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Six Nations Women Patriotic Leauge
While the Indigenous men left home to fight in the war, the Indigenous Women at the homefront contributed in their own ways by starting a charity organization called the Six Nations Women Patriotic League. They provided goods to soldiers in the war such as knitted clothes, money, and food. Their efforts raised thousands of dollars.
(Government of Canada, n.d., para. 17). -
Period: to
Indigenous communities 1914-1929
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Indigenous Units
During WW1, many Indigenous soldiers enlisted to fight even though they had language barriers. There were multiple attempts to create an all Indigenous-unit which were denied until 1915, when they were finally approved. There were two battalions created, The 114th battalion Brock’s Rangers and the 107th Timber Wolf Battalion.
(Government of Canada, n.d., para. 6). -
Francis Pegahmagabow
Francis Pegahmagabow was one of the most highly decorated Indigenous soldiers in Canada’s history. He was known for his deadly sniping skills. In 1916, he was awarded a Military Medal and later two bars for his contribution to the battles of Ypres (1915), Passchendaele(1917), Amiens(1918), and the Second Battle of Arras(1918).
(Koennecke, 2008, para. 12). -
Leauge of Indians
In 1918, Fred Loft formed the League of Indians, a political organization that was formed for the rights of Indigenous communities fighting for rights to better living conditions, equal treatment, lost reserve land, better economic and health conditions on reserve and getting rid of culturally destructive education. (Dyck Sadik, 2020, para. 5). -
Indian Act Amendment
In 1920, the Indian Act had a new amendment, where forced enfranchisement was allowed, giving the government power to remove the “Indian” status of indigenous people that they didn’t like. Enfranchisement gave them the right to vote but it also had them lose their identity and culture.
(The Canadian Encyclopedia, n.d., para. 15). -
Residential Schools
In 1920, residential schools officially became mandatory, causing children to be taken from their own homes and have their culture completely erased. The policy stated it was mandatory for First Nations children between the age of 7-16 to go to residential schools, also including the Metis and Inuit children.
(National Centre of truth and reconciliation, n.d., para. 2). -
Crammer Potlatch
In 1921, Chief Dan Cranmer hosted the largest Potlatch in British Columbian having over 300 people even though it was banned. This infuriated the government and police/agents arrested several of them, confiscated over 600 items, and issued an ultimatum to the community. (Noakes, 2023, para. 11-12). -
Story of a National Crime
In 1922, Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce, a former chief medical officer published his book: The Story of a National Crime, speaking of his time visiting the residential schools and the shockingly high mortality he witnessed due to tuberculosis. He fully criticized the residential schools with detailed facts, urging people to raise awareness.
(Morriseau, 2022, para. 3-4). -
Continuity and Change 1
The two events that were chosen to demonstrate Continuity and Change are the importance of Francis Pegahmagabow and the League of Indians. While Francis Pegahmagabow was a member of the League of Indians, he was still recognized as a great soldier before that and was fighting for indigenous rights. -
Continuity and Change 2
The impacts of Francis Pegahmagabow and the League of Indians still last to this day, with current Indigenous communities continuing to protest for land and rights, continuing to carry on the torch of the ones before them. The change is also positive, with the Indigenous Community being recognized as a great part of Canada and what it is today, with the government apologizing and trying to make things right. -
Continuity and Change 3
We now spread more awareness of the Indigenous Communities during class, we speak about the Land Acknowledgement, and we learn about the ones who fought against injustice. -
Cause and Consequence 1
The two events that were chosen to demonstrate Cause and Consequence are the new rules for Residential Schools in the 1920s and the Cranmer Potlatch of 1921. The government decided to make residential schools mandatory for ages 7-16, while they banned potlatch and confiscated many of the cultural items for the same cause: to assimilate Indigenous identity and culture. -
Cause and Consequence 2
The consequences still last today, with many children who are now adults or grandparents suffering with trauma from the residential school due to all the horrible abuse that they faced and indigenous communities who still haven’t gotten their cultural items back from the potlatch. Both of these events had horrible intentions in both cause and consequence, which made a lasting impact on the indigenous community’s identity.