The time is now for local politicians and bureaucrats to act
To the Expositor:
There is a big misconception out there that Canada is open to becoming USA’s 51st state. There is an even worse misconception that the USA can make Canada its 51st state. Here’s why these are misconceptions:
There are about 1.67 million Indigenous peoples in Canada. About 600,000 of these are status Indians. Status Indians are Indians who are entitled to be registered under Canada’s Indian Act, federal legislation brought into being in 1876. This was done without consultation with the “Indians” for whom the legislation was created. The reason there is separate federal legislation for “Indians” and “lands reserved for Indians” is that the British Crown at the time recognized “Indians” as sovereign nations with whom they had to make treaties.
Treaties are internationally recognized, legally binding instruments, along with covenants and conventions. So, if the British Crown made treaties with “Indians” they recognized that “Indians” were sovereign nations. As far as I know, treaties have not been undone.
However, if the terms of the treaties have not been enforced, then the lands over which treaties were made, still belong to “Indians.” Let’s see now, how much land are we talking about? How about this: Canada’s land mass is 9,985,000 square kilometers from coast to coast to coast. It is the second largest land mass in the world, second only to Russia.
Let’s look at how Indigenous nations have been treated, even with still existing treaties. How many Indigenous communities still have boil-water advisories? How many Indigenous nations have not had the terms of their treaties honoured? How many Indigenous nations have had their lands confiscated by Indian agents and sold to settlers? How many Indigenous women have been murdered, gone missing, or drawn into human trafficking? How many Indigenous men are incarcerated, many illegally, only because Indigenous men don’t know how the legal system works and that they are entitled to legal representation?
How much land did Prince Rupert ask his cousin King Charles II for, and King Charles II made up a document “granting” lands to Prince Rupert, without consulting the owners of the lands, without paying for the lands, and without producing a receipt for the purchase of those lands? Those lands were known as Prince Rupert’s land, later Hudson’s Bay Company lands. These were eventually “sold” by the Hudson’s Bay Company to the government of Canada. Since the original Indigenous owners of Hudson’s Bay Company lands were never consulted, did not agree to sell the lands to King Charles II, and did not receive a purchase receipt for those lands, then the lands still belong to the Indigenous peoples.
During one of our conferences about Indigenous allodial land title, one of the presenters posited that “the highest honour of the Crown is its fiduciary duty to Indigenous peoples.” The highest honour of the Crown does not include Canada’s head of state scampering off to the home of he-who-shall-not-be-named, even before he was sworn in as the USA’s 47th president. Big mistake.
Another mistake was made when a provincial premier went scurrying over to Mar a Lago to meet with he-who-shall-not-be-named, bypassing the federal head of state for Canada. The boundaries of the provinces do not surpass the boundaries of the federal government.
The treaties made between Indigenous nations and the British Crown did not talk about the waters. The waters were provided by the Great Spirit to the plants, trees, animals, birds, fish, insects, reptiles, and human beings for sustenance, and, in return, for these beings to take care of. One of our teachings is that we human beings, particularly women, have been given the responsibility of taking care of the waters. That was one of the most important roles that Josephine Mandamin-ba exercised.
Another thought that was expressed on social media and circulated around was this: Someone or somebodies can make a weapon that can destroy the Earth many times over. But they can’t prevent a forest fire from happening and burning down homes. They can’t stop the winds from roaring in from the ocean. It is much easier to destroy than it is to create.
A sovereign nation has responsibilities to its people. One of those responsibilities is to protect the people inside its borders. The USA does not have the right to dictate to Canada when, if, and how to safeguard our borders. If the USA is concerned about illegal drugs entering their country, then that is their responsibility to see that their border is defended, from their side of the fence. If the USA is concerned about illegal immigrants entering their country, then it is their responsibility to see that their border is protected, from their side of the fence. Canada has said that it will provide additional border guards, surveillance helicopters and drones to oversee its borders. Big mistake. It’s the USA’s job to take care of their borders, not Canada’s.
As for the resources inside Canada, there is an internationally sanctioned obligation on Canada to enter into talks with Indigenous nations inside Canada exercising free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). If the Indigenous nations enter into those talks, they decide which resources are under discussion, where those resources are, how they will be extracted, if at all, when, by whom, and for how much. If the Indigenous nations do not want to release any of the resources within their ancestral territories, then that is their prerogative.
There is a misconception that Indigenous nations are under Canada’s umbrella. It is the other way around – Canada is under the Indigenous nations’ umbrella. Always was, is now, and will continue to be. When we travel on our home territories, we see in our minds’ eyes that this is our homeland. We feel in our hearts that this is our homeland. We sense in our spirits that this is our homeland. And we exercise tribal memory when we walk on the land, that this is our homeland. No matter how high the skyscraper, how thick the concrete barriers, or how loud the yellow-and-black ‘No Trespassing’ signs are—these are still our homelands.
Mii sa iw.
Marie McGregor Pitawanakwat
South Bay