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World War I - 1914
Canada didn't have an official policy for the recruitment of Aboriginals. "They were originally discouraged to be enlisted in the war, they were turned down by some and accepted by others. Due to high death rates led to the need for more troops which made the new policy regarding the recruitment of Aboriginals. -
1914
About one third of First Nations people in Canada ages 18-45 enlisted during the war. Aboriginal soldiers served in units with the other Canadians, during the First World War, thousands of Aboriginal people voluntarily enlisted in the Canadian military. While the exact enlistment number is unknown, it is estimated that well over 4,000 Aboriginal people served in the Canadian forces during the conflict. -
Aboriginal Women's Contributions
The first Aboriginal women's patriotic organization was the Six Nations Women's Patriotic League was formed in Ohtario. These hard working women contribute to the war effort by providing soldiers with comforting items Socks, sweaters, mufflers, bandages. Collected clothing, money that was fundraised by selling crafts, hand baskets, beadwork, and food which was sent overseas to soldiers. -
Phase 1 (1914 - 1915)
WWI recruitment and volunteerism of Indigenous soldiers breaks down into 3 phases. Phase 1 from August 1914 to December 1915 the army unofficially accepted Indigenous soldiers. They allowed them to enlist but did not actively recruit them -
Phase 2 (1915-1916)
In the second phase form December 1915 to December 1916 the Canadian government and the Department of Indian Affairs relaxed restrictions against Indigenous volunteers as casualties grew for the Canadian Expeditionary Force after deadly battles like the Second Battle of Ypres (1915) and the Battle of Somme (1916) -
Phase 3 (1917-1918)
The third phase took place from 1917 to the end of the war. In this phase the Indigenous volunteers were officially encouraged as voluntary enlistment dried up across Canada and the Prime minister Robert Borden decided to institute conscription (mandatory military service) -
Phase 3 (1917-1918)
The Military Service Act (MSA) passed by Parliament in August 1917, initially included Status Indians and Métis men between the ages of 20 and 45. At that time, “Status Indians” were First Nations peoples with official Indian status registered with the Department of Indian Affairs. -
Fredrick Loft Forms the League of Indians
First World War veteran, a Mohawk man of the Six Nations of the grand river and founder of "The League of Indians". "Frederick Loft found out they had common grievances over land rights, hunting rights and poor quality education as Indigenous people" (APTN News 0:19-22 ). Frederick advocated for Indigenous people across Canada, fighting for them to be treated fairly and equally. This gave hope to Indigenous communities and people to be able to advocate for themselves and forge a better future. -
Residential schools
Residential schools mandatory in the 1920's, for every Indian child to attend the residential schools and illegal to attend other educational institutions” (Roberts, John p.1). Children were removed from families, not able to acknowledge their heritage, culture and own languages. They were treated very poorly, when they broke a rule they would be harmfully abused. The residential schools had a major contribution to a great decrease in Aboriginal culture. -
Voting Rights to Indigenous people
Indigenous veterans finally got rights to vote in 1920s but only if they gave up their first nations states. Even though more than 7,000 indigenous people fought in the first war they still didn’t have rights or recognition for what they contributed to. The native soldiers where also denied veterans benefits when they returned even though many won medals for good deeds. -
The Indian Act (Section 141)
In the 1920s, Aboriginal political organizing became large and groups began to pursue land claims. Because of this the Federal government added Section 141. It outlawed hiring of lawyers and legal counsel by Indians, effectively barring Aboriginal people from fighting for their rights through the legal system. However this did not stop them, organizations like Native brotherhood and Nisga'a Land continue to fight for their rights. -
The Story of A National Crime by Dr. P.H. Bryce
The Story of a National Crime was put out by Dr. P.H. Bryce who is the chief medical officer in Canada's department of the Canada department with focused on the interior and Indian affairs. he argued that residential schools and Indian hospitals ignore the health protocol that is in the and that is in violation of treaty pleasures. -
Indian Church
The indian church was made in 1929 by Emily carr while she was travelling. This is considered Emily carr’s most important painting having the dark forest engulfing the little white church. By making the church windowless and with no features symbols the structure to be both inhabitable and monolithic. the trees boughs over the church and then sweep up forcefully at the bottom showing how unlikely the to religions are together.