Aboriginal Rights

Canada, the United States and Latin America from 1950-1980

General History

• First contact with natives in Canada, Latin America and the United States dates back to 1492 and the arrival of Columbus

• Settlers from Europe, primarily from Portugal, Spain, England, France and the Netherlands arrived in search of new resources

• They found indigenous inhabitants

• They carved up the territory and established trading outposts

Early Relations• Well, basically NOT GOOD

– Epidemic disease (small pox, measles….and the list goes no)

– Enslavement– Warfare throughout – Intermarriage

• Natives were used to verbal land dispute agreements– Settlers had written documents – Not fair and in many cases not upheld

• By the middle 1800’s most nations throughout the Americans had their independence

• Some countries held on to their possessions longer

• Relations between the indigenous population, settlers and “mestizos” were not always the best

Canada• Settled by both the English and the French• There were several wars early on, but relations

stabilized by the 1700’s• Colonists established families with natives

– Metis-term to describe a person of mixed heritage– Pushed for rights several times

• A multitude of treaties had been written throughout history

• Some provisions were not upheld• 1876-The Indian Act was passed

– It allowed the Federal Government to facilitate the assimilation of the aboriginals into common culture

– But it included several discriminatory provisions including the lack of vote, not allowing the drinking of alcohol or leaving of reservation without permission

1950-1980• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

– 1948– Forced Canada to look at their treatment of Aboriginals

• 1951-Indian Act altered to fix some discriminatory practices– Could now drink on their reservations and practice some

cultural rituals once outlawed• 1960-Dief the Chief granted voting rights to natives• 1968-Trudeau issued the “White Paper”

– Basically the Government of Canada would no longer negotiate with any non-sovereign nation

– Natives countered with “Red Paper”, completely rejecting the paper

• A multitude of other issues, debates and cases came up which dealt with basic rights including the pipeline debate

• 1973-The Government of Canada formally recognized nation claims

• Constitution Act of 1982 was signed guaranteeing rights for all aboriginals and inuits

The United States• The Vikings came into contact with the

natives first(@1000)• Columbus came in 1492• Relations were pleasant at first, until

they began to move west• Disease was common

– Small pox, measles…• In 1832 the Government issued a

vaccination program• Many Natives took part in the

Revolution…on both sides• 1840-”Manifest Destiny” or Indian

Removal”???– Over the course of the next 100 years

Indians were killed or forced onto reservations

19th/20th Century US• The Indian Removal Act of 1830

– All land East of the Mississippi could be exchanged for land west

– The Trail of Tears—Some 4,000 Cherokee died due to relocation

• Resistance was significant– Battle of Little Bighorn 1876– Wounded Knee 1890

• Many fought in the Civil War, WWI and WWII– Approx 44,000– Disrupted culture, land, a general disharmony

• Some served as “code talkers”– Learned and trained at Camp Pendleton – Some 200 terms at first, as many as 600 at

wars end– Coding machines took 30 minutes, Navajo

would take 20 seconds– Vital to the interests of the war

Native American Rights Today

• There are some 550 plus federally recognized tribes in the US

• Live in predominately 3 states (AZ, CA, OK)

• Most NA have mixed cultural background, but there are 9 primary tribes

• NA mascots have come under fire in the past 10 years– NCAA has banned use of violent NA

mascots– Only one exception-FSU Seminoles

Wounded Knee and AIM• AIM-Began in 1968, by Dennis Banks, George Mitchell

and Clyde Bellecourt as a main force in the push for NA CR

– Began out of complaints over high unemployment, slum housing and racist treatment

• Its goals are to increase awareness and secure CR• 1973-Took over the town of Wounded Knee for 71 days

over the conditions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

– Decision on location was based on the massacre at the same location in 1890

– Led to two deaths in the standoff– The movie Thunderheart has some connections to the

event in 1973 and 1890– Leonard Peltier—indicted for the murder of two federal

officers on the reservation, he is a member of AIM and a main political activist

Legislation• Bureau of Indian Affairs

– Established in 1824..oversees the management of the entire reservation system in the US

