OCT. 2014- Kings Co. Historical Museum - October -November
IDLE NO MORE CANADA....10,000 YEARS FIRST PEOPLES OF AMERICAS- MI'KMAQ NOVA SCOTIA MONTH IN CANADA... oh yes.... Acadians loved and still love the Mi'kmaq 4 their intelligence and beautiful culture and respectful way of life with nature and peoples as one.... incredible peoples
NOVA SCOTIA- CANADA
This month, explore Mi’kmaq culture, history and values
October 8, 2013 - 9:26pm DEBORAH GINNISH
www.mikmaqhistorymonth.com
Nova Scotia is blessed by diversity. Every year we eagerly gather in large numbers to celebrate the customs and traditions of people of Scottish, Irish, Acadian, African, Lebanese, Greek and Italian descent, along with others. All of these cultures enrich our province, our lives and our understanding of one another. Ironically, for the Mi’kmaq, who lived here for more than 11,000 years, it has been a struggle to introduce our proud history and rich culture to our fellow Nova Scotians.
October marks the 20th anniversary of Mi’kmaq History Month. Posters decorate school and office walls, speeches are given, press releases sent out, yet there still remains a reluctance on the part of many Nova Scotians to participate in the many events held throughout the province that will help them better understand who we are as a people.
Many who take the time to read this article likely don’t know that the Mi’kmaq have seven sacred teachings, or that the eagle feather has special significance within our culture and in our ceremonies. Many others may not know that the Mi’kmaq who fought to secure the democratic freedoms of those who lived in distant lands returned home only to be denied the right to vote in the country they bravely and proudly served. Fewer still may not know that our culture honours and respects the wisdom and word of our elders, and that despite the atrocities carried out at residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church, the vast majority of Mi’kmaq remain devout Catholics who continue to fill their churches, while many other churches see their numbers dwindle.
As Mi’kmaq, we are proud of our history and culture. That is why Mi’kmaw communities throughout Nova Scotia proudly celebrate Mi’kmaq History Month and frequently host local powwows that showcase our music, food, dance, storytelling, beautiful regalia and crafts. These family-friendly gatherings, which are open to people of all ages, cultures and beliefs, are an opportunity to build bridges of understanding and friendship and to challenge many of the myths and misconceptions that still beset our people.
Sadly, despite our efforts to reach out to more Nova Scotians of non-Aboriginal descent, few take up our offer. To help change this, the Mi’kmaw community has come together to offer and promote a broader range of events that celebrate our culture, launched a new website and initiated an active social media campaign designed to reach out to more Nova Scotians.
We hope that the next time you see the posters on your office wall or in your child’s classroom announcing Mi’kmaq History Month, you will know that our offer to welcome you and your family to our communities, to share in our rich culture and understand our proud history is earnest, sincere and open-ended. We are confident that when you learn more about our proud past, experience first-hand our beautiful culture and understand our aspirations for the future, it will open your eyes, warm your heart and help you get to know us better.
Please visit mikmaqhistorymonth.com for more information on our history and culture and for a list of community events we hope you will come and enjoy.
Deborah Ginnish is executive director of the Mi’kmaq Association for Cultural Studies, based in Membertou, Cape Breton.
---------------
CANADA
In 1763 , a Royal proclamation sought to deal with the problem of aboriginal unrest in the west. The western boundary of Quebec was set at a line running northwest from the point where the 45th parallel crossed the St. Lawrence River to Lake Nipissing. The Appalachian watershed became the western boundary of the Atlantic colonies, blocking British settlement of the Indian lands of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys.
---------------
Mi'kmaq Treaties- Mi'kmaq Rights- Nova Scotia
1725-26
One of the first treaties between the Mi'kmaq and the European settlers was negotiated by the Penobscot in Boston on our behalf in 1725. This treaty, between the British, Mi'kmaq and Maliseet, was then ratified by many of the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet villages at Annapolis Royal in 1726. It was the first of what are now known as treaties of peace and friendship with the British Crown in the Maritime Provinces.
1752
The Treaty of 1752 , signed by Jean Baptiste Cope, described as the Chief Sachem of the Mi'kmaq inhabiting the eastern part of Nova Scotia, and Governor Hopson of Nova Scotia, made peace and promised hunting, fishing and trading rights.
1760 - 61
Treaties of Peace and Friendship were made by the Governor of Nova Scotia with Mi'kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy communities in Nova Scotia. These are the same treaties that were upheld and interpreted by the Supreme Court in the Donald Marshall case. They include the right to harvest fish, wildlife, wild fruit and berries to support a moderate livelihood for the treaty beneficiaries. While the Mi'kmaq promised not to molest the British in their settlements, the Mi'kmaq did not cede or give up their land title and other rights.
1762
Belcher's Proclamation described the British intention to protect the just rights of the Mi'kmaq to their land.
1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 is a complicated document that reserved large areas of land in North America as Indian hunting grounds and set out a process for cession and purchase of Indian lands.
http://mikmaqrights.com/page.asp?ID=17
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NOVA SCOTIA MI'KMAQ- Ceremony intended to honour albino moose, offer lesson 2 hunters who killed it
'There was a lot of anger, frustration, confusion and bitterness for the lack of understanding of Mi'kmaq culture.'- Chief Bob Gloade
Albino moose to be honoured in Mi'kmaq ceremony-Hunters invited to Nova Scotia ritual
CBC News Posted: Oct 09, 2013 11:21 AM AT| Last Updated: Oct 09, 2013 12:08 PM AT
- This Albino Moose is still alive and is sacred 2 Mi'kmaq people- Hunters killed the only other Albino Moose last week- we r devasted-this is just so wrong 2 kill such beauty http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/albino-moose-to-be-honoured-in-mi-kmaq-ceremony-1.1931181
AND..
Mi’kmaq to conduct ritual for moose-- Ceremony intended to honour rare animal, offer lesson to hunters who killed it
October 11, 2013 - 8:16pm By MARY ELLEN MACINTYRE CAPE BRETON BUREAU
It's like killing God imho- Mi’kmaq to conduct ritual for moose-- Ceremony intended to honour rare animal, offer lesson to hunters who killed it
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1160155-mi-kmaq-to-conduct-ritual-for-moose?from=most_read&most_read=1160155
--------------------
OCTOBER 2- UPDATE
PHOTO
Hundreds
participated in the annual Mi’kmaq Treaty Day celebrations, including the
Veterans Parade of Honour along Barrington Street in Halifax. The day’s
festivities included a church service at St. Mary’s Basilica and ended with an
awards ceremony Tuesday evening at the World Trade and Convention Centre
Denny:
‘We still have far to go’
Poverty
can’t be the future for our people, Mi’kmaq leader says
EVA
HOARE STAFF REPORTER
ehoare@herald.ca
@CH_EvaHoare
A
Mi’kmaq leader had forceful words Tuesday for candidates in next week’s
provincial election, warning that the “status quo just isn’t good enough"
for his people.
“Poverty
is not and cannot be the future for our people," Grand Keptin Andrew
Denny, with the Mi’kmaq Grand Council, said during a speech as part of the
Treaty Day awards ceremony in Halifax.
The
first day of October is annually marked as Treaty Day, which commemorates the
Treaty of 1752 between Mi’kmaq and the British .
Denny,
who received a standing ovation for his remarks at the World Trade and
Convention Centre event, also emphasized the importance of mutual respect, p
eace and friendship among cu ltures.
Future
generations must be protected and must not give in to corporate funding cuts,
Denny told the audience, which included Mi’kmaq Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy of
the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq chiefs and representatives of the RCMP,
Halifax Regional Police, the military and the federal and provincial governments.
Lt.-Gov.
J.J. Grant also spoke at the event .
Denny
said his p eople must not be divided by “short-term profits" and gains,
but instead must continue to assert rights that are entrenched in treaties.
“This
is not a one-way street. We are capable of so much more when we work
together."
Denny
also maintained that government often fails to recognize rights, such as his
people’s fishing entitlements, despite landmark court rulings.
“We
still have far to go," he said. “It is important that all parties are
aware of the Mi’kmaq."
Denny
noted there might even be a Mi’kmaq MLA, referring to John Frank Toney, who’s
running for the NDP in Victoria-The Lakes.
Mi’kmaq
rights must be included in consultations within the government framework, he
said.
“Begin
plans that involve us," Denny said in advising future p olitical leaders.
Numerous
awards were presented during the event .
Becky
Julian of Indian Brook and Joe B. Marshall of Eskasoni received the Grand Chief
Donald Marshall Sr. Memorial Elder Award, while Kolby Blair of Acadia First
Nation and Deliah Farrell of Waycobah were presented with the Chief Noel
Doucette Memorial Youth Award.
Ashley
R. Julian of Indian Brook, Luisa Martin of Millbrook, Rayana Googoo of Waycobah
and Jasmine Johnson of Millbrook and Potlotek all received the Sister Dorothy
Moore Scholarship.
Recipients
of Donald Marshall Sr. Scholarship Fund awards included Jane Francis from
Eskasoni First Nation and Rebecca Scirocca-Paul of Membertou, says a news
release from the Aboriginal Affairs department.
PHOTO
-GLORIOUS RAINY DAY... AND THE CROWDS CAME OUT...
Hundreds
participated in the annual Mi’kmaq Treaty Day celebrations, which included the
Veterans Parade of Honour along Barrington Street in Halifax. Tuesday’s
festivities included a church service at St. Mary’s Basilica and ended with an
awards ceremony Tuesday evening at the World Trade and Convention Centre. ERIC
WYNNE • Staff
----------------
Tecumseh by James Laxer, with illustrations by Halifax artist Richard Rudnicki.
VISUAL VIEWPOINT: Rudnicki beautifully illustrates story
October 2, 2013 - 5:32pm By ELISSA BARNARD Arts Reporter
Halifax artist Richard Rudnicki paints Tecumseh and his mother watching their tribe’s homes burning.
.
A good thing came out of the War of 1812 commemorations in Nova Scotia, and it is a children’s book called Tecumseh by James Laxer, with illustrations by Halifax artist Richard Rudnicki.
The story is told through Rudnicki’s highly detailed acrylic images on watercolour paper in an exhibit with text in a new temporary space at the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. The gallery is on the far left from the fortress’s main entrance and has a door that reads No. 3, Casement, 10 Men.
Coincidentally, this Saturday marks the 200th anniversary of Tecumseh’s death in battle on Oct. 5, 1813. Tecumseh, whose people were forced to sign a treaty ceding two-thirds of the present state of Ohio to the United States in 1792, never realized his dream of a native state north of Ohio.
He is known as a “Canadian” hero for teaming up with Maj.-Gen. Isaac Brock to repel the Americans from Canada during the War of 1812.
Brock died in battle on Oct. 13, 1812, and he was wearing the sash Tecumseh gave him. Rudnicki includes it in the death scene.
The paintings, hung on walls of wooden palisades, begin with the birth of the Shawnee hero in Ohio. A beautiful image depicts the shooting star the night of his birth. Tecumseh’s name means “shooting star” or “panther leaping across the sky.”
Rudnicki did meticulous research and his paintings of the Shawnee Nation’s daily life and later battles are mesmerizing.
For backgrounds, he uses a lot of pale yellow and browns that warm up an essentially sad tale. The Groundswood book is for sale at the Citadel and Woozles
Brock died in battle on Oct. 13, 1812, and he was wearing the sash Tecumseh gave him- BATTLE Image of the death of General Brock at the Battle of Queenston Heights by John David Kelly
-------------
Oct
2
MAKING
A MARK: Hands-on approach pays off at Lunenburg school
October
1, 2013 - 5:50pm By FRANCES WILLICK Education Reporter
Students
hike along the coast between Broad Cove and Green Bay during the 2012
inquiry-based learning coarse at Lunenburg's Bluenose Academy. (KAJTEK
JASKOWIAK)
.
