Reserves: Urbanization and the First Nations

1. Reserves: Urbanization and the First Nations There are 70 First Nations reserves in Saskatchewan

2. Urbanization • Urbanization is the movement of people from rural to urban areas. • In Saskatchewan many people are moving off of farms and out of small towns, and into the bigger cities. • Many aboriginal people are moving off of their reserves and into the cities.

3. What effect has urbanization had on the First Nations? • Between 1996 and 2006, the First Nations population of Canada increased by 29%. • In 2006, half of the Aboriginal population lived in urban centres. • The urban aboriginal population is increasing and the population of aboriginal people on reserves is decreasing. • Aboriginal people are facing discrimination and stereotypes in the cities. • Aboriginal people feel that non-Aboriginal people do not understand them or their culture.

4. How is the topic of reserves related to urbanization and the First Nations? • Native people are leaving reserves to live in the cities. • The number of people living on reserves is decreasing.

5. Why I chose my topic? • I chose this topic because my two eldest daughters lived on the Muscowpetung reserve for a few years. I am interested to learn more about reserves. • I am curious about the future of reserves. Will there always be reserves or will they eventually be sold off and disappear? • In order to understand the reality of the First Nations in Canada it is important to understand reserves.

6. “Nobody’s going to go nowhere. Everybody’s here to stay. Now how do we work it out together?” –Edith Cloutier CBC Documentary: 8th fire-Indigenous in the City

7. Section 1: The History of Reserves in Canada • During the signing of the treaties, when the reserves were being created, the Canadian Government and the First Nations chiefs had very different understandings of what they were agreeing to.

8. The First Nations Perspective • “This is our land! It isn’t just a piece of pemmican to be cut off and given in little pieces back to us. It is ours and we will take what we want.” Poundmaker 1876 • For First Nations leaders, the reserves were meant to be a home base. It was where they could learn a new, self-supporting way of life. They were meant to be a means of ensuring the physical, cultural and spiritual survival of their people.

9. The Canadian government’s perspective • The government saw reserves as a “training ground”. They were meant to prepare the native people for citizenship in Canadian culture and society. • The reserves were meant to be temporary until the First Nations were “civilized” enough to live amongst the settlers.

10. The creation of the reserves • The size of the reserves was another of many misunderstandings between the First Nations leaders and the Canadian government. • Many native leaders described huge areas of land that they believed they were promised in the treaties. • Each family of 5 was given a square mile. • The treaty commissioners never explained how large one square mile actually was.

11. Section 2: Reserves in the News • The reserves were never intended by the Canadian government to be permanent. • The First Nations leaders did not realize how small the reserves were going to be. • It is very difficult to make a living on the small amount of land on the reserves. • The only time many non-aboriginal people hear about reserves is on the news when there are problems.

12. Kashechewan First Nation • Kashechewan was in the news in 2005 because 800 members of this community had to be evacuated due to dangerous levels of bacteria in their water supply.

13. Pikangkikum First Nation • Pikangkikum First Nation was on the news in the summer of 2011 due to a rash of suicides of young people. • They are a community of 2,400 people, where more than 60 teenagers have committed suicide in the past decade. • Has the highest suicide rate in the world. • The school burned down in 2007 and was replaced with 17 portables. The windows of every building in sight are smashed and the walls are covered with graffiti.

15. Attawapiskat First Nation • In October 2011 Attawapiskat was in the news because of a severe housing shortage. • Along with 300 overcrowded houses, there are 5 tents and 17 sheds used for housing. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6abZ0LFT5CQ&feature=related

16. Section 3: Are all reserves like that? • Do all reserves look like that? • Are there any reserves that are working? http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/pam_archives/public_mikan/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayEcopies&lang=eng&rec_nbr=3839669&title=Notice%3A+This+is+an+Indian+Reserve.+&ecopy=e010780066-v8&back_url=(&&back_url=()

17. Osoyoos First Nation • Resort, golf course, spa, winery, cultural centre • The Osoyoos Indian Band's land base consists of over 32,000 acres of British Columbia's most beautiful land with stunning vistas, rich agricultural lands, and some of the last large tracts of desert lands left in Canada. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgme_JTrY0w

18. Why is the Osoyoos First Nation Successful? • Fertile land • Business sense • A blending of traditional culture and contemporary ideas

19. Conclusion: A way forward • In order to be successful, reserves need to have an economic base. They also need to find a way to make their traditional culture work in the contemporary culture. • A Tribe Called Red is an all Native American DJ crew from Ottawa Canada. They remix traditional Pow Wow music with contemporary club sounds. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTLPngbcUrY

20. Sources • Legacy: Indian Treaty Relationships by Richard T. Price • http://www.fnmr.gov.sk.ca/community/maps/firstnations • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attawapiskat • http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/30/living-and-dying-in-pikangikum/ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6abZ0LFT5CQ&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgme_JTrY0w