The second half of the 1800s was the era of railway

building. The costs were significant. Even if carried out by private

corporations, state assistance was significant. Often, however, they were either carried out by, or taken over by, the state.

The cost of canal building was one factor in unification of UC and LC into Province of Canada in 1841. The cost of railway building was one reason for Confederation in 1867.

From Mercantilism to Capitalism Mercantilism involved the buying and selling of

goods (fish, furs). Capitalist relations of production did not exist.

That is, the development of a wage labour force, or emergence of labour as a commodity, had not occurred.

The transition to capitalism in Canada involved the development of private property and a capitalist labour market.

“We…have no history of colonialism. So we have all of the things that many people admire about the great powers but none of the things that threaten or bother them,”

“Canada is big enough to make a difference but not big enough to threaten anybody. And that is a huge asset if it's properly used.”

- Stephen Harper, Sept 2009 at G20 meeting

“The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history …Two primary objectives of the residential schools system were to remove and isolate children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them into the dominant culture. These objectives were based on the assumption aboriginal cultures and spiritual beliefs were inferior and unequal. Indeed, some sought, as it was infamously said, ‘to kill the Indian in the child.’”

- Stephen Harper, June 11, 2008, in the House of Commons, issuing an apology on behalf of the government of Canada for the

history of Indian residential schools

“An oversimplification, though not much of one, would be to say that the historical

difference between American and Canadian handling of native populations was that the

United States decimated theirs by wars, Canada theirs by starvation and disease.”

- C.E.S. Franks, “Indian Policy: Canada and the United States Compared”

The Colonization of Aboriginal Land

Introduction: Inequality and Resistance Four historical periods of Aboriginal-Settler

Relations Constitutional Issues Toward Aboriginal Self-Government

Who are the Aboriginal People? As section 35(2) of the Constitution Act,

1982 suggests:

the Aboriginal people include the Indian, Inuit and Métis people of Canada.

Diversity of Aboriginal Peoples According to the Assembly of First Nations: There

are over 630 First Nation's communities in Canada.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples suggests that “there are between 60 and 80 historically based [Aboriginal] nations in Canada, compared with a thousand or so local Aboriginal communities.”

There are 11 major Aboriginal linguistic families and over 50 Aboriginal linguistic/cultural groups.

InequalityCompared to the general population: Aboriginal people in Canada face much

higher levels of unemployment and poverty. Life expectancy of Aboriginal people in

Canada is about seven years shorter. Aboriginal people face much higher levels

of incarceration.

Roots of Inequality “Aboriginal people do not want pity or

handouts. They want recognition that these problems are largely the result of loss of their lands and resources, destruction of their economies and social institutions, and denial of their nationhood.”

“They seek a range of remedies for these injustices, but most of all, they seek control of their lives.” – Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

The Legacy of Colonialism Canada developed as a colonial project. Europeans and the Aboriginal people developed

the fur trade in partnership. As agricultural settlement replaced the fur trade in

importance, the Aboriginal people were increasingly pushed off the land. Governments then sought to assimilate the Natives.

Today, Canada is being pushed to address the legacy of colonialism, cultural genocide, and the displacement of Aboriginal people from their Native land.

Native Resistance and Protest

To cite just three recent examples of disputes over on-going Native rights and land claims:

From Dec. 2002 until June 2008, members of the Grassy Narrows First Nation blockaded a logging road near Slant Lake, ON.http://freegrassy.org/http://www.amnesty.ca/grassy_narrows/

Since Feb. 2006, Natives have been occupying a proposed building site in Caledonia, ON near Hamilton.

From 2007 until Dec. 2009, the Native community of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) struggled to prevent mining activity near Big Trout Lake. http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/victory-ki-expensive-lesson-ontario

Dudley George: Ipperwash Inquiry Dudley George, an unarmed Anishinabek

Native, was shot and killed on Sept. 6, 1995 during a police raid to remove native protesters from Ipperwash Provincial Park.

The protesters wanted Camp Ipperwash, formerly the Stony Point reserve, to be returned to Stony Point descendants.  The land had been taken by the government in 1942 and converted into a military training camp.