When
Kajtek Jaskowiak says he likes to take his students out of their comfort zone,
he really means it.
Unless
they consider ticks, homesickness and the occasional burnt pot of food
“comfort.”
Jaskowiak
is one of several teachers who contribute to Bluenose Academy’s course in
enquiry-based learning. The full-year class at the Lunenburg school covers
subjects including science, technology, family studies and art.
Jaskowiak’s
portion of the course focuses on outdoor leadership. It helps engage students
who may otherwise have a hard time concentrating.
“It’s
trying to get the students who kind of struggle or get a little squirrelly in
class to get out of their desk and be hands-on,” he says.
And
it pays off.
“A
lot of the behaviour issues you see in some classes, you don’t see any of those
things. The kids are really engaged and motivated to try some of these things.
You see a different side of some of these students that you don’t usually see
in the hallways.”
Students
learn practical things such as menu planning, food preparation, cooking, knot
tying, fire building and other skills. But they also gain what Jaskowiak calls
“transferable life skills,” such as confidence, leadership and team-building.
“Some
of these kids might never camp again, but they’ll have learned the idea of how
you can learn new skill sets by working at something, either individually or as
a team to accomplish a shared goal.
“Some
of them are pretty surprised and pretty proud of what they accomplish.”
Jaskowiak’s
outdoor leadership module will culminate in a three-day, two-night backpacking
trip at the end of this month. The dozen or so Grade 9 students will hike a
coastal trail from Broad Cove to Green Bay.
Students
plan the entire journey and take turns making decisions during the trip in
consultation with the group.
Jaskowiak
is expecting a few minor hiccups.
“Some
of these kids have never cooked a meal in their lives. So there’ll be a few
burnt pots, but that’s kind of where the experiential element comes in. They
learn through doing it and making the small mistakes.”
--------------------
ORIGINAL POST- 4 MI'KMAQ MONTH CELEBRATIONS...OCTOBER 1 2013
The
Mi'Kmaq Nation A Story of Survival.mov
and
here's
THE
MOST BEAUTIFUL STORY OF THE DAY...
Whale
watchers save Foggy in Fundy
Nova Scotia- When the humpback was found entangled and struggling in fishing gear, a team sprang into immediate action to set her free
September
30, 2013 - 8:52pm BY PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG STAFF REPORTER
Whale
watchers with Pirate’s Cove Cruises from Long Island, Digby County, helped save
Foggy the humpback whale on the weekend after she got entangled in some fishing
gear. (CHRIS CALLAGHAN / Pirate’s Cove Cruises)
.
It
is a whale of a tale with a very happy, splashy ending.
Foggy
the humpback whale got herself into a bit of a bind off the coast of Nova
Scotia on Sunday.
“She
was so entangled, she wasn’t able to lift her tail,” said Chris Callaghan, a
tour guide with Pirate’s Cove Whale and Seabird Cruises in Tiverton.
Callaghan
set out from Long Island, Digby County, with a small group of whale watchers
aboard the Fundy Cruiser at about 1 p.m. Sunday. They weren’t too long into
their trip, she said, when the vessel’s captain, Todd Sollows, got a call from
another tour operator warning of a whale in trouble.
A
regular visitor to the Bay of Fundy region, Foggy swam into some fishing gear
and ended up with rope wrapped around her body — around her mouth, head and the
narrow part of her tail, and near her blowhole.
Although
humpbacks are usually distinguished by the pattern on the underside of their
tails, all it took was one look at the hooked dorsal fin and they knew it was
Foggy.
She
started coming to the area as a calf with her mother, Bermuda, in 1987,
Callaghan said.
Foggy
is considered friendly and less shy than some of the other humpbacks in the
area, like Mr. Burns who might dive down for 12 minutes or so when he sees a
vessel.
A
tour guide for 12 years, Callaghan struggled as she tried to explain her love
of whales.
“They’re
intelligent and I never get tired of them.”
Whales
such as Foggy “become like old friends,” she said.
The
ship called the Campobello Whale Rescue Team for help.
The
team of volunteers in New Brunswick got the call at about 2:30 p.m., said
rescuer Jerry Conway.
When
they arrived in their zodiac about 90 minutes later, Foggy was “not moving,”
Conway said.
And
by her side was Grommet, an adult female humpback whale also known to visit
these waters.
Rescuers
were concerned about Grommet because “sometimes other whales do interfere
thinking we’re going to do more harm than good,” Conway said.
But
Grommet stayed steady and waited for the rescuers to do their work — cutting at
the ropes with a sharp, hooked knife at the end of a long pole.
About
45 minutes later, all that was left was a rope in her mouth — “like dental
floss in our teeth,” said Conway.
And
Foggy was free.
What
happened next is something neither Conway, a retired mammal adviser for
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, nor Callaghan have ever seen before.
Grommet
jumped high into the air and landed in the water with a gigantic splash.
Perhaps
it was a case of humans attaching human characteristics to a whale, Conway
said, but it seemed like “she was pleased to see her buddy free.”
As
for Callaghan, she knows what she believes.
“I
thought it was pure celebration.”
FOGGY
FACTS
Year
of birth: 1987
Mother’s
name: Bermuda
Distinguishing
features: “really hooked dorsal fin,” and the underside of her tail is black in
the middle with two bright white patches on either side.
Number
of calves: uncertain, but has brought at least four back to the Bay of Fundy to
feed.
Best
buds: Humpbacks are solitary mammals and travel alone, unless a mother is with
a calf or juvenile whale. In this case, though, it looks like Grommet is a
friend of Foggy.
Origin
of name: No, Foggy isn’t just a name the locals call her. Foggy is a name given
by researchers who track the humpback whales off the coast of New England and
the Maritimes.
To
learn more about Foggy, check out her page in the Humpback Whale Catalogue and
type in her name.
Source:
Chris Callaghan and Humpback Whale Catalogue
COMMENT:
Anthropomorphism
isn't the scientific taboo it used to be. When the
whale
jumped for joy, it looks a lot like he or she really did jump for
joy.
So let's say the whale jumped for joy. Just as you or I would have
felt
incredible elation of being free again !
What
a wonderful thing!
Correction- Oct 2
A two-sentence quote displayed in large type on page 1 Tuesday to go with a whale rescue story was incorrectly credited to Chris Callaghan. In fact, the first sentence was a quote from Jerry Conway
A two-sentence quote displayed in large type on page 1 Tuesday to go with a whale rescue story was incorrectly credited to Chris Callaghan. In fact, the first sentence was a quote from Jerry Conway
------------------
Man reports cougar sighting in Nova Scotia
September 30, 2013 - 7:40pm By IAN FAIRCLOUGH Staff Reporter
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1157685-man-reports-cougar-sighting-in-nova-scotia
and
Check out this BOBCAT in Kentville Nova Scotia area.... seriously... Nova Scotia and animals.... check out the bobcat strolling on it's own as the pheasant continues 2 feast in Dr. MacGregor's Wanda's backyard..... seriously..... Foggy the Whale being saved and Grommet the Whale does the dance of joy at humans releasing our Foggy... and couger sighting... and this month is beautiful Mi'kmaq Month in Nova Scotia.... come visit folks... we'd love 2 have u visit.... oh yeah... are u brave enough 2 visit the pumpkin people around kentville and take part in the pumpking sailing races in Windsor.... and we mean sitting in cleaned out pumpkins and ya gotta build it ur own selves etc. (soooo funny and so much October fun in Nova Scotia friends) and actually racing... hey it's a Nova Scotia thing... and we'd love ta have ya visit. Have a great day friends
and...
Seriously.... they saved Foggy the whale and Grommet was so happy with us humans that Grommet did the whale dance of joy..... pass it on 2 all kids under 5- that maybe grownups should be given another chance 2 prove our world matters when it's our turn 2 protect our planet.... I am 2 years old and my name is Princess Olivia Grace of Nova Scotia... Canadian girl over and out. :-)
:-)
FOGGY FACTS
Year of bir th: 1987 Mother’s name: Bermuda Distinguishing features:
“really hooked dorsal fin," and the underside of her tail is black in the middle with two bright white patches on either side.
Number of calves: uncertain, but has brought at least four back to the Bay of Fundy to feed.
Best buds: Humpbacks are solitar y mammals and travel alone, unless a mother is with a calf or juvenile whale. In this case, though, it looks like Grommet is a friend of Foggy.
Origin of name: No, Foggy isn’t just a name the locals call her. Foggy is a name given by researchers who track the humpback whales off the coast of New England and the Maritimes.
• To learn more about Foggy, check out her page in the Humpback Whale Catalogue at whale.wheelock. edu/cgi-bin/datasearch. cgi.
Source: Chris Callaghan and Humpback Whale Catalogue
----------------------
COME
VISIT NOVA SCOTIA FOLKS..... WE'D LOVE 2 HAVE YA
Bay
of Fundy Whale Watching with Ocean Explorations
Amazing
whale watching on Sept 19, 2007, with Ocean Explorations Zodiac Whale
Adventures in Tiverton (near Digby) on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada.
www.oceanexplorations.ca
-----------------
Old Kings County Courthouse- Kentville Nova Scotia- Honour
Oct 5 October Festival Kentville, NS- Kentville's Pumpkin People are baaaack- come visit and check it out... pie eating contests- OCT 5TH BIG FESTIVAL- MAKE UR OWN PUMPKIN PEOPLE KIDS- Oct 20 kiddie grownup pumpkinwalk
_Pumpkin People - Kentville Festival Oct 5- come vist and learn 2 make pumpkin folks- and see the hundreds around town during October
OCTOBER 2013- THEM PUMPKIN PEOPLE ARE BACK FOLKS... come visit us
Kentville’s Pumpkin People return
By Diane Merlevede Custom Content Writer
The Pumpkin People are returning to Kentville for their annual stay from Oct. 5 to 27. This year the fun-loving characters are recreating the inventions that have changed our lives.
“You will see more than 350 Pumpkin People ranging from cavemen inventing the wheel to astronauts on the space shuttle," says Lindsay Young, community development co-ordinator for the Town of Kentville.
There will be Pumpkin People with a Model T car — an interactive display where kids can get in and have their photo taken. You also will find Pumpkin People dressed as engineers for a 14-foot-long, seven-foot-high locomotive, and as the Wright Brothers with their plane.
Watch for more Pumpkin People with the Mars rover, a giant light-bulb, juke box, television and other hous ehold appliances. You will be amazed not only by the Pumpkin People with their corn-stalk bones, straw stuffing and pumpkin heads, but also by the spectacular props.
“Gerry Little, a parks and recreation employee, is our Pumpkin People stylist who paints all of the heads and has worked really hard on the props for this year’s displays," says Young.
There will be a Pumpkin People building workshop as part of the kickoff for the Kentville Harvest Festival on Oct. 5 at Centre Square from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“You can get supplies at this event, and we will help you build a Pumpkin Person," says Young.
The third annual Pumpkin Mile road race will take place on Oct. 20 along a one-mile route lined with pumpkins. There will b e different categories for various age groups.
In addition to the Pumpkin People displays that the Town of Kentville erects, you can see displays created by local residents and businesses competing in the Display Challenge. They also follow the theme, which changes each year.
“In the past we’ve had heroes and villains, rock bands, fairy tales, and even the Olympics," says Young.
“There is no end to what the Pumpkin People can do. They are so humourous, and it is a great time for both kids and adults. To see all of the Town’s displays, take exit 14, which takes you into Coldbro ok, and then head east and stay on the number one highway all the way to exit 12. It also is good to drive through the neighbourhoods and check out what the residents have done on their own ."
