[MUSIC] >> This lesson, Red Power, named for the political will and constitutional activism of Indigenous peoples, focuses on three main areas. The first segment shares foundational principles of four Indigenous political structures, a Kanien:keha'ka, the Nehiyawak, Haida and the Inuit. The second segment traces key Indigenous leaders and significant events in Indigenous peoples’ fight for political recognition. The last segment outlines Indigenous peoples’ ongoing struggle for political power, citizenship and authority amidst the Canadian state. Indigenous political systems in Canada are as unique as the communities that follow them. Each community has different historical and contemporary factors that influence how each group chooses to structure their political system. In 1996, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples identified these following influences: historical treaty and other relations; cultural characteristics; social organization; economic situation; political culture; philosophy and traditions of political organization; geographical features; territorial size and existing land base; degree of contiguity in territory; population size and concentration or distribution of population; and existing provincial and territorial boundaries. This lesson will focus on how Kanien:keha'ka, Haida, Nehiyawak and Inuit have chosen to politically structure themselves both historically and contemporarily. Commonly referred to as Mohawk, the Kanien:keha'ka people are the members of the Haudenosaunee or Six Nations Confederacy. The five other nations belonging to the confederacy are the Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora. The confederacy is guided by the oral political constitution known as the Great Law of Peace or Gayanashagowa. However, the historical underpinnings of the law have been written on Wampum Belts. Haudenosaunee means "people of the long house", and it reflects the fact that many different Nations have come together under one united roof. The guiding narrative of the Great Law of Peace exists in all the languages spoken by the member Nations. However, it's important to note that the governing principles of balancing law, society and nature each play an equal part among the Nations. It is also believed that the Great Law of Peace is one of the oldest democratic systems in the world. Kanien:keha'ka communities follow a clan system. A clan system is a group of families that join to create a community. And in the case of Kanien:keha’ka, those families follow a common kinship that's traced through the mother's side of the family. This is called a matrilineal clan system. The three clans found in every Kanien:keha'ka nation include the Bear, Turtle and Wolf Clan. Individuals from a specific clan are seen to be related even if they are not from the same group. For example, a Wolf Clan member of the Kanien:keha'ka and a Wolf Clan member of the Seneca nation are still considered relatives. The Gusweñta, or more commonly referred to as the Two Row Belt, is a Wampum that embodies the continuing relationship between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and European settlers. The Gusweñta relationship is visualized by the depiction of two parallel, but separate purple beaded lines that are laid upon a white beaded background. The equally sized purple lines symbolize two distinct nations that will respect each other's inherent freedom to move throughout their territories with the central premise being that neither nation will attempt to steer the other as they travel along their path. Another way to think about Gusweñta is to imagine two canoes paddling along the same river, but neither boat tries to guide the other. It's also important to note that while the three rows of white have come to symbolize the notions of friendship, peace and respect between two Nations, the Gusweñta Wampum in its entirety illustrates how two separate Nations are bound together in a long standing and continual relationship. The Haida Nation is located on the Northwest Coast of Canada, with traditional territories encompassing the archipelago of Haida Gwaii, parts of Southern Alaska and the surrounding bodies of water in the region. According to the Haida Nation, there are approximately 5,000 members of their Nation with about 3,500 living in the traditional territories. The Haida have a complex and distinct political system which incorporates a deep understanding of kinship and social hierarchy. Historically, the Haida did not follow a democratic system of government. Instead, the Haida determined who would be politically powerful in their community based on the social hierarchy and heredity. This hierarchy or heredity was almost always dependent on what clan the chief belonged to while the other members of the community social status was dependent on their relationship to the chief. The different class systems historically found in Haida clans included the lower class, the middle class and the elite class. Like that Kanien:keha'ka, the Haida also followed