Before Reading

1. Have students work in small groups to create a mind map for the term ‘colonialism’. Encourage them to
consider the following questions while working on their map:

• What is the meaning of this word?

• What are (were) some motivations for colonialism?

• What examples of colonialism can students suggest?

2. Invite groups to share their mind maps with the class, noting similarities and differences while creating a
‘master’ mind map on the board/overhead/white board.

3. Engage students in a class discussion based on the following questions, adding students responses to the
class mind map:

• What might be some impacts of colonialism? Generate a list as a class. (For example: environmental
destruction, spread of disease, civil wars/unrest, poverty, economic instability, human rights violations,
etc.)

• What is the opposite of colonialism?

4. Finally, have students respond in writing to the following: If you were the new British Monarch, what actions
would you take as Queen or King in light of what you know about colonialism and its impacts? Explain.

18 Building Bridges 2022/2023: Level 2, Issue 2

 Canada’s Colonial History
The land that is now Canada
has been home to Indigenous
Peoples since time
immemorial.

Before contact, each First

Nation had its own wide-
ranging territory, laws, and
government. Then, in the
1500s, European Kings
and Queens began sending
colonists to North America
to live on First Nations lands.
Why? To expand their empires.

These monarchs did not have

the consent of Indigenous
Peoples. However, they felt
legally and morally justified
in taking over sovereign
Indigenous land because of
the Doctrine of Discovery.

This set of beliefs, first

communicated by the Pope
in 1493, stated that Christian
explorers could lay claim
to territories uninhabited
by Christians because
non-Christians were not
considered to be human. Their
land, therefore, was empty
of people, or “terra nullius”,
and their culture and ways of
knowing were seen as inferior
to European civilization.

In the 1700s, European

continent, with help from some When the fighting ended in
nations fought against each other
First Nations in key battles. 1763, the British government
in North America. Eventually,
issued a Royal Proclamation. It
Britain took control of most of the
stated that the British Crown had

Definitions
First Nation: Indigenous Peoples in Canada excluding Inuit and Métis
Indigenous Peoples: First Peoples. In Canada, the term includes First Nations, Inuit, and Métis.
sovereign: describing a nation that rules itself
time immemorial: used to refer to a point of time in the past that was so long ago that people have no
knowledge or memory of it

19 Building Bridges 2022/2023: Level 2, Issue 2

 ownership over North America. Many Chiefs were opposed to the Nations that their land would be
At the same time, it recognized treaty terms, and to the idea of taken over outright.
that First Nations had Aboriginal another nation governing them
title to their traditional lands. and applying its own laws. Yet Canada became a nation in
This Aboriginal title could often, Indigenous leaders felt 1867, and in 1876, the federal
only be extinguished through they had no choice but to sign the government brought in the
negotiated treaties. treaties. Indian Act. This legislation
dismantled traditional systems
In all, between 1701 and 1923, Many First Nations had been of Indigenous governance. It
the colonial government and First weakened by diseases such replaced them with external
Nations signed 56 land treaties. as smallpox that had been government control on
In most cases, the treaties forced introduced by the Europeans – in Indigenous Peoples and
First Nations to relocate onto many cases, deliberately. Some communities with the aim
small areas of reserve lands, were facing starvation after of assimilating them into
usually in less desirable areas that having their access to hunting and non-Indigenous society.
often lacked natural resources. gathering grounds restricted, or in
Sometimes they also received some cases, of having their food With their land gone, and now
payments, farming equipment, sources intentionally destroyed. no rights, Indigenous Peoples’
some hunting and fishing rights, Meanwhile, surveyors were whole way of life changed. It
and promises of goods or services, staking out land in preparation for became impossible for First
such as a school or medicine. The future telegraph lines, railroads, Nations to independently look
treaties did not give First Nations and settler homesteads. That after and support themselves and
any share in the value of the created fear among some First their communities. They were
resources that they gave up. forced to become dependent on
government assistance.

Colonial policies and practices

After Confederation, other an Indigenous person to leave although they could apply to
policies further undermined the reserve, even for a short do so through a process called
Indigenous institutions and social period of time. The pass system ‘enfranchisement’. According
organization. was supposed to be a short-term to an article on the Elections BC
measure during the North West website, “The Indian Act viewed
From 1885 until the 1940s, the Rebellion, but it lasted more than Indians as wards of the state,
federal government confined a half century. incapable of managing their
Indigenous Peoples to their own affairs.”
reserves using a pass system. Also, between 1876 and 1920,
Unless they had permission from Indigenous people did not have In 1920, the Indian Act was
an Indian agent, it was illegal for the right to vote in Canada, amended to allow the government

Definitions
assimilate: to absorb a culturally distinct group into the mainstream culture
extinguish: to put an end to
Indian Act: a Canadian federal law through which the federal government administers Indian status, local First
Nations governments, and the management of reserve land and communal monies
Indian agent: the Canadian government’s representative on First Nations reserves from the 1870s until
the 1960s
North West Rebellion: a rebellion by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First
Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of Saskatchewan against the government of Canada in 1885
reserve lands: under the Indian Act, an Indian Reserve is land held by the Crown “for the use and benefit of the
respective bands for which they were set apart” under treaties or other agreements

20 Building Bridges 2022/2023: Level 2, Issue 2

 to select certain Indigenous men However, it wasn’t until 1960 that enable all Indigenous people to
and allow them the right to vote. the law was changed again to cast a ballot.