Dudley George: Ipperwash Inquiry A judge ruled that the officer knew George was unarmed

when he shot him. The officer was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death, was given 180 hours of community service (no house arrest or jail time).

The Ipperwash Inquiry concluded that the Premier, the Attorney General and OPP officers made racist comments about the Native protesters during the occupation. Furthermore, “The premier’s desire to seek a quick resolution closed off other options endorsed by civil servants... thereby creating a barrier to peaceful resolution.”

http://www.ipperwashinquiry.ca/

Ipperwash Inquiry Commissioner: Justice Sidney Linden “The single biggest source of frustration, distrust,

and ill-feeling among Aboriginal People in Ontario is our failure to deal in a just and expeditious way with breaches of treaty and other legal obligations to First Nations.”

“If the governments of Ontario and Canada want to avoid future confrontations they will have to deal with land and treaty claims effectively and fairly.”

Ipperwash Inquiry Commissioner: Justice Sidney Linden “The term “land claims” is the source of

considerable misunderstanding among members of the public. It seems to suggest to many people, that first nations are asking governments to give them more land, but that is not the case.”

“These claims ask governments to fulfill the promises they made to first nations about land and resources in the past and to compensate them for their failure to do so.”

Ipperwash Inquiry Commissioner: Justice Sidney Linden “Every Ontarian should understand that this

province and our country were built upon the treaties negotiated with our first nations, and that everyone shares the benefits and obligations of those treaties.”

“Every Ontarian should also realize that treaties are not historical artifacts from some distant time. They remain vitally important and relevant today.”

Four historical periods Stage 1: Separate Worlds Stage 2: Contact and Cooperation Stage 3: Displacement and Assimilation Stage 4: Negotiation and Renewal

Stage 1: Separate Worlds This land now called Canada was not

empty before the Europeans came. “The Americas were not, as the Europeans

told themselves when they arrived, terra nullius - empty land.” - RCAP

A variety of complex societies existed, developed and thrived on this continent.

Stage 2: Contact Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people have

had sustained contact in the Northern half of North America for some 500 years, at least in some areas.

Nation to Nation The Royal Proclamation of 1763 declared

that in Indian Territory, the purchase or settlement of land was forbidden without Crown approval and a treaty between the British Crown and the Aboriginal people.

The Constitution Act, 1982 reaffirms the Royal Proclamation of 1763.

The Treaty Process The two sides came away with very different

interpretations of what had been agreed to. From the European perspective, the Natives

abandoned their claim to the land or ceded ownership in exchange for smaller reserves of land, cash, supplies and fishing and hunting rights.

From the Native perspective, not sharing that sense of land as property, this was rather inconceivable. They thought they had agreed to share the land.

The Treaties

Canadian Encyclopedia

• Royal Proclamation of 1763

• Indian Treaties

Canada in the Making

• Aboriginals: Treaties and Relations

Atlas of Canada

• Historical Indian Treaties, 1725-1923

The Legacy of the Treaties Significant sections of Canada (i.e. Native land)

were not covered by treaties. In many cases, the treaties were not lived up to

by the settlers and the Crown (the Canadian government).

Where the Natives did retain land by treaty or by tradition, it has been encroached upon over the years by settlers, governments and corporations.

“Primitive Accumulation” Capitalism is premised on the existence of private

property and wage labour The transformation of non-capitalist into capitalist

relations of production was described by Marx as the process of “primitive accumulation”

Contemporary Marxist theorist, David Harvey has used the term, “accumulation by dispossession.”

“Primitive Accumulation” The separation of the Aboriginal Peoples

from the land and the transformation of that land into private property was an aspect of the process of ‘primitive accumulation’ (or ‘accumulation by dispossession’) in Canada.

Stage 3: Displacement and Assimilation

Historically, the Canadian state has sought to assimilate the First Nations by suppressing Native languages, cultures and traditions.

From the 1840s to the 1970s, Native children were often placed in residential schools to be assimilated into the dominant culture.