You can download and print a map from the Town’s Web site at www.kentville.ca, which also has more information about events. If you have suggestions for future Pumpkin People themes, you are welcome to email them to communitydevelopment@ kentville.ca.
photo
More than 350 Pumpkin People will be visiting Kentville this year, participating in all kinds of activities. There will also be a Pumpkin People building workshop on October 5, to kickof f the Kentville Harvest Festival.
• Contributed
I LOVE LOCAL- BUY LOCAL FOLKS... Have a great October-By our Nancy Rose- Artist and Squirrel Whisperer
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If This is Freedom Gloria Ann Wesley- a must have book of Nova Scotia Black Loyalists
THE BOOK I JUST GOT 2 HAVE...
A powerful epitaph to our forbears
CAROL BRUNEAU CONTRIBUTING WRITER
We need all the writing we can get about what it means to be black in Nova Scotia, past and present.
Halifax author Gloria Ann Wesley, the first published black Nova Scotia poet, gives powerful voice to this in her historical novels for young adu lts, Chasing Freedom, which was shortlisted for the 2011 Ann Connor Brimer Award, and its followup, If This is Freedom .
Both explore the experiences of the earliest black settlers, Wesley’s Loyalist forebears.
Set between the mid-1780s and 1792, when many left in hopes of finding a free society in Sierra Leone, Wesley’s new novel takes up the story of former slave Sarah Redmond and her husband, Thomas Cooper, as they struggle to eke out a living in the settlement of Birchtown, near Shelburne.
The “freedom" the settlers find there — their reward for loyalty to the British Crown during the American Revolution — equals further enslavement.
Extreme poverty forces Sarah into working as a servant, indentured to the well-to-do white Loyalists Albert and Esmeralda Blye. Thomas is their sharecropper.
The action-packed story begins when, starving, Sarah steals a loaf of bread to share with her husband. The punishment for this is vengeful and swift, triggering a series of events that further mire the Coopers in poverty and servitude, as Blye imposes contract after contract upon them as repayment of their grinding debt.
Blye’s oppressive “justice" is nothing less than extortion, which makes for some page-turning suspense. As the “debt" mounts capriciously, there’s nothing the Blyes won’t stoop to, exacting what they consider their rightful pound of flesh.
There’s one set of rules for whites and another for blacks in these times, and in this place, where racism is all-pervasive, cru el injustice manifests its elf in ways that range from the mundane to the criminal.
Wesley vividly captures the flavour and atmosphere of 18thcentury Nova Scotia, its citizens and their hypocrisy. In doing so, she makes a timeless comment on how systemic racism continually re-victimizes the disadvantaged.
At the hub of her family, a small, tightly knit clan of survivors of southern slavery, Sarah holds fiercely to the dream of freedom and a better life, despite their being sold a false bill of goods in the form of barely workable land.
She and her tiny community survive by their wits and by relying on one another. Birchtown is dealt blow after blow, including the effects o f a hurricane depicted with all the ferocity of hurricane Juan .
Sarah is plagued by misfortune and grief, not just those inflicted by nature and by a racist world, but by a sexist one too—a perfect storm of oppression that makes her story all more layered and p oignant .
At various levels, dominance and oppression define this world where people treat people as chattel or at best as second-class citiz ens. Thomas, b ending under the yoke of his racist master, at times treats Sarah this way too.
For all the freedom Shelburne’s founders promise, it’s a prison of a place with shackles of its own making when whites wou ld destroy the bonds between the Birchtown family that are their consolation, their hope.
The very worst befalls Sarah after she gives birth to a son and the childless Blyes take him as punishment/payment for her second transgression —second only to stealing bread — helping Hannah, another indentured servant whom the Blyes abuse and whom Sarah’s father, Fortune, is sweet on .
The tightly woven plot is bas ed on tremendous suffering , one event after another conspiring against Sarah and Thomas, who’s eventually forced into privateering aboard Blye’s merchant ship, Blind Faith.
In his absence, she gives birth to their second child, a daughter, and must work twice as hard to keep them and her extended family fed.
But as Shelburne’s fortunes wane, the poverty well-known in Birchtown spreads to the white side of the harbour, as does sickness. Eventually, a visitation of small pox forces the Blyes to relent somewhat.
Sarah is finally given a choice, albeit a narrow one, but pivotal in how it affords a hard freedom. She can choose to show them charity or turn her back on their need.
It’s a choice that, in offering the chance to rise above their evil, fully asserts her humanity.
It’s this humanity and the lack of sentimentality that makes the story so effective. We feel Sarah’s dilemma, because it raises the question that never goes away: how do we do unto another, esp ecially another who’s harmed and continu es to harm us?
We turn the pages needing to know how and if anything is ever made right . We want justice for Sarah because she so deeply deserves it. She refuses to be a victim, whether of her abusers or of her own hatred. She faces her ordeals not with any romanticized pride or glossy stoicism , but with a righteous, rightful anger, and this makes her dynamic, complex and real.
Wesley shows her characters’ fears and aspirations in ways that bring them to life — even the Blyes, who, once they’re made vulnerable, are also human.
Given her way with characters, it’s unfortunate that sometimes didacticism creeps in where it doesn’t need to, an instructive quality in the telling that o ccasionally distances us from them , despite how tangible they are.
The events of Sarah’s story, her conflicts and her resilience show us exactly what we need to know and point to the much wider struggle, the collective suffering and endurance of one of Nova Scotia’s founding peoples that they represent.
It’s not necessary for the characters to comment as they s ometimes do, and in jarringly mo dern catchwords and phrases, on issues like “double identity."
Such flaws make the writing itself second to Wesley’s purpose. Having taught for 34 years in the school system, where her books should be required reading if they aren’t already, she uses history to send a message that never loses its urgency.
It’s aimed here at youth who, like the rest of us, have a responsibility to fight whatever it is in people that allows or enables the mistrust, fear and hatred of others that underlie racism.
If This is Freedom is a powerful epitaph to our province’s black forbears, and to all of us a lasting reminder of this: “They made a way for us," says Sarah, “kept us alive with nothing but their determination and sweat and blood. This freedom must always be guarded, for those who give it are always looking to take it away. Mind you remember that. They were a brave people who didn’t give up and they would want you to know that, so that you can be strong too."
If This is Freedom Gloria Ann Wesley
Fer nway Publishing $19.95
--------------
Jeanne Dugas of Acadia -Cassie Deveaux Cohoon
Acadians get cool treatment
Well-researched but Deveaux Cohoon’s novel needs editing
JODI DELONG CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Most Maritimers, even those who don’t specialize in history, know at least a little of the history of the Acadians in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
How, after desiring to remain neutral and not having to swear allegiance to the British after yet another war between England and France, they were displaced and deported from their communities.
It is a story of harrowing sorrow, made popular by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s long poem Evangeline and other writings, and honoured and rememb ered by the thriving Acadian communities of today.
Jeanne Dugas was a real person in Acadian history, born in Louisbourg in 1731 to a prosperous family of French settlers.
Caught by the ravages of war between the French and the British, Jeanne, her husband, children and other family members moved many times around what is now Nova Scotia.
For more than 30 years they migrated constantly between Acadian communities, facing deprivation and near-starvation, avoiding deportation by the English but eventually b eing imprisoned on Georges Island in Halifax Harbour for several years.
After the wars between France and England were finally settled, they were — at long last — released. They settled permanently in what is today Cheticamp, on Cape Breton’s west coast.
I wanted to like this book much more than I ultimately did. Maritime history, in all its complexities, has always fascinated me, in particular the story of the Acadians.
Against all odds, they managed to survive their persecutions in the mid- and late-18th century, and who today thrive in vibrant communities around the region. But the novel races through most of Jeanne’s 87 years and many incidents are glossed over.
While the novel is obviously exhaustively researched and covers many aspects of Acadian life, it is strangely aloof and cold. The terrible, life-altering Grand Derangement of 1755, where so many Acadian settlers were rounded up around the region and deported out of New France, feels p er functory and passionless, encompassing only a few pages in a fairly long book.
Other sections go on for far too long, or are really not necessary.
Tighter editing could have made this a more powerful novel.
Jeanne herself is portrayed as never satisfied with her lot in life, usually frightened and weepy, worried about the political situation. She seems to have only ever had one brief period of joy: the opening scenes as a young girl with her new French dress and a potentially bright future ahead of her.
Jeanne pined for much of her adult life for the love of a man other than her husband Pierre, the Mi’kmaq man, Martin Sauvage. She managed to horde a collection of “treasures" during the family’s many migrations, as they fled the English — that dress from the opening scene, a collection of books, a measure of silk material, a handmade shawl — most of which she eventually gave away to others in her travels.
Yet despite these dissatisfactions with her portrayal, Jeanne’s courage and determination, as she dealt with the loss of several of her children, family and friends, and those myriad moves fleeing the British, are undeniable.
Ultimately, she reached a peace that had eluded her in earlier years.
photo Jeanne Dugas of Acadia -Cassie Deveaux Cohoon
Cape Breton University Press
$14.95
-----------------------
Old Kings County Courthous Museum
Author Name: COMEAU, Louis V. Images of Our Past series
Title: Historic Kentville.
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing, Halifax, 2003, ISBN:1551094584
COMEAU, Louis V. Historic Kentville. (Halifax): Nimbus Publishing, (2003). First Printing. Pp. (5),vi-x,[1]-158. Illustrated. 8vo, illustrated card covers with purple spine. A volume in the Images of Our Past series. "Situated in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, Kentville owes its existence to its unique location as the last crossing point of the Cornwallis River before it empties into the great Minas Basin. Here the early inhabitants, Mi'kmaq andAcadians, forded the river, establishing trading and social patterns. Late r, a bridge linked the townships of Cornwallis and Horton, allowing the small settlements of Planters, and later Loyalists, to form the basis of a commercial centre, serving agricultural villages throughout the valley. In 1869 the town's dream of a railway linking it to other valley communities became a reality, and when the railway established its headquarters at Kentville and began shipping Annapolis Valley apples to foreign markets, the town boomed. 'Historic Kentville' traces the development of the town from its earliest beginnings to its present-day status as a finance and government service centre. Along the way, Kentville produces the first automobile in Nova Scotia, and became home to the province's longest standing festival -- the Apple Blossom Festival. Author Louie Comeau has combined photographs from his own collection with absorbing and entertaining details to provide a charming historic portrait of an important valley town." -from rear cover. Introduction. Chapters: 1. Panoramic Views; 2. Street Scenes; 3. Transportation(pp.73-100); 4. Manufacturing (pp.101-108); 5. Houses; 6. Sports (pp.117-1 24); 7. Schools; 8. Churches; 9. Hospitals; 10.Odds and Ends. With bibliography. Very good. 20.00
http://www.okcm.ca/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/kingscountymuseum
------------
comment:
Here in the UK, I recall Rita from my several visits to NS over the years. What a sad loss and what a voice! So uplifting!
Those of us oldies who fought the good fight year in and year out.... love our Rita MacNeil.... she was right there with us.... and when our Gloria and Marlo came 2 town... 2 honour the fierce Canadian women standing up 4 basic equality ... we all rejoiced.
My kids were little years later when took them 2 see Rital MacNeil live..... at the ballpark.... all of them running around in droves as kids....do..... then on came Rita.... and the children stopped.... listened... and quietly progressed 2 the front of folks..... my sons so in awe (still are).... 'IS SHE AN ANGEL MOM?..... and thinking whilst the big folks around me smiled with pure pleasure.... said, 'WELL, YES DARLIN SHE IS."...... all they saw was the floating voice of pure heaven - there wasn't an animal or a kid that didn't adore Rita MacNeil.... and on this day... it just don't get better than that folks... here's her working man....