Residential Schools and the Sixties Scoop

Residential Schools are a integrate Indigenous children into Separately, the Sixties Scoop,
particularly dark part of Canada’s mainstream Canadian society. which took place between the
colonial history. They played a very 1960s and the 1980s, was the
significant role in the destruction The schools were crowded, mass removal of Indigenous
of Indigenous communities, unsanitary, and cold. Many children from their families
families, and culture. students were bullied and abused, by the child welfare system.
physically, emotionally, and Some 20,000 children were
For over a century, between 1861 sometimes sexually, by those who apprehended by social services
and 1996, more than 150,000 were supposed to care for them. and placed in foster care or
Indigenous children were taken They were also severely punished adopted into other families where
from their homes and sent if they spoke their Indigenous they were raised outside of their
to one of 140 government- languages. Thousands of children culture. Most of the time, the
funded, church-run Indian died at the schools. apprehensions and placements
Residential Schools. The goal occurred without the consent of
was to educate, convert, and the family.

Legacies of colonialism
There’s no doubt that the last not raised in their own homes “And once in detention,
500 years of political, social, never learned how to be caring Indigenous people face another
economic, and cultural attacks and responsible parents to their set of systemic inequities:
created great turmoil within children. Indigenous offenders are
Indigenous communities. more likely to be sent to
As a result, the Indigenous maximum-security facilities
Residential Schools and the population in Canada has high and are disproportionately
Sixties Scoop, in particular, left poverty rates and unemployment. the recipients of harm, both
many Indigenous people without It suffers higher levels of poor self-induced and in incidents
a sense of Identity and with deep health, higher mortality rates, involving ‘use of force’, reported
psychological and emotional higher rates of accidental death, The Guardian in 2020. “They are
scars. Indigenous children who and dramatically higher rates also much more likely to be placed
were raised in environments of suicide. in solitary confinement.”
where they and their ancestors
were not valued were traumatized It also has a much higher rate
and left questioning their of incarceration. In Canadian
own worth. prisons, Indigenous inmates
account for about 30 percent of
The ripple effect of this trauma the prison population, despite
has impacted not just the accounting for just five percent of
students themselves but also the overall population.
subsequent generations.
Indigenous youth who were

Definitions
incarceration: the state of being imprisoned
inequities: injustice by virtue of being unfair

21 Building Bridges 2022/2023: Level 2, Issue 2

 Conclusion
Some Indigenous leaders say that and determined to heal and
when we speak of Residential move forward.
School trauma, and the other
legacies of colonization, that we Still, there is no denying the many
should also note the resilience of negative impacts of colonization,
Indigenous Peoples. The people initiated hundreds of years
and cultures were badly damaged ago by European monarchs, on
by years of historical injustice, Indigenous Peoples in Canada –
but they continue to exist. Many and the need to continue to work
Survivors are strong, courageous, towards repairing this broken
relationship today.

Definitions
resilience: the ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change

22 Building Bridges 2022/2023: Level 2, Issue 2

 After Reading
A. Discussion
1. What was the overarching intent of the Doctrine of Discovery?

2. What assumptions did the European monarchs and colonists likely make about Indigenous people when
they took over and settled on Indigenous land?

3. What impacts did the terms of the land treaties signed between 1701-1923 have on First Nations?

4. Although many Chiefs were opposed to the treaty terms, they signed these documents. Why?

5. What immediate consequences did the Indian Act have on the way of life of Indigenous Peoples?

6. After Confederation, what colonial policies further undermined Indigenous institutions and social
organizations? In what ways?

7. What was the main role of Residential Schools? How was this aim enacted?

8. What impacts do you suppose the Sixties Scoop likely had on Indigenous children, their families, and the
foster and adoptive families?

9. How has your understanding of the legacies of colonization deepened as a result of reading this article? How
has your understanding of the importance of reconciliation deepened?

10. In what ways, over the past 500 years, have Indigenous Peoples demonstrated resilience?

B. Exploration and Reflection

In the following activity, students will examine the consequences of colonialism for Indigenous Peoples (how
it impacted their way of life and well-being). Then, they will consider how understanding the impact can help
ensure that Indigenous Peoples experience a more just and equitable future.

1. Distribute to each student a copy of Consider the Consequences of Colonialism (p. 24). Divide the class
into 8 small groups. Assign each group one of the pieces of legislation listed on the organizer. Have groups
brainstorm the consequences of this legislation for Indigenous Peoples–how did it impact their way of
life and/or their economic, social, cultural, emotional/mental well-being? Ask groups to record these
consequences on chart paper, referring to the article, as needed, for specific examples. Facilitate group
shares.

2. Depending on your class, you may wish to have groups use a coding system (initials/symbols/colour-
coding) to further delineate consequences, such as:

• immediate (happened right away) or long-term (happened over a long time);

• expected (can be predicted) or unexpected (are surprising);

• positive or negative;

• specific (affects one area of life/well-being) or widespread (affects many areas of life/well-being).

3. Finally, encourage students to individually reflect on how understanding the consequences of colonial
legislation will ensure, moving forward, that new legislation results in a more just and equitable future.
Direct their attention to the bottom of their organizers.

23 Building Bridges 2022/2023: Level 2, Issue 2

 Consider the Consequences of Colonialism
Legislation Consequences for Indigenous Peoples

Doctrine of
Discovery (1493)

Royal
Proclamation
(1763)

Numbered
Treaties
(1701-1923)

Indian Act (1867)

The Pass System

(1885-1940s)

Enfranchisement
(1876-1996)

Residential
Schools
(1861-1996)

Sixties Scoop
(1960s-1980s)

Final Reflection:
How does understanding the consequences of Canada’s colonial history on Indigenous Peoples help to ensure
a future that is more positive, just, and equal?

24 Building Bridges 2022/2023: Level 2, Issue 2