Paternalism The lives of Aboriginal peoples have been

tightly regulated by the state through the Indian Act and related regulations.

The Indian Act was passed by the federal government in 1876, but the approach dates back to the 1850s including the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857.

The Indian Act: gave the federal government power to define who was

recognized as an Indian. included provisions for suitable Indians to become full

citizens upon assimilation. imposed band councils upon Natives, replacing traditional

leadership structures. allowed the federal government to veto band council

decisions. restricted Indian movement. outlawed Native traditions and ceremonies. from 1927 to 1951 did not allow Aboriginal people to hire

lawyers to protect their claims.

The Right to Vote Status “Indians” received the right to vote in

1960.

1969 White Paper Pierre Trudeau and Indian Affairs Minister Jean

Chrétien issued a “Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy, 1969.”

It proposed to get rid of Indian Act and Indian Status and treat Aboriginals the same as other Canadians.

Natives saw this as a proposal for assimilation and reacted strongly against it. The proposal was dropped.

Stage 4: Negotiation and Renewal

Native Rights Movement Inspired by the civil rights movement in the

US, other social movements in the 1960s, and the federal White Paper, Native people in Canada became more politically organized and mobilized in the 60s and 70s.

Legal Challenges Since the early 1970s, Aboriginal people

have been seeking recognition and protection of their rights through the courts.

Some significant progress has been made but Native victories are always partial and tenuous.

Constitution Act, 1982 Despite previous promises the First Nations were

not allowed to participate in the negotiations over the patriation of the constitution.

Through their protests and the help of political allies, Natives managed to get their “existing aboriginal and treaty rights…recognized and affirmed” in the constitution.

They also received a commitment to further constitutional discussions on Aboriginal issues.

Unsuccessful Constitutional Negotiations In 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1987 constitutional

conferences were held that included representatives of the Aboriginal people.

An amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1983 that gave further recognition of Aboriginal land-claim agreements, protected the rights of Native women and recognized that Natives should be consulted before any changes to the constitution that affected Native people.

The final 3 conferences on aboriginal self-government failed to reach an agreement.

Meech Lake Accord A proposed constitutional amendment agreed to

by the First Ministers in 1987 to address Quebec’s demands.

Native leaders and Territorial leaders were not involved nor their interests included.

Native opposition helped defeat the accord. Native MLA Elijah Harper blocked the passage of

the accord in the Manitoba legislature, which was the final step in its death.

Oka/Kanesatake In the summer of 1990, near the town of

Oka, Quebec there was a standoff between the Mohawks of Kanesatake and the Quebec provincial police and then the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Mohawks received the support of Natives (and many non-Natives) across the country.

CBC Archives: The Oka Crisis

Charlottetown Accord The Native opposition to Meech and the Oka standoff

raised the profile of Native issues. Native leaders were involved in the negotiation of the

Charlottetown Accord. The accord included an agreement on entrenching self-

government as a “third order of government” and numerous provisions for special representation of Natives within federal political institutions

but the accord was rejected in national referendum even by Native voters.

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was formed in 1991 in response to failure of

Meech and the crisis at Oka.

The Commission recommended that a renewed relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada be established on the basis of justice and fairness.

RCAP recommendation: The right of self-determination is vested in

all the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. By virtue of this right, Aboriginal peoples are entitled to negotiate freely the terms of their relationship with Canada and to establish governmental structures that they consider appropriate for their needs.

Aboriginal Self-Government the notion of aboriginal self-government

expresses the desire of Aboriginal people to control their own destiny, to run their own lives and communities, to achieve self-reliance and protect their cultures and identities for future generations.

Self-Government Disagreement over the extent of powers

and degree of autonomy.

Ensuring financial resources and a significant land base for Native self-government is both crucial and controversial.

Conclusion Despite the challenges they face, Aboriginal

Peoples have forced their way onto the political agenda in a way that can not be ignored.

Canadian society as a whole is divided over how to respond to Aboriginal demands and issues.

Colonial attitudes and structures remain powerful forces against reconciliation and justice for Aboriginal people.