MARCH 8, 2014- INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY.... celebrating Rita MacNeil
CONCERT
Symphony event honours MacNeil
Flying on Your Own: A Tribute to Rita MacNeil, presented by Symphony Nova Scotia, will feature Men of the Deeps, Lucy MacNeil of the Barra MacNeils, and Katriona MacNeil, niece of the late singer-songwriter.
The concert is slated for March 8, 7:30 p.m., at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax.
It is the anniversary of MacNeil’s final public performance and is als o International Women’s Day, which is fitting for the performer who was devoted to the women’s rights movement, says a news release.
MacNeil’s longtime collaborator Scott Macmillan will lead the orchestra and guest performers in some of MacNeil’s most beloved s ongs.
“Rita MacNeil has given us all such an enormous gift of her music," says Macmillan, in the release.
“I myself have had a long and precious friendship with R ita since 1982. I was a band member in her early years and continued a close relationship with her, including condu cting her live symphonic recording, A Night at the Orpheum. This will truly be an evening to remember, in celebration of Rita MacNeil, her life, and her fabulous gift of songs."
Men o f the Deeps, formed in 1966, is composed of retired coal miners from Cape Breton. The choir collaborated with MacNeil on the Juno Awards, appearances on MacNeil’s variety show Rita and Friends and in MacNeil’s televis ed Christmas shows.
Lucy MacNeil and Katriona MacNeil performed at the singer’s memorial last year.
Tickets range from $30 to $57 (HST included). Call 494-3820 or visit www.symphonynovascotia. ca.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/1158085-tattler-symphony-event-honours-macneil
-------------------
Kawliga,
In Mi'kmaq Joel Denny Eskasoni
-------------
READER’S
CORNER: First Nations concerns figure in election
September
30, 2013 - 4:16pm
On
Oct. 8, Nova Scotians will decide who they believe will be the best leader for
this province for the next four years. Based on opportunities and challenges
facing First Nations, issues such as funding, fiscal responsibility, education,
resource and economic development must be addressed.
Today
marks the 20th annual Treaty Day celebrations held in Halifax and the beginning
of Mi'kmaq History Month. All Nova Scotians and candidates are encouraged to
participate in these activities (mikmaqhistorymonth.com).
The
Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat (APC) will carry
the spirit and understanding of Treaty Day throughout the year and in all of
our relations with the Crown.
Some
of the key priorities of First Nations include economic development, increasing
accountability and transparency, implementing personal tax exemption at point
of sale, and working towards a more collaborative approach in dealing with the
federal government on important issues such as improved funding to support
health, social and education services, training and employment.
First
Nations governments and our Mi’kmaq youth are poised to participate in the
growth of the Nova Scotia economy. Our youth are much younger than the general
N.S. population with a median age of 25.4 versus 41.6. With access to training
and job opportunities, Mi’kmaq youth can greatly contribute to workorce needs.
The
APC has sent a questionnaire to each candidate in this election to gather their
views on how they plan to assist First Nations in addressing our priorities.
Nova Scotians will be able to find responses on the APC website (www.apcfnc.ca), and we
hope that they help inform voting decisions.
John
Paul, Executive Director, Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs
Secretariat
------------
This
is Nova Scotia Celebration of 10,000 years First Peoples Mi'kmaq Nation - Nova Scotia
Kejimkujik
National Park: History in Stone - Nova Scotia, Canada
Kejimkujik
National Park is located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and is the
only national park recognized as a national historic site in its entirety.
Join
Matt Labrador, has he discusses the history and culture of the area --
including the images of daily life left behind from earlier generations, in the
form of petroglyphs.
Want
to plan your trip to Canada? Visit http://uscw.canada.travel/canadaheritage
Join
us on Facebook and Twitter:
First
Nations History & Mi'kmaq Genealogy in Nova Scotia
For
over 10,000 years, the drum has been the heartbeat of Southwest Nova Scotia and
in honour of National Aboriginal Day and the Summer Solstice, Acadia First
Nation is hosting a groundbreaking event at White Point Beach Resort on June 20
and 21, Ancient Mi’kmaw Culture Re-Emerges.
For
ten thousand years, this rugged, sea-swept peninsula has been home to the
Aboriginal people. Mi’kmaq and First Nations people have enriched this province
with their legends, art, music, spirituality, history, and language.
Mi’kmaq
Legends
The
Mi’kmaq legends of mythic hero-god Glooscap give meaning to the extraordinary
geography of this place. It was a meeting between Glooscap and a mighty whale
that created the awesome tides of the Bay of Fundy, for instance. Visit the
18th century Mi’kmaq petroglyphs in Kejimkujik National Park and National
Historic Site and embrace the spirit of this founding culture and its heritage
as you tour Nova Scotia.
Experience
Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Traditions & Culture
•Canoe
the traditional Mi’kmaq routes in the waterways of Kejimkujik.
•Explore
the Aboriginal archaeology gallery at the Museum of Natural History.
•Experience
storytelling events by Aboriginal spiritual leaders at The Wagmatcook Culture
& Heritage Centre in Cape Breton.
•Immerse
yourself in the rhythms of Aboriginal celebration during the annual Pow Wow in
Millbrook, four days of festivities for the whole family.
•Learn
about the unique history, heritage and culture of the Mi'kmaq people through
educational and interactive experiences at the Membertou Heritage Park in
Sydney.
•Visit
Red Crane Studios where eminent Mi’kmaq artist Alan Syliboy will be happy to
show you his work.
•Discover
the legends of Glooscap and experience Mi'kmaq culture from past to present at
the Glooscap Heritage Centre in Truro.
--------------
Mi'kmaq A Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chief waits 4 introduction to our King of The British Empire -1939
PHOTO
Micmac
Wigwam (MI'KMAQ)
View
of a Micmac wigwam, a man, and a child, probably Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
photographed 1860. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution,
Photo NO. 47728.
Micmac
Indians
This
painting circa 1850 (oil on canvas, 45.7 x 61.0 cm) was by an unknown artist
who showed a mixture of knowledge and naivety
Micmac
(Mi'kmaq)
ARTICLE
CONTENTS: | Suggested Reading |
Links to Other Sites
The
origin of the name Micmac or Mi'kmaq, which identifies both a people and their
language, is unclear. Alternative names for the Micmac, which can be found in
historical sources, include Gaspesians, Souriquois, Acadians and Tarrantines;
in the mid-19th century Silas Rand recorded the word wejebowkwejik as a
self-ascription. At the time of European contact, Micmac-speaking peoples
occupied the coastal areas of the Gaspé and the Maritime provinces east of the
SAINT JOHN RIVER drainage. They continue to occupy this area as well as settlements
in Newfoundland and New England, especially Boston. The number of registered
Micmac is 19 891 (1996), with another 4500 (approximately) nonstatus persons of
Micmac heritage (see INDIAN). Estimates of the Micmac population range from
3000 to 35 000, with 20 000 being a reasonable figure.
Language
Micmac
is among the Wabanaki cluster of Eastern Algonquian languages, which include
the various ABENAKI dialects and the Penobscot and MALISEET-Passamaquoddy
languages. Maritime PREHISTORY extends 11 000 years into the past, but the date
of arrival of Algonquian speakers into the area remains uncertain.
Social,
Political and Cultural Patterns
Aboriginal
Micmac settlements were characterized by individual or joint households
scattered about a bay or along a river. Communities were related by alliance
and kinship. Leadership, based on prestige rather than power, was largely
concerned with effective management of the fishing and hunting economy.
Painting, music and oratory were encouraged. The Micmac were among the first
peoples to be affected by European activities in the New World and underwent
early depopulation and sociocultural disruption. They attempted to profit from
the FUR TRADE by serving as intermediaries between Europeans and groups farther
west. As their trade advantages disappeared, they tried to exploit a military
alliance with the French (see IROQUOIS WARS).
After
British suzerainty was established, the Micmac were subjected to conscious
attempts by government to alter their lifestyle. Most moves to establish them
as agriculturalists failed because of badly conceived programs and
encroachments upon reserved lands. Their employment as labourers effected
irreversible change: crafts, coopering, the porpoise fishery, and road, rail
and lumber work integrated the Micmac into the 19th- and 20th-century economy,
but left them socially isolated.
Forced
Relocation
A
forced relocation scheme in the 1950s posed the greatest threat to them as a
distinctive people. The Micmac have been able to salvage some of their
traditional culture in political decision-making, religion and language. The
rate of unemployment for reserve communities is extremely high in a region with
high unemployment, but there are a number of successful musicians, artists,
writers and business and professional persons among the Micmac.
See
also NATIVE PEOPLE, EASTERN WOODLANDS and general articles under NATIVE PEOPLE.
Mi'kmaq
Mi'kmaq
A
Mi'kmaq Chief waits to be presented to their Majesties during the 1939 Royal
Tour of Canada at Halifax, NS (courtesy Canada Science and Technology Museum/CN
Collection/CN003696).
Micmac
Quillwork
Micmac
Quillwork
Micmac
quillwork chair seat (courtesy Glenbow Museum/Canadian Ethnology Service,
CMC).
Micmac
Chief's Coat
Micmac
Chief's Coat
Micmac
military great coat, back view (courtesy Glenbow Museum/Museum of Victoria,
Melbourne, Australia).
Micmac
Indians
Micmac
Indians
This
painting circa 1850 (oil on canvas, 45.7 x 61.0 cm) was by an unknown artist
who showed a mixture of knowledge and naivety (courtesy NGC).
Micmac
Wigwam
Micmac
Wigwam
View
of a Micmac wigwam, a man, and a child, probably Dartmouth, Nova Scotia,
photographed 1860. National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution,
Photo NO. 47728.
Author
HAROLD FRANKLIN MCGEE, JR
Suggested
Reading
A.G. Bailey, The Conflict of European and
Eastern Algonkian Cultures, 1504-1700 (2nd ed, 1969); Harold Franklin McGee,
Jr, ed, The Native Peoples of Atlantic Canada (1984); B.G. Trigger, ed,
Handbook of North American Indians, vol 15: Northeast (1978); Harald Prins, The
Mi'kmaq: Resistance, Accommodation and Cultural Survival (1996).
Links
to Other Sites
Canadian
Aboriginal Writing and Arts Challenge
The website for the Canadian Aboriginal
Writing and Arts Challenge, which features Canada's largest essay writing competition
for Aboriginal youth (ages 14-29) and a companion program for those who prefer
to work through painting, drawing and photography. See their guidelines,
teacher resources, profiles of winners, and more. From Historica Canada.
Mi'kmaq
Portraits Collection
A fascinating collection of notes, annotated
images and videos depicting Mi'kmaq communities, structures and culture. Check
out the petroglyphs and other archaeological items. From the Nova Scotia
Museum.
Archaeology
in Nova Scotia
Discover the history and archaeology of Nova
Scotia at this Nova Scotia Museum website.
Maliseet
- Passamaquoddy Dictionary
This online dictionary is from the Mi'kmaq -
Maliseet Institute, University of New Brunswick.
Native
Dance
A superb multimedia website dedicated to
native dance traditions from coast to coast in Canada. Features audio and video
clips, in-depth interviews and articles for students, the image research
database for scholars, downloadable resource kits for teachers, and more.
Produced by Carleton University and The Sumner Group Inc., with the assistance
of many other organizations and contributors.
Micmac
Nation of Gespeg
The website for the interpretation centre
devoted to the history and traditions of the Micmac Nation of Gespeg.
Millbrook
First Nation
The website for the Millbrook First Nation.
Check out the history of this Mi'kmaq community, news about current events,
language links, and more.
Gespeg
First Nation
Community profile for the Gespeg First Nation
from the website for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.
The
Memory Project: Micmac
Listen to an interview with First Nations
Canadian veteran Lawrence Vicaire in which he discusses his military service
during the Second World War. Also check out related digitized artefacts and
memorabilia. From Historica Canada.
