259 years of promises made and promises broken to Canada’s First Peoples
Welcome to Indigenous Watchdog
Indigenous Watchdog, a federally registered non-profit, is committed to keeping the reconciliation dialogue open, honest and focused on what is happening across the country. By curating details from multiple sources – government stakeholders as well as local and national media, research reports, studies, white papers, statistics, budgets – Indigenous Watchdog will deliver relevant, current information to raise awareness on Indigenous issues through an Indigenous lens.
Where are we today? Click on any of the Status Updates below to see the current status of each: what % are Complete, Not Started, Stalled or In Progress. Explore the site for as much detail as you want. The deeper you go the more details you will find including over 2000 embedded links to take you to the original source material.
Start with clicking “Learn More” below to go directly to the Calls to Action landing page: a single page view to the status of all 94 Calls to Action with links to dive deeper into any Indigenous issue you wish to explore.
Be informed. Speak up. Take action. Only then will reconciliation happen.
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Stalled
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Featured Updates
Site last updated on June 30, 2022
Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation
Tŝilhqot’in Nation Condemns Destructive B.C. Moose Harvest Allocation
Williams Lake, B.C.: The Tŝilhqot’in Nation is condemning the B.C. government’s destructive moose harvest allocation for the Chilcotin Region in recent days and expressing its……
June 30, 2022
Treaties and Land Claims
‘They beat us into submission’: West Moberly’s decades-long fight against Site C dam is over
West Moberly First Nations reluctantly signed a settlement seven years into construction on the beleaguered hydroelectric project on the Peace River in northeastern B.C. The……
June 28, 2022
Health (18-24)
Reproductive control of Indigenous women continues around the world, say survivors and researchers
Survivors of forced sterilization and coerced contraception from Canada, Peru and Indonesia will meet with researchers to share stories, heal and advocate for change. University……
June 27, 2022
Justice (25-42)
MPs study resource extraction and violence against Indigenous women
CabinRadio: The Standing Committee on the Status of Women, made up of Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic MPs, announced the study in April in response……
June 27, 2022
Call to Action # 41
‘Piecemeal’ government action has worsened discrimination in the Indian Act: Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples.
Senate of Canada: Ottawa – First Nations women and their descendants are still being denied status because of ongoing discrimination in the Indian Act, according to a……
June 27, 2022
Treaties and Land Claims
Lheidli T’enneh declare they are the rights and title holders of their lands
APTN: On Indigenous Peoples Day, the Lheidli T’enneh Nation announced that it, and it alone are the rights and title holders of their lands. The nation also……
June 24, 2022
Justice (25-42)
Six First Nations chiefs call for end to New Brunswick commission on systemic racism
Global News: The six chiefs of New Brunswick’s Wolastoqey Nation are calling on Premier Blaine Higgs to scrap his commission on systemic racism. In a……
June 24, 2022
Call to Action # 18
Southern Chiefs’ Organization developing Agreement-in-Principle with Manitoba and Canada to form First Nation health authority
ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — After two years of battling the COVID-19 global pandemic that disproportionately impacted southern First Nations, a holistic, trauma-informed Anishinaabe……
June 24, 2022
Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation
Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement Act receives Royal Assent
OTTAWA (June 24, 2022) – Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe extends congratulations to the five (5) First Nations that have ratified the Anishinabek Nation Governance……
June 24, 2022
Treaties and Land Claims
Robinson-Huron Superior treaty annuity payments appeal heading to Supreme Court
Supreme Court to hear Ontario case on treaty payments to Anishinaabe APTN: The Supreme Court of Canada says it will hear a legal battle over……
June 23, 2022
Government commitments
What governments say and what they do can be radically different. This section states at a macro-level what specific actions and commitments each level of government – federal, provincial and territory – has made towards reconciliation with each Indigenous group: First Nations, Metis and Inuit.
Clicking “Explore All” takes you the Government Commitments to Reconciliation landing page where you will find the Current Reality, Current Problems and additional Background Information
First Nations
What have federal, provincial and territory governments committed to the 634 First Nations – off and on reserve?
Métis
What have federal, provincial and territory governments committed to the Métis communities?
Inuit
What have federal, provincial and territory governments committed to the Inuit across their territories in Inuit Nunangat
Why is Indigenous “Reconciliation” necessary?
King George III issued the Royal Proclamation in 1763 – 259 years ago. The Proclamation “explicitly stated that Aboriginal title has existed and continues to exist, and that all land would be considered Aboriginal land until ceded by treaty”1. In 1764, the Treaty of Niagara, attended by over 2000 Indigenous leaders ratified the Proclamation and established a new alliance between the British and Indigenous people who used their traditional way of representing treaties – the wampum belt.
The belt consists of two rows of purple wampum beads on a white background. Three rows of white beads symbolizing peace, friendship, and respect separate the two purple rows. The two purple rows symbolize two paths or two vessels travelling down the same river. One row symbolizes the Haudenosaunee people with their law and customs, while the other row symbolizes European laws and customs. As nations move together side-by-side on the River of Life, they are to avoid overlapping or interfering with one another.
