First Nations must be fully integrated into Canadian society
First Nations must be accepted as neighbours and full citizens
Former judge John Reilly says whatever the cost of integrating First Nations into Canada it is cheap rent for half a continent.
By John Reilly, Calgary Herald
Re: “Aboriginals have no claim to sovereignty,” Barry Cooper, Opinion, Jan. 23.
Barry Cooper’s assertion that aboriginals have no claim to sovereignty seems to ignore the royal proclamation of 1763. George III proclaimed the rights of aboriginal people and prohibited the acquisition of Indian land without the intervention of the Crown. This was one of the reasons for the American Revolution in 1776. Our neighbours to the south wanted to be free to acquire First Nations lands by force. They gained that right by armed rebellion and the establishment of their sovereignty.
I am happy that I was not involved with what they did with it. What is now Canada remained under English rule and subject to English law, including the royal proclamation. Canada’s current status as a sovereign nation includes the Constitution that preserves those aboriginal rights. The divergent development of the two countries led to war in 1812.
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In that war, First Nations were our allies. They were in fact independent nations, and they were accepted as such. That is the basis of the 19th century treaties.
The nation-to-nation relationship deteriorated after Confederation. The specious intent of the Canadian government is clearly recorded in Hansard (the record of the House of Commons). Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, promised the House that the First Nations people would be assimilated into Canadian society so completely that it would be as if “the tribal society never existed.”
While he was making this genocidal declaration in Ottawa, David Laird, lieutenant-governor of the North West Territories, and Col. James Macleod were telling Crowfoot that if he would sign the treaty, his way of life would be preserved “as long as the grasses grow and the rivers flow.”
The need to obtain the agreement of the native people declined as the white population grew and the native population declined. Aboriginal relations devolved on the civil servants in the Department of Indian Affairs. The period of colonialism that ensued did immeasurable harm to the social structure of native people.
Residential schools destroyed the First Nations family structure. The schools are gone, but little has been done to rebuild the social structure. Corrupt tribal governments are no worse than the autocratic Indian agents that they replaced.
In more than 30 years that I sat as a judge, I dealt with more aboriginal accused than any other group. I spent those years trying to understand why they were so overrepresented in the criminal justice system. My conclusion was that it was because their communities were made so dysfunctional by the evils of colonialism.
To those who say they are not responsible for what was done to the First Nations people, I say – we are still enjoying what was taken from them, we should take responsibility for what was done to them.
Our goal should be to have the aboriginal people become an integral part of Canadian society. Integration is much different than assimilation. Assimilation said they had no right to be themselves. Integration would welcome them as they are. If it costs billions of dollars to do this, it is cheap rent on a half a continent, and a small price for a healthy society.
John Reilly is a retired Alberta provincial court judge who lives in Canmore. He is the author of the bestselling book Bad Medicine, a judge’s struggle for justice in a First Nations community.
Category: Opinion
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Bravo, Judge Reilly! I can see you are man of justice and wisdom, and I look forward to reading your book. You may know my own: “Honoring the Medicine” (Random House).