Is the Indian Act against Indians?

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Nujignua’tegeg met with Dr. Palmater. Here is an extract of the interview. The full interview will be available on our YouTube channel.

Nujignua’tegeg:  Have we – and if we did – when did we lose control of Membership Codes?

Pamela Palmater: Under the Indian act, all First Nations have had their Indian status registration of individuals and their band membership controlled by the Federal Government since the Indian act in 1876. But for tens of thousands of years long, pre-Indian Act, we were always in control of our own citizenship and what it was to be a Mi’gmaq, and who got to live in which of the Mi’gmagi districts. That was never controlled by the Federal Government so we have a long history of controlling our own citizenship, but that got interfered with by the Indian Act.

Nuji:  What is the Canada’s ideology in deciding who is or is not an Indian.

P.P: The whole purpose of the Indian Act in setting up a registration system was for the express purpose of eliminating Indians over time. They designed a formula, literally to breed Indians out of existence. Their two policy objectives are to take all of our lands and resources, but also to reduce any financial obligations that come out of Treaty commitments.  Canada associates Treaty beneficiaries with registered Indians and they figured the best way to get rid of Treaties: get rid of Indians, then they have no beneficiaries.

Nuji: What smallpox and contaminated blankets failed to do, eliminate us, do you think mathematics could do it?

P.P: That’s the thing. They only had two ways of trying to get rid of us. Physically eliminate us, scalping, sterilizations and smallpox blankets or assimilate us over time — residential schools, take away your language and culture, make you hate yourselves so that you don’t want to be a part of your community, and Indian status is the final nail in the coffin, essentially. It’s for all of those who managed to survive. The idea is to legislate them out of existence, and because of the Indian Act there is an extinction date for each First Nations where there will be no more status Indians. We will all still be here, we are the fastest baby-makers in Canada, our populations are growing, but for legal and political recognition and whether or not were allowed to identify with our communities, occupy territories have Aboriginal Treaty and Rights recognized…that will be significantly impacted by the Indian Act, if we let it continue.

Nuji: What actions are we taking now to prevent this.

P.P: There’s all of the provisions under the Indian Act that deal with status and registration there all under litigation so there each sections being challenged by a different group of individuals because of discrimination. A large number of First Nations are moving towards developing their own Membership Codes either inside the Indian Act or outside the of the Indian Act just based on their own inherent laws or through self government or similar mechanisms to take away government control and then the next step is to renegotiate the relationship based on who we say our members are.

Nuji: Why do you think it`s important to have theses conversations of membership and identity.

P.P: Because in the past the federal government interfered with our communal processes our traditional governments. Our governments were based on the will of the people. It was the people who put the leaders in place and told the leaders what to do and what not to do. We always worked towards consensus on things. Coming up with our own code is bringing it back to the people and letting the people decide, letting the people undo the harms that have been done, through colonization and the Indian Act and letting the people decide how can we go forward and heal our communities and our nation. It's critically important that we at least start having the conversations and based on whatever information, research and experiences other First Nations have had so we can learn from it.

UNB held its second annual Pow Wow. (Photo: Lucy Peter-Paul)

University opens doors to Mi’gmaq Culture

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As part of the many ongoing attempts to incorporate Mi’gmaq and First Nation’s culture, the University of New Brunswick held it’s second annual Pow Wow on April 6. Natasha Martin-Mitchell, from Listuguj, was one of the committee members. “Everything worked out the way we had hoped,” she said. “We had great attendance, it looked like everyone had a great time.”

The live stream also turned out to be a hit. People from all over logged in to see the ceremonies. Others from Listuguj, like Craig Isaac, danced.

Craig Isaac is known for his spirited dances. He was one of the Listuguj Mi'gmaq to support the UNB cultural event, one of the few winter Pow Wows in the province. (Photo: Lucy Peter-Paul)

Craig Isaac is known for his spirited dances. He was one of the Listuguj Mi’gmaq to support the UNB cultural event, one of the few winter Pow Wows in the province. (Photo: Lucy Peter-Paul)

The Pow Wow, and all the other First Nation’s driven initiatives are coming out of the Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre. As the director, and former Chief of Tobique First Nation, David Perley and his wife Imelda Perley – the Elder in Residence -have been working to make the University more inclusive.

“Everything that we’re doing here is based on a vision that’s been formulated in consultation with the elders of First Nations communities, and First Nation education directors, and so on,” said David Perley.

Perley said there are three main components to what they’re trying to achieve at the university. (Read about them online in the full story on news.listuguj.ca) For the Project Coordinator of the Pow Wow, Starlit Simon of Elsipogtog First Nation, the recent changes have been “refreshing.”

“Now it’s kind of like everyone is so interested,” she said. “Everybody wants to know, they want to know more about our history, more about our culture.”

For Martin-Mitchell, these trends and the diversity of people who attended the Pow Wow is directly meeting the goal.  “That’s what we wanted,” she said. “Sharing our culture with other nations, right.”

Martin-Mitchell and her husband Brandon Mitchell — also from Listuguj — are both graduating on May 19th from the Bachelor of Integrated Studies Program, but will remain a volunteer at the MWC.

DAVID PERLEY

For David Perley, it’s good to be surrounded by people who support what he’s trying to do. As the Director of the Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre, he has been helping develop initiatives around the University. He says there are three main components.

1st Component

“Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqey worldviews, histories, philosophies, knowledge bases, traditions, and contributions will flourish within UNB grounds. Either within the curriculum, or of course, UNB in general”

2nd Component

“I’m a strong believer that when our Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqey graduates leave here, they should also have a strong cultural foundation.

So having an education doesn’t mean you have to abandon your identity. What we want to do here is reinforce that identity, so that students know they have something to be proud of — that could be Mi’gmaq identity, or that could be the Wolastoqey identity. But when they leave here, they will have that strong cultural foundation. So when I see  our graduates walking across the that stage to get their diplomas and degrees, then I know that student has a strong cultural foundation. ”

3rd Component

“We have to ensure that our faculty members – doesn’t matter which faculty it is – they should know something about Mi’gmaq Wolastoqey histories, traditions, worldviews, contributions, and knowledge bases, and so on.

They should have some knowledge about that. So what we want to do is educate them on those aspects of Mi’gmaq/Wolastoqey societies and ensure that they, hopefully, have a better understanding of Mi’gmaq/Wolastoqey societies.

As a matter of fact, one of the initiatives that we’re now planning is cultural immersion for faculty members. So I’m hoping that sometime this late spring, or summer, we’ll have at least one week with them, and then they’ll be immersed in the culture of our ancestors.

I would like for the faculty members to know at least the greetings in Mi’gmaq and Wolastoqey languages. So we’ll have Mi’gmaq or Wolastoqey elders who will come and teach them about the greetings in their languages.

Another one would be to ensure that they also take part in ceremonies. As I mentioned to my colleagues, I keep on saying that it’s nice to read about those ceremonies, but what’s more important is for you to take part in those ceremonies, so this way you have a deeper understanding, because when you read something, it gives you a superficial understanding of the ceremony, but if you take part then it has a whole new meaning.”