It was understood by the Haudenosaunee that the Two Row agreement would last forever, that is, “as long as the grass is green, as long as the water flows downhill, and as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.2”
Breaking the treaty didn’t take long. The colonial government determined that in order to secure the land for future settlement and development, the Indigenous population needed to be moved onto reserves where they could be more easily controlled, marginalized and kept out of the way. The Indian Act of 18764 institutionalized Canada’s racist policies by denying to Indigenous people the basic rights that were available to every other Canadian like:
- the right to vote: granted in 1960
- the right to practice their religion: denied until 1940
- the right to speak their own languages: late 1880s to early 1960s
- permission from Indian agent to leave reserve: 1885 to 1951
- the right to wear traditional regalia: 1906-1951
- the right to organize political organizations: 1927-1951
- the right to hire a lawyer: 1927-1951
Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982 Section 35 recognizes and affirms Aboriginal title. The biggest challenge facing Indigenous peoples is the continuous refusal of the federal, provincial and territory governments to recognize and acknowledge this fact.
Notes:
- indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca
- “A short introduction to the Two Row Wampum”. Briar Patch.Tom Keefer. March 10, 2014
- Two Row Wampum Belt – Gä•sweñta’ image above courtesy of Onondaga Nation, N.Y.
- “21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act”. Bob Joseph. Indigenous Relations Press. 2018
1763
Royal Proclamation of 1763 – The Indian “Magna Carta”
The Royal Proclamation gave ownership of North America to King George but also explicitly affirmed that Aboriginal title existed and continued to exist. The proclamation also defined how Aboriginal land would be protected by treaty
1764
Treaty of Niagara
In July and August 1764, Sir William Johnson representing the Crown, along with approximately 2,000 Indigenous leaders, representing approximately 24 First Nations, met at Niagara to discuss an “alliance with the English.” The Treaty established Indigenous sovereignty over their lands. The federal government which doesn’t recognize the treaty, disagrees.
1867
The British North America Act, 1867
Founding act that created Canada and transferred all authority for Indians to the federal government who began their assimilation policies designed to eliminate Indigenous culture, language, spirituality and legal traditions primarily through the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes to attend residential schools
1876
The Indian Act
The Indian Act was enacted to control virtually every aspect of an Indigenous person’s life and its restrictive and oppressive policies and laws were amended over time to squelch any sign of Indigenous resistance or challenge to the authority of the federal government
1963
The Hawthorne Report: A Survey of the Contemporary Indians of Canada: Economic, Political, Educational Needs and Policies. Volumes 1 and 2
Conclusion was that Aboriginal peoples were Canada’s most disadvantaged and marginalized population. They were “citizens minus.” Hawthorn attributed this to years of failed government policy, particularly the residential school system which left students unprepared for participation in the contemporary economy
1969
The White Paper; Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian policy
Proposed ending the special legal relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian state and dismantling the Indian Act. Many Aboriginal peoples viewed the new policy statement as the culmination of Canada’s long-standing goal to assimilate Indians into mainstream Canadian society
1983
Penner Report
Recommended the implementation of Indian self-government and the phasing out of programs of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development relating to Indian people over a period of five years
1996
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
The five-volume landmark document outlined 440 recommendations on Indigenous governance, nation rebuilding, lands and resources, treaties, economic development, and social policy, and called for the renewal of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and all orders of government in Canada. Few of the recommendations were implemented.
2005
Kelowna Accord
A negotiated agreement between all stakeholder groups – Indigenous, Federal, Provincial and Territory governments with specific measurements, timelines and budgets to “Close the Gap” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. Never implemented by Prime Minister Harper after winning the 2006 election
2015
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
One of the recommendations from the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People, the TRC issued 94 Calls to Action directed at all levels of government and a broad cross-section of society to finally address the historical and contemporary wrongs inflicted on Indigenous people by successive government policies and institutional racism and discrimination. As of April 4, 2022 11 of the 94 Calls to Action have been completed (8 of them by the federal government)
About Indigenous Watchdog
Indigenus Watchdog is a federally registered non-profit created to monitor and report on critical Indigenous issues including the 94 Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. Our mission is to raise awareness and educate all Canadians on how reconciliation is advancing – or not.
And if not – why?
Featured Content
This space links to the “Perspectives” post for the latest “Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action Status Updates” on the Indigenous Watchdog site. “Perspectives” contains all the Indigenous Watchdog commentary on selected Indigenous issues current at the time of posting
Perspectives Posts
This space links to the “Perspectives” post for the latest “Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action Status Updates” on the Indigenous Watchdog site. “Perspectives” contains all the Indigenous Watchdog commentary on selected Indigenous issues current at the time of posting
See all blog postsTRC Calls To Action Status: May 13, 2022
Continue readingThe National Post dishonours the thousands of missing children in unmarked graves with their biased and distorted views
In the space of one week on the anniversary of the discovery of 200 unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School on May 27, 2021 the National Post published two articles: May 26, 2022: “The year of the graves: How the world’s media got it wrong on residential school graves“. Terry Glavin May 30,
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