Image courtesy Jay Soule.
Jay Soule helps Canadians remember what the historical figures on our currency stand for. Soule’s voice bubble stickers quote Sir Wilfrid Laurier in parliament, in 1886: “It is moral for Canada to take lands from ‘Savage Nations’ so long as they are paid adequate compensation” and John A. Macdonald: “We are doing all we can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense.” Soule invites us to re-examine the meaning of Crown land with a sticker for Queen Elizabeth II which states, “I own 82% of the landmass in Canada (Crown Land) 0.2% of Crown Land has been set aside for the use of Indians”.
Historical Thinking Questions
Check out the links provided below to answer the following questions:
Canada’s Subjugation of the Plain’s Cree by Tobias (p. 195)
The White Paper (description), 1969 (Note Trudeau’s response to the rejection of the White Paper)
The Hawthorne Report, 1966 (Read p. 164-165)
Running Water Human Rights Watch
Education funding The bravery and the tragedy of Shannen Koostachin
1. How has the Canadian government used money throughout history, since the time of John A. Macdonald’s administration until today, to try to assimilate Indigenous populations?
We Were Children (appropriate for secondary level students) teaching guide
John A. Macdonald was the real architect of residential schools
1907 – The Bryce Report on Health Conditions in Residential Schools
Canada discriminates against children on reserves, tribunal rules
2. Explain how John A. Macdonald set a pattern of systemic poverty and deaths for First Nation children that continues today. (Historical Significance, Continuity & Change)
Global News (watch video) Statue debate Monuments aren’t Museums
3. How can the historical implications of a name create an unsafe learning environment? (Historical Significance)
Crown Title A Legal Lie by Sharon Venne (p. 14 – 17)
Why you should avoid using “Crown Lands” in First Nation consultation
4. Explain the misconception Canadians have been led to believe about the meaning of “Crown land”. How was this misconception supported for so long in Canadian society? Why might this misconception no longer be generally accepted by Canadians today? (Historical Perspective)
Recommended Reading
A National Crime by John S. Milloy