A History of Colonial Impacts on Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island
As we learn by engaging in the Land acknowledgement, the Indigenous nations that lived on Turtle Island prior to European colonialism have long and complex, international political histories. As competing powers sought control of the lands and resources of the “new world”, relationships with local Indigenous people took many forms, including in some cases, alliance, following local Indigenous protocols of treaty-making.
As the Dutch, British, French, and eventually American colonists battled for lands and resources, these relationships shifted over time in relation to the utility of Indigenous allies to the European powers. As Indigenous homelands were lost and nations suffered great decline due to warfare, disease, and targeted removal, colonies turned their focus to the establishment of settler colonies.
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A timeline of Indigenous Peoples provides a comprehensive overview of key events and developments in Indigenous history in what is now Canada, from Time Immemorial to present.
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In British North America, New France, and Canada after 1867, Residential Schools became a key tool of settler colonialism, and this system continues to have traumatic effects inter-generationally. It is important to understand that the impact is not only there due to intergenerational trauma from systems such as residential schools and the 60’s scoop* but because settler colonization is a structure not an event.
After the Confederation of Canada, all previous colonial agreements that related to Indigenous peoples across the provinces, including treaties and legislation were consolidated into the Indian Act – which defines the relationship between First Nations (but not Métis, nor Inuit peoples) and the Federal Government as separate and distinct from any other groups in Canada. This act of legislation that is still in place today governs all aspects of life in Canada for First Nations peoples, including creating and maintaining the reserve system.
The Indian Act states that governmental relations with First Nations people is enacted only through the elected chief system, which was imposed in order to disempower traditional governance structures.
*The term Sixties Scoop refers to the mass removal of Aboriginal children from their families into the child welfare system, in most cases without the consent of their families or bands (Indigenous Foundations).
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Learn more about the cumulative impacts of corporate colonialism in the Yellowhead Institute’s Cash Back Fact Sheet and The Indian Trust Fund: Debunking Myths & Misconceptions.
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Understanding the relationships between the Federal and Provincial government and Indigenous peoples is key to understanding how colonialism operates across this important area.
The World Health Organization defines Social Determinants of Health as:
“the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems.”
These social determinants can be more important than health care or lifestyle choices in influencing health, accounting for between 30-55% of health outcomes.
Indigenous peoples in Canada are over-represented in the negative across many of the identified determinants, each of which intersect with on-going colonialism and discrimination, resulting in poorer health outcomes, and short lives for Indigenous people. Understanding the relationships between the Federal and Provincial government and Indigenous peoples is key to understanding how colonialism operates across this important area. It is imperative that healthcare providers understand this historic relationship, and its contemporary manifestations (The Failure of Federal Indigenous Healthcare Policy in Canada).
The pandemic had significant social, economic and health impacts on Indigenous people, with Indigenous participants reporting worsened overall health and in particular mental health. Hahmann and Kumar (2022) provide an overview of how Indigenous people’s health care was impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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As an educator, it’s important to consider how social determinants of health affect students in terms of health and well-being while at university and the impact this may have on their learning experience.
Refer to How Can I Advance Accessible Education? for ideas on how to create a more inclusive learning environment.