---------------
REMEMBER
CHIEF DAN PAUL OF MI'KMAQ SAID PM HARPER IS THE ONLY PRIME MINISTER 2 EVER
APOLOGIZE 2 THE FIRST PEOPLES OF CANADA 10,000 YEARS... which is more than any
other Prime Ministers have ever taken the trouble 2 do...
June
11. 2008
Text
of Harper's residential schools apology
CANADA PM STEPHEN HARPER cites 'sad chapter' in apology for residential schools- June 11, 2008 -Chief Dan Paul Mi'kmaq says PM Harper was only PM in Canada sorry history 2 care
THE
CANADIAN PRESS
June
11, 2008 at 5:23 PM EDT
OTTAWA
— Text of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's residential schools apology
Wednesday:
Mr.
Speaker, I stand before you today to offer an apology to former students of
Indian residential schools.
The
treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our
history.
In
the 1870's, the federal government, partly in order to meet its obligation to
educate aboriginal children, began to play a role in the development and
administration of these schools.
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.” Today, we recognize that this policy
of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our
country.
Most
schools were operated as ‘joint ventures' with Anglican, catholic, Presbyterian
or united churches.
The
government of Canada built an educational system in which very young children
were often forcibly removed from their homes, often taken far from their
communities.
Many
were inadequately fed, clothed and housed. all were deprived of the care and
nurturing of their parents, grandparents and communities.
First
Nations, Inuit and Metis languages and cultural practices were prohibited in
these schools.
Tragically,
some of these children died while attending residential schools and others
never returned home.
The
government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential
schools policy were profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting
and damaging impact on aboriginal culture, heritage and language.
While
some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential
schools – these stories are far overshadowed by tragic accounts of the
emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children and their
separation from powerless families and communities.
The
legacy of Indian residential schools has contributed to social problems that
continue to exist in many communities today.
It
has taken extraordinary courage for the thousands of survivors that have come
forward to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered.
It
is a testament to their resilience as individuals and to the strength of their
cultures. regrettably, many former students are not with us today and died
never having received a full apology from the government of Canada.
The
government recognizes that the absence of an apology has been an impediment to
healing and reconciliation.
Therefore,
on behalf of the government of Canada and all Canadians, I stand before you, in
this chamber so central to our life as a country, to apologize to aboriginal
peoples for Canada's role in the Indian residential schools system.
To
the approximately 80,000 living former students, and all family members and
communities, the government of Canada now recognizes that it was wrong to
forcibly remove children from their homes and we apologize for having done
this.
We
now recognize that it was wrong to separate children from rich and vibrant
cultures and traditions, that it created a void in many lives and communities,
and we apologize for having done this.
We
now recognize that, in separating children from their families, we undermined
the ability of many to adequately parent their own children and sowed the seeds
for generations to follow and we apologize for having done this.
We
now recognize that, far too often, these institutions gave rise to abuse or
neglect and were inadequately controlled, and we apologize for failing to
protect you.
Not
only did you suffer these abuses as children, but as you became parents, you
were powerless to protect your own children from suffering the same experience,
and for this we are sorry.
The
burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long. the
burden is properly ours as a government, and as a country.
There
is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the indian residential
schools system to ever again prevail.
You
have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time and in a
very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey.
The
government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the
aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. we are
sorry.
In
moving towards healing, reconciliation and resolution of the sad legacy of
Indian residential schools, implementation of the Indian residential schools
settlement agreement began on September 19, 2007.
Years
of work by survivors, communities, and aboriginal organizations culminated in
an agreement that gives us a new beginning and an opportunity to move forward
together in partnership.
A
cornerstone of the settlement agreement is the Indian residential schools truth
and reconciliation commission. This commission presents a unique opportunity to
educate all Canadians on the Indian residential schools system.
It
will be a positive step in forging a new relationship between aboriginal
peoples and other Canadians, a relationship based on the knowledge of our
shared history, a respect for each other and a desire to move forward together
with a renewed understanding that strong families, strong communities and
vibrant cultures and traditions will contribute to a stronger Canada for all of
us.
God
bless all of you and God bless our land.
OBSERVATION
Let's
say I'm somewhat encouraged, not overwhelmed, by Mr. Harper's apology - it
touches the tip of the iceberg. I will congratulate him on this, he has gone
further than any Prime Minister has gone to-date in acknowledging Canada's
inglorious past mistreatment of First Nation Peoples, but, he didn't go
overboard.
Today,
I would encourage National Chief Phil Fontaine, and others, to keep in mind
that our First Nations are owed an apology for a long list of horrors
perpetuated against our Peoples by Canadian and British colonial governments. A
few examples, the extermination of the Beothuk, the use of scalp proclamations
to try to exterminate the Mi'kmaq, medical experimentation, Indian Act sections
that barred us from pool rooms, from hiring lawyers to fight our claims,
centralization in the Maritimes, economic exclusion, etc., etc., the list is
extensive.
When
the day comes that a Canadian Prime Minister gets up in the House of Commons
and make a full unequivocal apology for all the wrongs we and our ancestors
suffered, it will be the day that we can fully celebrate.
Daniel
N. Paul, June 12, 2008
AND...
First
Nation Education Act tops Harper government’s aboriginal agenda
By
Mark Kennedy, Postmedia News
Idle
No More protesters make their way to Parliament Hill in Ottawa in January.
(OTTAWA, ON. JANUARY 28, 2013 --- About 500 Idle No More protesters made their
way from Victoria Island (where Chief Theresa Spence held her hunger strike)
through downtown Ottawa to Parliament Hill Monday. Jingle Dancers from all over
the country joined the march to the seat of government. - Kindra Bernard
(centre), from PEI, was among the jingle dancers at the rally. (JULIE
OLIVER/OTTAWA CITIZEN) #111850. NATN ORG XMIT: POS2013012816481811)
Photograph
by: JULIE OLIVER/Postmedia News , Postmedia News
OTTAWA
— Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who began the year watching aboriginals
protest outside his office window, will soon see his government grapple with
some of the most intractable issues associated with Canada’s First Nations.
In
the months ahead, the challenges will range from pulling aboriginal children
out of poverty through better education to ensuring the shameful past of
residential schools is exposed.
Harper’s
government will also tiptoe through other minefields: aboriginal trepidation to
a western pipeline; a United Nations probe into Canada’s treatment of its
aboriginals; and political pressure for a national inquiry into missing and
murdered aboriginal women.
Here’s
a primer:
*
Education
Q.
What’s the government’s plan?
A.
This fall, it will introduce a bill, the First Nation Education Act, to set
“minimum standards” for schools attended by aboriginal children.
Q.
What do we know so far?
A.
Only broad strokes. The government released a “blueprint” in July, indicating
the bill will allow schools to be community-operated through First Nations or
an agreement with a province, and there will be standards for qualifications of
teaching staff and curriculum and graduation requirements for students.
Q.
What’s the deadline?
A.
The government wants the new system in force when students begin school in
September 2014.
Q.
Why is this a priority?
A. The Assembly of First Nations says the high
school graduation rate is 36 per cent, compared to 72 per cent in Canada
overall. Aboriginal youths are now the fastest growing demographic in the
country, and the federal government says it wants to help them “achieve their
full potential.”
Q.
Is the plan contentious?
A.
Yes. Aboriginal leaders insist there hasn’t been enough consultation. They
worry a “one-size-fits-all” plan will be forced on First Nations communities
that doesn’t respect their culture. Just as important, they say new standards
should not be imposed without a corresponding increase in federal education
funding, which they complain is already too low.
*
Residential
Schools
Q.
What’s new?
A.
Five years after a commission was established to tell the story of what
happened, it might not get to fully do its job.
Q.
What’s the background?
A.
Over many decades, 150,000 aboriginal children were sent to church-run schools,
where many faced physical and sexual abuse. A lawsuit against the federal
government and churches resulted in payments to those affected and the creation
of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Its job was to hold public hearings
so people could tell their stories, collect records, and establish a national
research centre.
Q.
What’s the problem?
A.
The hearings have gone well, but the commission and federal government got into
a spat over how many documents — there are millions — should be transferred
from federal files. The government didn’t want to transfer as much of the
material as demanded by the commission. The dispute ended up in court, where
the judge ruled in the commission’s favour in January.
Q.
Has that solved the problem?
A.
No. The commission is running out of time. It must wind up its operations by
July 1, 2014, and submit its report sometime after that. Commission chair
Murray Sinclair has said that unless the federal government transfers the
documents in its files, the work of the commission could be seriously
compromised.
*
Northern
Gateway
Q.
How are aboriginals involved?
A.
They’re not proponents of the proposed pipeline project but they might have the
clout to stop it. They fear that First Nations will be denied their economic
share of any project, and that a pipeline could pose environmental risks and
endanger traditional practices such as hunting.
Q.
What’s happening behind the scenes?
A.
The National Energy Board will rule by Dec. 31 on whether the pipeline should
proceed. A parade of cabinet ministers has been travelling to B.C. to meet
aboriginal leaders and get them onside.
Q.
How are they reacting?
A.
Some suspect it’s just a charade so that government lawyers can later claim in
court that aboriginals were consulted.
Q.
How’s that?
A.
It’s widely expected aboriginals will oppose this in court, and federal lawyers
will argue they complied with their constitutional obligation to “consult and
accommodate” First Nations.
Q.
Will the protests be confined to courts?
A.
Probably not. If the project goes ahead, aboriginals are expected to block
roads in an effort to stop pipeline construction.
*
The
United Nations
Q.
Will Canada’s treatment of aboriginals be in the international spotlight?
A.
Yes. James Anaya, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
is visiting Canada Oct. 7-15.
Q.
What will he do here?
A.
He’ll meet Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt, aboriginal chiefs, and
is expected to visit some First Nations communities. The UN says the “aim” of
Anaya’s visit is to “examine the human rights situation” of the country’s
indigenous peoples. His final report will
go to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Q.
What are people expecting?
A.
Anaya probably won’t pull his punches in describing aboriginal poverty and
human rights violations. The Harper government says it welcomes Anaya, but it
has a record of being publicly disdainful of other UN special rapporteurs and
it has already been critical of how
Anaya spoke out last year about the living conditions at the
Attawapiskat reserve in Northern Ontario.
*
Missing
and Murdered Aboriginal Women
Q.
How big is the problem?
A.
More than 580 aboriginal women are believed to have been killed or gone missing
since 1970. Aboriginal women are seven times more likely to die a violent death
than non-aboriginal women.
Q.
What’s being done about it?
A.
Aboriginal leaders are calling for a national public inquiry, and they have the
support of provincial premiers. But the federal government has said no.
Q.
Why?
A.
Valcourt says he wants to take “action” instead of turning to another
“study.” The government says it has
already adopted a strategy to improve law enforcement for aboriginal women,
social programs have been strengthened, and legislation has been passed to
protect the matrimonial rights of women on reserves.
-------------------
This
is Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Month in Canada-
10,000 years of First Peoples of Canada and Americas...
--------------
NOVA
SCOTIA'S LEGENDARY ARTIST- MI'KMAQ LEONARD PAUL.... AN INTERNATIONAL
TREASURE...
---------------
NOVA
SCOTIA MI'KMAQ ARTIST ALAN SILIBOY.... inspiring...
--------------
Global
study: World not ready for aging population
Associated
Press
KRISTEN
GELINEAU 26 minutes ago
---------------
United
Nations wants all First Peoples 10,000 years Americas lands returned 2 the
First Peoples.... UNITED NATIONS MUST ALSO ENSURE THAT GOD'S FIRST PEOPLES- THE
ISRAELITES- THE JEWS HAVE ALL THE MIDDLE EAST LANDS AND AFRICAS RETURNED 2 THE
FIRST PEOPLES...... don't u think?? Fair is fair.