– Part of the US Department of the Interior• 1934-Indian Reorganization Act

– Allowed management of tribal assets– Local self-government of tribes

• 1968-Indian Civil Rights Act – Basic rights accorded to NA based on civil liberties

and Bill of Rights issues• 1975-Indian Self-Determination and Education

Assistance Act – Allowed government agencies to enter into

contracts with tribes– Gave tribes greater control over funding

Latin America• Several countries have sizable populations of NA

– Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and Ecuador

– Hundreds of languages are spoken in the LA• As mentioned, colonization brought a myriad of ,

diseases and lasting problems• Currently today there are still lasting issues:

– Poverty is pervasive and significant– Abysmal living conditions and health problems– Educational issues– Correlated parental educational issues– Findings indicate that pay is under what non-indigenous

counterparts make• Throughout the last 50 years there has been a number

of movements in a number of countries demanding equal treatment for the Indig. population

Case Study: Peru• Spanish occupied and colonized Peru in the 16th century

– Of course they brought disease and social unrest• Indigenous people make up between 31% to 45% of the

population • Most occupy areas called communal reserves

– Predominately Quechua and Aymara from the Andean Highlands w/ more than 15 linguistic families

– Both terms insight potential racism and discrimination• Conflicts over territory has existed over time

– Many have lost territory in their historical areas or have had to

– Almost 10 million hectares have been lost due to economic activities

– In 2009, a protest by indigenous populations led to the deaths of 33 people over the adoption of laws over the exploitation of natural resources

• Conflicts in the 20th century ranged from land disputes to elite abuses to crimes of violence

– Indigenous laws did not always protect all citizens leading to major rights disputes

– Overall there was a serious inequality between natives and non-natives

Case Study: Guatemala • Some 40% of the population are of Maya ancestry

– Westernized Mayans and Ladinos (mixed European and indigenous ancestry)

– Ladinos dominate indigenous Guatemalans • 1960-1996 Guatemalan Civil War

– Led by middle class insurgents against the military takeover of state institutions

– Along with frustrations over human and civil rights– Many insurgents were Maya and tired of economic and social

discrimination• The Guerrilla Army of the Poor, the Revolutionary

Organization of Armed People, the Rebel Armed Forces and the Guatemalan Labor Party against the Leftist

• The Spanish Constitutional Court declared the war a genocide

• 1996 Peace Accords found that 90% of the human rights violations were attributed to the Guatemalan Military

– A vast majority were Maya Indians

Assessment/Focus Task

• Indigenous populations across the Americas have faced land redistribution, human rights violations and economic and social issues

• You are a member of Amnesty International and are writing an assessment of Indigenous rights in Canada, Latin America and the US– What are the similarities and differences in the

three areas?– What area seems to have a better record and

why?– Based on the limited amount if info what do you

think is the future for the indigenous populations in the three areas?

• Restoration of treaty making (ended by Congress in 1871). • Establishment of a treaty commission to make new treaties (with sovereign Native Nations). • Indian leaders to address Congress. • Review of treaty commitments and violations. • Unratified treaties to go before the Senate. • All Indians to be governed by treaty relations. • Relief for Native Nations for treaty rights violations. • Recognition of the right of Indians to interpret treaties. • Joint Congressional Committee to be formed on reconstruction of Indian relations. • Restoration of 110 million acres of land taken away from Native Nations by the United States. • Restoration of terminated rights. • Repeal of state jurisdiction on Native Nations. • Federal protection for offenses against Indians. • Abolishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. • Creation of a new office of Federal Indian Relations. • New office to remedy breakdown in the constitutionally prescribed relationships between the United States and

Native Nations. • Native Nations to be immune to commerce regulation, taxes, trade restrictions of states. • Indian religious freedom and cultural integrity protected. • Establishment of national Indian voting with local options; free national Indian organizations from governmental

controls • Reclaim and affirm health, housing, employment, economic development, and education for all Indian people

AIM-Claims put forth to the President in 1972

Primary Source Documents