Aboriginal

Pre-dating to the early 15th century, when contact with European settlers was originally established, Indigenous peoples have been required to succumb to settler – colonization in an attempt to be integrated into mainstream culture. The initial purpose of colonialism was to be used as a tool to gain access to resources not otherwise available. As colonialism evolved, it has become a method by which foreign populations move into unfamiliar territories, and attempt to remove the colonized group from the currently occupied space.

Similar to other marginalized groups affected by colonialism due to the government in power, the Indigenous peoples of Canada have struggled as a nation due to the unequal treatment they have encountered in the past. The governing bodies that control these Indigenous communities have continued to have colonialistic tendencies that attempt to put the ‘white man’s’ needs before the Indigenous peoples.

Colonialism is not the only factor in the oppression of the rights and freedoms of the Indigenous peoples. It is also the bills and laws that have or attempted to have been passed by the government of Canada; effectively removing Indigenous communities from their deserved lands, in an attempt to further advance the non – Indigenous populations development in Canada.

This paper will critically discuss the oppression the Indigenous peoples of Canada have experienced through examining the loss of socio – economic stability and environmental spaces due to past and present actions of the Canadian government.

In 2005, an intergovernmental agreement between the Liberal government of Canada and the leaders of the national Aboriginal organizations was initiated. The treaty was known to be the Kelowna Accord. The ob...

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...rosion occurring throughout the prairies. The town of Ste. Madeleine, populated by a small number of Metis families, was designated to be a pastureland, according to the PFRA. In accordance with the law, any family living in the occupied land would be compensated and relocated assuming they had the necessary land permits and taxes paid. Due to the economic conditions in the 1930’s, very few families located in Ste. Madeleine met these requirements. This resulted in their relocated and dispossession of land and property while other non – Indigenous farmers were given their land. Ste. Madeleine was a situation where Metis framers were forced off their land, with minimal compensation, to provide land for Euro Canadian farmers. This occurrence can be examined as another example of the Canadian policy of oppression, assimilation, and dispersal of its Indigenous peoples.