The
United States should return stolen land to Indian tribes, says United Nations
and...
UN
wants the US to return Native American lands
posted
at 2:01 pm on May 6, 2012 by Jazz Shaw
can’t imagine how this plan could possibly
produce anything but a stunning success, can you?
A
United Nations investigator probing discrimination against Native Americans has
called on the US government to return some of the land stolen from Indian
tribes as a step toward combatting continuing and systemic racial
discrimination.
James
Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said no
member of the US Congress would meet him as he investigated the part played by
the government in the considerable difficulties faced by Indian tribes.
The
report goes on for paragraph after paragraph about proposed plans based on the
concept of systemic racism against indigenous people, but it does also manage
to touch on one issue which is very real.
Anaya
visited an Oglala Sioux reservation where the per capita income is around
$7,000 a year, less than one-sixth of the national average, and life expectancy
is about 50 years.
The
two Sioux reservations in South Dakota – Rosebud and Pine Ridge – have some of
the country’s poorest living conditions, including mass unemployment and the
highest suicide rate in the western hemisphere with an epidemic of teenagers
killing themselves.
“You
can see they’re in a somewhat precarious situation in terms of their basic
existence and the stability of their communities given that precarious land
tenure situation. It’s not like they have large fisheries as a resource base to
sustain them. In basic economic terms it’s a very difficult situation. You have
upwards of 70% unemployment on the reservation and all kinds of social ills
accompanying that. Very tough conditions,” he said.
Conditions
on many of the reservations are indeed horrible. There are some exceptions, of
course, among some in the Northwest with ocean access and others with casinos,
but many of the tribal lands are simply desolate pools of poverty. If there is
anything to the questions being raised by the UN, though, it is likely to be
found less in some sort of nebulous cure for any sort of endemic racism than in
the technicalities of a court of law.
The
United States has indeed made many treaties with Native Americans spanning
three centuries. Some were honored, (at least in part) but many were either
ignored or crafted in patently unfair ways. There are numerous examples, but
one case in New York is fairly typical. A series of treaties between both the
state of NY and the federal government with the tribes of the Iroquois Nation
were repeatedly violated even though the federal courts weighed in on the side
of the natives on more than one occasion. One of them assured the Oneida
Indians possession of the lands west of the Hudson and north of the Mohawk
rivers for “as long as the sun shall shine and the rivers shall flow.” If
that’s the case, it’s pretty dark and dry in the Empire State these days.
Obviously
we can’t have a serious conversation about giving all of the lands (i.e. most
of the country) back and I doubt anyone is seriously fielding such an idea. But
there may be cases where a valid legal case could result in some return of
lands or other compensation which might provide some new opportunities and a
chance for prosperity to people who are admittedly living in crushing poverty.
THE WOLVES- WE ARE COUNTING ON U 2 SAVE OUR WORLD- OUR NATURE 4 THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDRENS- LOOK AROUND WORLD... LOOK AROUND...
}} this day and age.... u would come 2 Canada and trophy hunt OUR BEARS????- let alone the First Peoples of 10,000 years in Canada- u would insult our First Peoples- had to cry- watched this on APTN- Canada's First Peoples Television Station- how could we not mourn and cry- and 2 leave the carcass- like the billion buffalo stolen from USA First Peoples.... Come one it's 2013
Bear Witness: a film by BC's Coastal First Nations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDg24d8fF1Q
Published on Sep 3, 2013
When 'Cheeky' the bear is ambushed and decapitated in front of a lone witness, a chain of events is set in motion up and down the coast. You're the next link.
http://www.BearsForever.ca
Canada's Shania Twain wrote Black Eyes, Blue Tears back in the 90s.... and put it 2 music and played it around the world.... Shania kicked country music's ass and the black hats... and woke the world up 2 girls count... girls are equal and ... girls can do anything they dream on.... Shania Twain was adopted when she was 2 by Objiway Gerry Twain (she adored her Grandpa Twain) who adored his wife, Sharon. Shania grew up in the 'Reserves, Bands' of First Peoples of Canada - 10,000 and knew exactly what it was like 2 live in poverty, dispair and the injustice of the horrible treatment of Canada's First Peoples as all Governments of Canada and all polticial stripes- throwaway trash..... Shania Twain is a hero to so many women globally.... and has over one billion fans.... shania walked the talk and kept her soul, her honour and the respect of herself and her fans....
Shania started food banks at all her shows, including kids from each and every town, supported and played 4 troops be4 it became noticed, and said - feed your own kids first and those of your communities, villages and cities- 4God's sake look after ur kids..... Shania is one of China's favourite artists- and one of the world's - Shania made women matter and girls believe in empowerment of education and freedom... and equality....
BLACK EYS, BLUE TEARS... SHANIA TWAIN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Fd5Q2-VC0
"Black Eyes, Blue Tears"
Black eyes, I don't need 'em
Blue tears, gimme freedom
Positively never goin' back
I won't live where things are so out of whack
No more rollin' with the punches
No more usin' or abusin'
I'd rather die standing
Than live on my knees
Begging please-no more
Black eyes-I don't need 'em
Blue tears-gimme freedom
Black eyes-all behind me
Blue tears'll never find me now
Definitley found my self esteem
Finally-I'm forever free to dream
No more cryin' in the corner
No excuses-no more bruises
I'd rather die standing
Than live on my knees
Begging please-no more
Black eyes-I don't need 'em
Blue tears-gimme freedom
Black eyes-all behind me
Blue tears'll never find me now
I'd rather die standing
Than live on my knees, begging please...
Black eyes-I don't need 'em
Blue tears-gimme freedom
Black eyes-all behind me
Blue tears'll never find me now
It's all behind me, they'll never find me now
Find your self-esteem and be forever free to dream
------------
Tecumseh’s Ghost
By Allan R. Gregg — Oct 5 2013
200 years ago today, in what is now called Moraviantown, Ontario, the great Shawnee warrior, Tecumseh was killed defending Canada against invading American troops during the War of 1812. After waging a fearsome battle with the encroaching American militia for over five years, Tecumseh had struck terror in the hearts of American settlers, soldiers and commanders alike. His alliance with the British General, Isaac Brock, and their victory at Detroit, decisively shifted the early momentum in the War to Canada’s favour. No longer could the Americans boast that victory would be (as Thomas Jefferson promised then President James Madison) “a mere matter of marching.” Indeed, it can be said that it was Tecumseh – as much as any other single individual – who saved Canada in the War of 1812.
- the story
Growing up in Canada’s public school system, I was never taught this. Attending a PhD program with a minor in Canadian history, I never learned this. More recently, my son took a 4th year university course in Canadian Native history where his syllabus consisted of three novels and no definitive textbook on his chosen subject. Needless to say, he knew nothing about Tecumseh’s defining role in a war that’s been described as the foundation of Canada’s national identity.
Oddly, it was my casual reading of American history that introduced me to Tecumseh. He was a compelling figure and the more I learned about him, the more fascinating he became. How could I have missed his remarkable story?
Yet it is not like we never heard of Tecumseh – or more correctly, the name Tecumseh. My wife attended Tecumseh Public School in Scarborough, Ontario (and basically, knew nothing of his role in Canadian history). There is a town of Tecumseh in Ontario (in fact two – New Tecumseh and plain old Tecumseh) and one in Saskatchewan. There are Tecumseh Streets in Ottawa, Niagara, Winnipeg and Toronto. Naval Academies, nuclear submarines, University departments of Aboriginal Studies are named after him. In fact, if you care to look, Tecumseh seems to be everywhere. But for most of us though, Tecumseh is a Mall, or a Tae-kwon-do studio or a boat motor or even an uber modern Loft in the trendy King West neighbourhood of Toronto.
Since I first encountered Tecumseh, and perhaps in the spirit of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, there has been modest redemption made to his historical importance to Canada. Added to his desultory and remote memorial, erected in 1963 near where he was slain, and to the sad plaque on a rock in Upper Canada Village, near Morrisburg,Ontario, (where he never set foot), Tecumseh has now been commemorated on a Canadian quarter and on his own stamp, as well as one shared with Sir Isaac Brock. The noted academic and activist, James Laxer, has published a very credible account of the War of 1812 that prominently features Tecumseh’s central role in the defense of Canada.
But in this orgy of celebration of the War of 1812, it strikes me that his true legacy has been badly (and perhaps, conveniently) miscast. Far from being ignored, he is now being appropriated by white society and cast as a “good Indian” – brave, heroic, co-operative, and at the ready to do the bidding of his British brethren. He is being placed aside Issac Brock, and the Canadian militia as the great defenders of Canada. His historical role has been reduced to Laura Secord with a feather.
A more thorough reading of Tecumseh’s life and influence – not just in the War of 1812 but much more broadly in setting a pattern of aboriginal and non-aboriginal discord over the last two centuries – tells a very different story. While he was undoubtedly brave and heroic, he was anything but compromising or in the thrall of British objectives. He had been present at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1795 when the British closed the doors of Fort Miami on defeated Natives seeking refuge and was under no illusions about the British indifference to the Indians’ conflict with the Americans. He was fierce and determined to take back the land in the Ohio Valley that Americans had taken from his people and cared little for the white man, let alone Canada. To the contrary, his contact with the British and Americans alike led him to conclude that Indians and Whites “were bestowed with different characteristics, beliefs and modes of existence” and thus were meant to be separate and live apart. (Sugden p.118)
Tecumseh’s true historical significance is derived from much more than his feats on the battlefield in the War of 1812. It was his statesmanship, diplomacy and charisma that convinced and motivated Indian braves throughout the length and breadth of the North American frontier to put aside their tribal differences and loyalties, and join a pan-Indian Confederacy to take back the land that had been stolen from them through dozens of unscrupulous treaties. He also brandished a powerful vision and philosophy that combined spiritualism with militarism which still reverberates in the protests of modern day Aboriginal leaders and the Idle No More movement.
More than this, what he represented also ignited the intense fear and subsequent dehumanizing of the Indian by the white man that lurks at the root of Canadian attitudes today. It was his ideas, as much as his tomahawk and scalping knife that made him an inspiration to Indians and dangerous in the extreme to non-Indians.
FACTS ON TECUMSEH- BROCK WORSHIPPED HIM.. AND BROCK WAS WEARING TECUMSEH'S SASH WHEN HE WAS KILLED
While few Canadians know anything about Tecumseh, in his time, he was one of the most famous and feared, men alive – and that legacy would endure for decades after his death. Immediately after the War of 1812, the British built and named a schooner after him. The 1820s were marked by songs, poems and paeans to Tecumseh, honouring his bravery and heroic demise. William Tecumseh Sherman, the hero of the Civil War half a century later, was named after him. Robert Johnson, Martin Van Buren’s Vice-President, ran his campaign in 1836 on the admittedly amateurish slogan, “Rumsey, dumpsey, rumsey, dumpsey … Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh.” (He claimed to have shot the Shawnee leader in Southern Ontario 23 years before). Three future Presidents – Andrew Jackson, William Harrison and Zachary Taylor– and a Presidential candidate – Winfield Scott -would launch their political careers based on the reputations they had gained by fighting Tecumseh and his allies.
