Upstanders
Being an upstander is aiding the side that is intrinsically correct when they are being suppressed. It is advocating for rights and laws that are violated. It is a choice that affects the society that you want to shape.
Throughout the years, there were multiple upstanders who voiced their concerns through protests, organizations or violence. While many of these protests did not result in direct policy changes, it promoted future revolts which did lead to change.
For example, in 1980, there was a large-scale peaceful protest called the Constitution Express. A group of a group of activists led by George Manuel, president of the Union of British Columbia’s Indian Chiefs, used two trains in Vancouver to carry one-thousand people to Ottawa to publicize concerns that Aboriginal rights would be abolished in the proposed Canadian Constitution. This large-scale protest did not change the government's proposal, however when the international community took notice of the Indigenous protests, the Canadian government agreed to recognize Aboriginal rights within the Constitution. Section 35 now recognizes and affirms Aboriginal title and treaty rights.
Other Examples of Upstanders for the Indigenous community in Canada.
1689 - 1,500 Haudenosaunee revolted against the city of Lachine, in Quebec because they considered the French a threat to their security and territory.
1763 - The Pontiac’s Resistance tried to resist European occupation by attacking the English settlers and soldiers in the lower Great Lakes region.
1850 - First Nations and Metis people attacked the Mica Bay Company’s mining installations near lake superior in protest for a dispute in mining rights and resource allocation in the area.
1864 - A trail was formed in the Bella Coola Valley through Tsilhqot'in territory, to protest, the Tsilhqot'in killed several workers on the trail. Six Tsilhqot'in were eventually tried and executed for these killings.
1869 - To prevent the transfer of Rupert’s land to the Canadian government, a group of people from the Red River settlement went to Upper Fort Garry to prevent the transfer of the land. Louis Riel, the leader of the resistance, was hanged for treason, and Cree chiefs Mistahimaskwa and Pitikwahanapiwiyinwere imprisoned.
1885 - The North west Rebellion was a Metis and First Nation uprising in fear of western development and settlement.
1906 - Chief Joe Capilano of the Squamish Nation met King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra to discuss Indigenous land rights. The meeting was unsuccessful however Capilano still continued to lobby and organize for Indigenous rights in Vancouver.
1918 - The League of Indians is formed to advocate for Indigenous rights. It’s effectiveness was hindered by government harassment, police surveillance, and disagreement among Indigenous groups, however it helped form a base for Indigenous political organizing in the future
1922 - Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce publishes The Story of a National Crime. It exposed the Canadian government’s suppression of information on the health and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.
1968 - The Voice of Alberta Native Women's Society was founded by Indigenous activists to advocate for women’s Indian Statuses, which led to Bill C-31. This activist group would evolve into the Native Women's Association of Canada.
1969 - In response to the White Paper, Chief Harold Cardinal wrote the Red Paper and it forced the government to withdraw their proposal after the Red Paper gained support from Indigenous organizations.
1971 - The Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, later renamed Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, is formed as a national organization advocating for self-government, social, economic, environmental, health, and political welfare, and preservation of language and history for the Inuit in Canada.
1980 - The War in the Woods was a large-scale protest by the Tla-o-qui-aht and environmentalists where they fought to protect forests and important watersheds from loggers in Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia. It led to 1000 people being arrested. To this day there are still people advocating to end the privatization of British Columbia’s forests.
To protest the lack of Indigenous representation in the new constitution, a group of activists led by George Manuel, president of the Union of British Columbia’s Indian Chiefs, used two trains in Vancouver to carry one thousand people to Ottawa to publicize concerns that Aboriginal rights would be abolished in the proposed Canadian Constitution. This large-scale protest did not change the government's proposal, however when the international community took notice of the Indigenous protests, the Canadian government agreed to recognize Aboriginal rights within the Constitution. Section 35 recognizes and affirms Aboriginal title and treaty rights.
1982 - The Assembly of First Nations is formed as a branch of the National Indian Brotherhood. They aim to promote the interests of First Nations in the realm of self-government, respect for treaty rights, education, health, land, and resources.
1990 - A golf course in Oka, Montreal threatened to expand onto Mohawk land. In protest, Mohawk protesters blocked the land in a two month siege that resulted in 2 casualties. They eventually surrendered and the golf course was expanded.
Phil Fontaine, Head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, speaks out against residential schools and the abuse he personally suffered at Fort Alexander Residential School.
1992 - The Inuit advocate for the creation of Nunavut and to have some autonomy. In 1999, Nunavut was an official province after the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was signed.
1995 - As a protest over fishing rights in the area near Douglas Lake Ranch, members of the Upper Nicola First Nations Band made a blockade. They agreed to end the two week long protest to speak to the British Columbian government.
The Gustafsen Lake Standoff in British Columbia, was a month-long conflict between a group of First Nations and a local rancher over land rights because the First Nations believed the land was sacred. Eventually the Royal Canadian Mounted Police became involved and the First Nations surrendered. Police charged 14 First Nations people and four non-Indigenous supporters with a total of 60 offences. A trial in the summer of 1996 also presented that the RCMP had engaged in a campaign of deliberate media disinformation to create a divide between the Indenous communities and Canadian settlements. Ultimately, 21 convictions were held against 15 people.
2010 - Four women start Idle No More as a national movement for Indigenous rights and advocating for self-determination.
2019 - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had to arrest 14 protestors because they were blocking the way of construction for the British Columbian pipeline protest.
2020 - An indigenous woman, Joyce Echaquan, was admitted to the hospital in Quebec for stomach pains where the hospital staff was racially and verbally abusive. They also gave her a high dosage of morphine despite her allergies to the substance. Joyce Echaquan began streaming her experience on Facebook and sparked an online response as well as protests. Systemic racism against the Indigenous community is thought to have led to her death.
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