No authenticated portrait of the great warrior exists. Because he spoke no English and did not write, there are only secondhand accounts of his words and deeds. But from what we know, Tecumseh was a remarkable specimen. He was routinely described in diaries as “one of the finest looking men I ever saw” or “one of the most finished forms I ever met” (Sugden p. 5). The great defender of Canada, Sir Isaac Brock, referred to him as, “The Wellington of the Indians,” and declared that “a more sagacious and gallant warrior does not, I believe exist.” (Berton p166). John Richardson, a teenaged militia volunteer who claimed to have encountered Tecumseh during the War of 1812, and went on to become one of Canada’s first novelists, offered a more fulsome description:
“Habited in a close leather dress, his athletic portions were admirably delineated, while a large plume of ostrich feathers, by which he was generally distinguished, overshadowing his brow, and contrasting with the darkness of his complexion and the brilliance of his black and piercing eyes, gave a singularly wild and terrific expression to his features. It was evident that he could be terrible.” (Sugden p. 358)
By all accounts, he was eloquent, fearless and thoughtful … and his entire life had been marked by war with the Americans. Between 1774, (when he was 6 years old), and 1784, his village was attacked five times. His father was killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1776 and his older brother died on the Tennessee frontier around 1788. Naturally, he had little love for the “Long Knives”.
But his hatred was not just reserved for the Americans’ battlefield slaughter; it extended to their relentless acquisition of Native land in the period between 1794 and 1809 and even to the Indian Chiefs, whom he viewed as complicit in its surrender.
Tecumseh’s brother, the so-called Prophet, awoke the Indian indignation at what was happening to their homes and way of life. The Prophet gave his fellow Indians reason to believe that they could resist American encroachment on their lands and offered a vision that revived Native spiritualism. Calling for the rejection of alcohol and a return to tradition, he preached about the unity of the land with mankind and contended that no single tribe had the right to cede territory without the consent of all.
In 1808 the brothers decide to give physical shape to this philosophy and established Prophetstown, where the Tippecanoe River meets the Wabash in what is now Indiana. Almost immediately Indians throughout North America began to gather there to return to their spiritual roots, embrace this way of life once more and ready for battle when the time was right.
Tecumseh came to embody the Prophet’s philosophy and insisted that, “…instead of each Indian group or tribe possessing an exclusive right to a territory…the land must be regarded as common property for all Indian people, and it could only be sold with the consent of all Indian people.” (Sugden p. 44) The basis for his position was Tecumseh’s fundamental belief in the unity of the land with the Indian people. He claimed, “No tribe has the right to sell (land) even to each other, much less strangers … Sell a country? Why not sell the air, the great sea as well as the earth?” (Owens p. 18). Quite simply, the land was, “a dish with one spoon.” (Sugden p.45) To enforce this principle, Tecumseh made it clear that he was prepared, “…to destroy village Chiefs by whom mischief is done. It is they who sell our lands to Americans. Our object is to let all our affairs be transacted by warriors.” (Sugden p. 189). His message was unambiguous and threatening … if the Chiefs who were ceding Indian land were not prepared to get in line, he would overthrow them, as well as the Americans, by forming a new pan-North American warrior nation.
He then began the first of what would be many journeys across the length and breadth of Central and South Eastern United States organizing fellow Natives to join his cause. When Chiefs resisted his entreaties, he appealed directly to the young braves to take up arms and push the Americans out of Indian lands.
On one of these recruiting missions, while Tecumseh was in Georgia and Florida, William Harrison, the governor of Indiana and the man tasked with expanding the American frontier, took advantage of his absence and marched on Prophetstown. Ignoring his brother’s instructions to avoid engagement with the Americans, the Prophet ordered an attack and was routed by Harrison’s forces. (The battle is later immortalized in one of the most famous campaign slogans in US electoral history – “Tippecanoe and Tyler too” – which propels Harrison to the White House in 1840). Tecumseh returned to his razed and smoldering village, resolved to take his battle to an entirely new level.
Meanwhile, half a world away, Napoleon was marching his troops across Europe towards Russia. U.S. President James Madison, who began his term by seeking neutrality in the British-French war, was now being ridiculed as a weakling and “whiffling Jemmy” by a new generation of “War Hawks” in Congress who were trying to rekindle the revolutionary zeal of the Founding Fathers.
This would not be the last time that the US would construct a somewhat flimsy rationale for going to war, but faced with internal revolt and the prospect of losing the upcoming Presidential election, Madison opportunistically declared war on Britain in June 1812.
With equal opportunism – and working on the assumption that the enemy of my enemy is, if not my friend, at least a potential ally – Tecumseh recognized that Madison’s declaration might give him the leverage he needed to beat back the Americans. He headed to Fort Malden in Amherstburg, Ontario to meet with the Canadian Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Matthew Elliot. But while he negotiated an alliance with the British against the Americans, he had little interest in helping to defend Canada, but instead was keenly intent on using the British to drive the Americans out of his home in the Ohio Valley.
If the purpose of the War of 182 was to “invade and take over Canada” then capturing the populous Eastern and Central fronts, which housed the Capitals of Upper and Lower Canada, were surely the most strategically important targets. But this is not what happened. Instead, the American focused on Tecumseh’s turf and the Western Front.
It quickly became apparent that beyond the internal politics behind the decision to go to war, the real goal of the conflict was to subdue Tecumseh’s forces and drive the Indian and British presence out of the Ohio Valley. Madison and his cabinet understood that a war against the Indians was far more popular – and winnable – than a conflict over some vague concept of maritime rights. So the War of 1812 began not so much as a war between Canada and the United States, but a war between Tecumseh and the Americans.
The commander of the Western front, William Hull approached Detroit and prepared his assault into Canada, but his men refused to cross the border and fight on foreign soil, leaving Hull in a bit of a quandary. Isaac Brock, the Major General overseeing the forces of Upper Canada, and the first to understand that the key to Canada’s defense would rest with the Indians, polled his own officers who expressed similar reluctance.
Tecumseh took it upon himself to brow beat, cajole, inspire and ultimately, convince the British to attack. But before they did, Brock wisely engaged in a bit of psychological warfare. In a letter to Hull he described the real threat facing the Americans:
“It is far from my intention to join in a war of extermination, but you must be aware that the numerous body of Indians who have attached themselves to my troops will be beyond my control the moment the contest commences.” (Berton p. 171)
Brock’s message to Hull was far from subtle – it is hard not to know what ‘war of extermination’ means, especially in light of Tecumseh’s well-known reputation for his take-no-prisoners ferocity.
Canadian novelist, John Richard recorded the terrifying scene that Hull faced on the eve of the Battle of Detroit.
“(B)odies stained and painted in the most frightening manner for the occasion …some painted white, some black, others half black and half red … all with their hair plastered in such a way as to resemble the bristling quills of a porcupine, with no other covering than a cloth around their loins, yet armed to the teeth with rifles, tomahawks, war-clubs, spears, bows, arrows and scalping knives. Uttering no sound, intent only on reaching the enemy unperceived, they might have passed for the spectres of those wilds, the ruthless demons which War had unchained for the punishment and oppression of man.” (Berton p. 159-60)
When the battle finally began, it was over without a shot being fired. Just the sight of Tecumseh and his braves, outfitted for slaughter, left the American forces in a state of awestruck panic. A terrified General Hull, described as being rendered “catatonic” at the sight, surrendered without a fight. (Berton p.175)
This encounter set the tone for the following year. By then, it was apparent to the British that the real value of the Indians was not just to fight, but to terrify. (Berton p.216)
While much of our understanding of the War of 1812 focuses on our own border, in the south, a very different kind of war was taking place. As charismatic, persuasive and commanding as he was, not all Indians fell under Tecumseh’s sway. His message posed a direct threat to many Chiefs who had benefited, at least for the present, from the sale of their lands and through an alliance with the Americans. The Creeks in particular were divided as young Tecumseh supporters splinter off to form the Red Sticks and civil war broke out between the two factions. Another tribe that Tecumseh had wooed, the Seminoles, joined the Spanish and escaped Black slaves and confronted American filibusters who were threatening to seize Florida. Further North, Indian tribes became emboldened by news of Tecumseh’s victories and began confrontations with settlers that spread news of bloody massacres. Pierre Berton described the carnage that was taking place in this way – “hearts cut out and eaten raw, throats slit, torture and clubbing to death of white men who are forced to run the gauntlet”. (Berton 191-7)
For the Americans, it suddenly seemed that their simple border skirmish was spreading throughout the length and breadth of their much-coveted frontier. Again their enemy was not so much the British, but the Indians, and Tecumseh’s fingerprints were on every conflict.
With his humiliating surrender, Hull was replaced by the despised William Harrison. His arrival in the Niagara area coincided with the first major setback for the British – the death of Isaac Brock in October, 1812. While the British suffered few casualties other than Brock in the Battle of Queenston (and the Americans were ultimately forced to surrender because their terrified militiamen, once again, refused to cross the river to engage the Indians), Tecumseh lost the one ally who fully understood his importance to the defense of Canada.
Notwithstanding this development and the muscular forces the US were amassing on the Western front, Tecumseh and his allies continued to wreak havoc on the Americans throughout the first part of 1813. Massacres occurred repeatedly throughout what are now Ohio, Indiana and Illinois — in Raisin River in January, at Fort Meigs in May and Fort Mims in August. As reports of slaughter and atrocities grew, they became the source of outrage among previously disinterested American citizens. In response, the US Government unleashed the ferocious Indian hater, Andrew Jackson, to subdue the Creeks and Seminoles in the South.
If Tecumseh’s memories of the Battle of Falling Timbers caused him to doubt the dependability of the British to serve Indian interests, his apprehension was significantly heightened by Brock’s replacement, Henry Proctor.
Proctor and Tecumseh locked horns many times since Brock’s death. Continuing a pattern that had been apparent since the start of the War, the British had proved reluctant to push back the growing American forces and lay claim to the territory that was Tecumseh’s home. Their differences were fundamental – Proctor wanted to defend Canada; Tecumseh wanted to retake the Ohio Valley. As Proctor retreated further into the Thames Valley of the Niagara peninsula it was clear to Tecumseh that he is going in the wrong direction and the Shawnee warrior was forced to confront Proctor. Fearing that he will lose the support of the Indians, Proctor promised Tecumseh that they will stand and fight the American invaders at the Lower Thames (now Chatham, Ontario). But when Tecumseh and his 1,200 warriors arrived, they find that the area had not been fortified and Proctor has retreated even further inland to Moraviantown. Convinced that their British allies were once again abandoning them, half of Tecumseh’s warriors simply turn back, leaving him to forge ahead with a badly diminished force. Meanwhile Harrison crossed into Canada and was advancing rapidly with 5,000 American troops.
When Tecumseh reached Moraviantown, Harrison’s army was in sight and Proctor finally agreed to take a stand and fight. Almost immediately however, the British line broke and they began to surrender. Sensing a rout, Proctor turned on his heels and rode away, leaving Tecumseh and his warriors to carry the battle alone.
The specifics of what happened next in the Battle of Moraviantown are murky. History is unclear about what happened to Tecumseh’s body but it is beyond dispute that he was killed that day and that his surviving braves dispersed and retreated into the swampy grass of the Thames Valley. For his role, Henry Proctor was later returned to England to face court martial where he was stripped of his rank and died nine years later.
After Tecumseh’s death, the War of 1812 continued to rage on. The Americans never captured and held any territory of significance in Canada but they did succeed in breaking through the Central front and laying siege to Fort York (now Toronto). The British spectacularly invaded Washington, DC and burned down the White House, forcing Madison and his Cabinet to flee the new capital. Andrew Jackson cemented his hero’s status by slaughtering 557 of Tecumseh’s Red Stick warriors at Horseshoe Bend in what is now central Alabama and then went on to command one of the more lopsided victories in military history, the Battle of New Orleans — after the war was officially declared over.
Notwithstanding the many ongoing conflicts, by 1814, peace talks were the most critical component of the US government’s strategy. Even though Napoleon was now in full retreat and the British were able to re-dedicate their war machine to the North American continent, their assessment of the situation was that the “war was unlikely to be lost but impossible to win.” (Zuehle, p 315) So the two warring factions sent their respective representatives to neutral ground in Ghent, Belgium to negotiate a peace treaty.
To the great surprise of the American delegation, the rights and residency of the Indians once again resurfaced as the centre piece of not just the waging of war, but now to the making of peace. In fact, the British made it clear that the “sine qua non” of any cessation of hostilities was that the Americans agree to an Indian Territory and buffer zone, “as a useful and permanent barrier between both parties, rendering British, United Sates and Indians as peaceful neighbours.” (Zuehle, p.298) The American’s were flabbergasted. Basically, the British were demanding that they give up what is now Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, 4/5ths of Indiana and 1/3rd of Ohio to become dedicated Indian Territory. Basically, this was the boundary that had existed before the Treaty of Fort Wayne that set off Tecumseh’s campaign 5 years earlier. It was as if Shawnee warrior himself was somehow engineering the terms of peace from the grave.
For the shocked Americans, this was a non-starter. Agreeing to the central British demand would mean abandoning 100,000 US citizens, curtailing any ambition for further western expansion and potentially strengthening the bond between the British and the troublesome Indians. Lead negotiator, (and another future American President), John Quincy Adams countered that agreeing to these terms would amount to “the surrender of national independence.”
In the end, the armistice and Treaty of Ghent resulted in no territory exchanging hands. What had begun for the British negotiators as their “sine qua non” of peace was abandoned. As the negotiations went back and forth, the British realized that a possible end to hostilities meant that they no longer needed their Indian allies to defend the borders of their colony. At the same time, with the death of Tecumseh, it was equally clear to the Americans that the Indians would never again pose the same kind of substantive military threat. In short, absent any need for, or fear of the Indians, both sides concluded that their interests were of little concern. As a result, the Indians were only granted “all the possessions, rights and privileges which they may have enjoyed or been entitled to in 1811.” In other words, the efforts of Tecumseh’s confederacy, his death and his defense of Canada were for naught. While both the British and the Americans would declare victory, it was clear that the real losers of the War of 1812 were the Indians.
But the end of the War didn’t mean that the Americans were finished with the Indians. The next year, the Cherokees, who had sided with the Americans in subduing the Tecumseh-inspired Creek War, were forced to sell the last of their land in South Carolina. Two years later, the last of Tecumseh’s Red Sticks were hunted down and killed in the Florida swamps as Jackson waged the first Seminole War. In 1822, in direct defiance of a Supreme Court ruling, the Georgia legislature began efforts to remove all Indian tribes from its territory. The United States Congress subsequently made Georgia’s initiative a nation-wide initiative and passed the Indian Removal Act. In the last act of resistance to removal, now-President Andrew Jackson finished what he started and waged the second Creek and Seminole Wars. By 1838, The Indians were fully defeated, and that year were marched out of the South on the ‘Trail of Tears’ to Oklahoma.
In Canada, the Indians fared better … but only until Confederation, when the Government became sufficiently organized to follow America’s lead.
Before 1867, the colonial government had signed numerous, sometimes vague or even blank treaties with Canada’s Aboriginals. The first of these were largely “Peace and Friendship” treaties, designed to forge political alliances with the Indians and gain their assistance in trade or conflicts with the French. These documents rarely involved the transfer of land or promises of annuities. Throughout the last decades of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th, most treaties arose to accommodate growing British settlement along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, and involved small one-time payments that did not forcibly relocate the Indians off the treaty land.
The discovery of minerals along the shores of Lakes Superior and Huron however, changed the game entirely. The Robinson Treaties in 1850, involving massive transfers of land in relatively unpopulated areas, in exchange for reserves, lump sum payments, annuities and defined hunting and fishing rights in unoccupied Crown lands, became the model for future Aboriginal agreements.
But it was Confederation and the British North America Act that introduced a new set of problems and took the nature of relations between the Indians and the new Government of Canada to a whole different level.
The problem, of course, was that Canada, consisting of the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia, had a gaping hole in it that extended from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains. This was partly solved by the acquisition of Rupertsland from the Hudson Bay Company in 1869 and the introduction of the Manitoba Act the following year. But these efforts to close “the gap” created another issue – what to do with the Metis and Indians who believed that the vast expanse of land between Manitoba and British Columbia belonged to them? Canadian native history provides a sad and definitive answer to that question – confiscate that land, move the Indians to reserves and if they resist, follow the American model and crush the resistance, either by force or through (what we now know was a planned policy of) starvation (Daschuk).
The pace and scope with which the new government pursued this goal however was truly breathtaking. After putting down Manitoba’s Red River rebellion in 1870, the Government of Canada entered into seven numbered treaties in six years that saw one of the largest confiscations of lands in modern history. The entirety of what is now the central and southern Prairie provinces were transferred to the federal government. In fact, even before the railroad, this was Canada’s first act of national enterprise.
Having secured the northern part of the continent, the new Government of Canada saw no need for any further negotiations. But because Macdonald and others also saw nothing worth preserving in Indian culture, they still sought to expunge it. Indian agents and missionaries were dispatched to reservations to manage the affairs and Christianize the “wards of the state.” Ceremonies such as potlatches and the sun dances were outlawed; a pass system was introduced that controlled both entry to and exit from the reserves; and “nations” were broken down into bands, with tribes relocated at will.
After over 20 years of inactivity – and only because of the discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1896 – treaty negotiations began anew. Three years later, Treaty #8 was finalized and ceded parts of Northern British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan and the southern portion of the Northwest Territories. After a short lull of 6 years Treaties #9 and #10 saw Northern Ontario and the rest of Northern Alberta transferred from the Indians to the federal government. The last of the numbered Treaties had to wait almost 15 years but with the discovery of oil in Norman Wells, the government saw the need to acquire the rest of the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. The coup de grace came two years later in 1923 with the Williams Treaties which cleaned up earlier, ambiguous and blank treaties going back to the 1700s and forced the Aboriginals to give up hunting and fishing rights in previously surrendered land – a practice that had been guaranteed in the all the treaties previous to it.
In 6 short years the Government of Canada had secured their nation at the Indian’s expense, and within 50 years, the mopping up was complete. By and large, all of these numbered treaties exist unchanged to this day. Virtually all are being contested in the courts and are subject to land claims disputes and only a handful of new treaties have been successfully negotiated in almost a century.
While they vary in detail, the general thrust of all the treaties is more or less the same. Millions of square miles of what was Indian territory were surrendered to the federal government in exchange for a one-time “present” (of usually around $10-12) for every man, woman and child belonging to the affected band; an additional payoff to the Chief (of around $25) and up to four “subordinates” (in the order of $15); a one-time provision of farm implements and seeds “for the encouragement of the practice of agriculture”; an annual stipend (usually around $1,000 – $1,500) for the purchase of ammunition and twine; the promise to maintain schools on the reserve; (until the Williams Treaties) the right to hunt and fish on the ceded land (provided the government did not have other plans for it, such as mining or the creation of non-aboriginal communities); and the setting aside of “reserves” usually equal to one square mile of land for each family of five.
As an illustration of how anachronistic these still-enforced treaties are, they also provided for an annual payment of $5 for every band member — a ritual that is practiced on reserves to this day.
Not only were these treaties patently one-sided and unfair, the understanding of their purpose and intent, and the obligations of the parties to each other, were as unclear when they were signed as they are contentious today.
At the center of this misunderstanding was the very concept of what constituted “land”. For the non-aboriginals, land was simply property that could be bought, sold and “owned” like any other commodity in a mercantile or capitalistic system. For the aboriginals, land was an extension of the self and the Indian people. As Tecumseh noted, it could no more be sold than the air or sea. The notion that land could be “surrendered” therefore, was completely inimical to their very understanding of what was at issue. To the aboriginals, they were not selling the land but merely sharing and letting the crown use it.
For the Government, the treaties also represented a straightforward legal transaction – a buy-sell arrangement – where land was purchased in exchange for cash and services. For the Aboriginals, the documents simply outlined relations between two peoples. So for example, Treaty #6 (for the first time) provided the Plain and Wood Creek Indians who signed it with a guarantee that the Indian Agent would keep a medicine chest in his residence. To the legalistic European mind the meaning of this provision was literal – the Indian agent was given a physical medicine chest and their obligations were finished. For the Indians, the “medicine chest” was metaphorical – a guarantee of health care for all time.
At an entirely other level of incomprehension, each party also had (and has) a completely different interpretation of the status of the other and who they were dealing with. The Aboriginals saw themselves as sovereign and the negotiations as between two separate “nations”. The federal government paid (and continues to pay) lip service to this notion, but their behaviour makes it apparent that they viewed this as little more than a quaint conceit and in reality, expected the First Nations to cede to the authority and dominance of “the crown”.
It is this gaping chasm between how the First Nations’ leadership and the federal government view each other’s respective obligations, rights and status that has led to the failure to modernize these treaties. It is also at the heart of our ongoing bitter and acrimonious relations, destined to stay in this sordid state of affairs until we come to acknowledge and accept these differences.
When we puzzle at how it is possible for Canadians – who view ourselves, above all else, as tolerant, reasonable and a “good people” – to look on the plight of Canada’s indigenous peoples with such indifference, we would be well advised to trace the deeply rooted fear and misunderstanding Tecumseh triggered towards Indians in his time. His uncompromising fierceness – both physically and intellectually – was a direct threat to the North American ambition and made him too dangerous to live. And to eliminate the Indian, it became necessary to demonize and dehumanize the Indian. In this regard, Tecumseh can be seen a metaphor for all Indians. The threat he posed and the danger he represented was inherited by all Aboriginals at the time and arguably, all who came after.
The significance of Tecumseh in our history cannot be underestimated, yet for most of the last 200 years, his power and the influence he wielded over Indian thought has not been recognized as a significant part of our national story. Perhaps more importantly, our failure to acknowledge the central role indigenous people played in shaping our history – and the distorted picture of that role, when it is offered – plays out in aboriginal and non-aboriginal affairs to this day.
As with the tale of Tecumseh, these modern relations have been marked by a repeated pattern – - of misunderstanding, betrayal and ignoring.
While our record is far from unblemished, Canadians did not massacre Indians on anywhere near the same scale as the Americans. But we did “remove” them in much the same way, relocating them to isolated and remote areas, relegating them to the status of “the other” and hiding them out of sight from our conscience. But it will be impossible to ignore them for much longer, as indigenous people are now the fastest growing demographic in Canadian society. Not only do we have a moral responsibility to come to grips with what has become a stain on Canada’s international reputation, but given the recognition of aboriginal rights in the Canadian Charter and in a series of recent court rulings, failure to do so will invariably mean that economic and resource development will come to a grinding halt.
Tecumseh believed that his people and whites were essentially different. He was and is right in this regard. The temperament, world vision, spiritualism and especially the history of aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians are worlds apart. Nothing in our history or experience would provide non-aboriginals with a frame of reference to understand why anyone would chose to live a 16th century and isolated lifestyle in our interconnected digital world; or why individual ownership of property would be contentious or divisive; or why preserving and protecting “the land” would take priority over exploiting and exhausting our resources; or why spiritualism, ceremony or respect could be more valued than materialism, competition and “winning”. And we lack this perspective not just because our history does not include the surrender of our property, or the removal from our homes or residential schools or the stigma of systematic second class citizenship … in sum, of being misunderstood, betrayed and ignored for 200 years. We lack this understanding because we have never cared enough to acknowledge these differences, learn their importance and accept their permanence.
On this, the 200 anniversary of Tecumseh’s death, if we really want to honour his contribution to saving Canada perhaps it is time to end this pattern and set out to mend the wounds of the past… or forever be haunted by his ghost.
http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2013/10/05/tecumsehs-ghost/#.UlLxSFqEi1s
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