a natural linear clan system. Each person belongs to one of two clans. The Eagle Clan or the Raven Clan. Individuals often used elaborate decorative displays of their inherited crests carved into totem house poles, or war canoes, to represent which clan they belonged to. Haida people married from the opposite clan, meaning an Eagle can marry a Raven, but Ravens could not marry each other. The Haida chiefs were responsible for distributing wealth amongst their community. Those with a higher social rank received more than those from a lower social rank. As mentioned in an earlier lesson in this course, potlatches were one of the cultural celebrations that reinforced the social and economic organization and the distribution of wealth to individuals of the chief's clan. High-ranking members of other clans would be invited to the potlatch, so that the individual who was holding the potlatch could display their wealth and social ranking. The modern Haida Nation identifies itself as a separate political entity from both British Columbia and Canada. As a result of historical and contemporary resource extraction, specifically logging, the Haida have made attempts at gaining legal recognition for their lands. Through the formal judiciary structure, the Haida have challenged the Crown in asserting Aboriginal title to the entire archipelago of Haida Gwaii. The Haida have been successful in a number of significant court decisions and challenge the Crown on a Nation-to-Nation basis. These victories have resulted in a reduction of logging and an increase in Haida control over resources, and the associated revenues. The Haida Nation developed its own council and constitution, and electoral process. Their constitution proclaims that: any Haida individual over the age of 16 years can vote to elect representatives to the council or may propose legislation, or policies subject to a vote. The constitution developed by the Haida in 2010 draws from the traditional Haida governance structures and acknowledges the roles and responsibilities of both village councils, and the long-standing matrilineal descended hereditary chief system. Incorporating traditional governance configurations into a modern constitution reveals that the Haida recognize the importance of culture in moving forward as a people. The constitution of the Haida Nation is worth a closer look. Their constitution begins with a purposeful assertion that connects the Haida to the land and the seas. >> The Haida Nation is the rightful heir to Haida Gwaii. Our culture is born of respect and intimacy with the land, and sea, and the air around us. Like the forests, the roots of our people are intertwined such that the greatest troubles cannot overcome us. We owe our existence to Haida Gwaii. The living generation accepts the responsibility to insure that our heritage is passed on to following generations. On these islands our ancestors lived and died and here too, we will make our homes until called away to join them in the great beyond. [MUSIC] The collective Haida rights are: (a) the Haida Nation collectively holds Hereditary and Aboriginal Title and Rights to Haida Territories, (b) the Haida Nation collectively holds Cultural and Intellectual property rights of the Haida Nation and will protect the integrity of same. Three Haida constitutional individual rights are: (a) every Haida Citizen has a right of access to all Haida Gwaii resources for cultural reasons, and for food, or commerce consistent with the Laws of Nature as reflected in the Laws of the Haida Nation. (d) every Haida Citizen has the right of conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression, association and privacy. And (g) No Natural born Haida Citizen can have their Citizenship taken from them. [MUSIC] >> [SINGING] My name is Damian Abrahams. I'm from Haida Gwaii and my clan is the Ts'aahl Laanas Clan and my crest is the Double-Headed Eagle. The Double-Headed Eagle Clan is the subcrest of the Eagle Clan. We have two main clans, two main crests where we're from, the Ravens and the Eagles. As a member of our clan, our responsibility is varying depending on the situation. At a funeral, if an Eagle passes away, then it would the Raven’s responsibility to take care of all of the arrangements and it's the Eagles time to mourn. We believe that everything is connected to everything else. A lot of the animals in our area, we believe are spiritual beings. The killer whales, for example, they come to take the soul. So when one shows up in the inlet, then we're all kind of on edge. I took part in Idle No More, because a lot of the things that are coming from the federal government as far as pipelines and oil tankers go are going to directly affect Haida Gwaii and my ancestors fought hard to protect our land and our water. So it's my responsibility to take that on, as well. >> The Nehiyawak people's traditional territory extends from Alberta to Quebec and is one of the largest geographic distributions of a First Nations group in Canada. That being said, Nehiyawak peoples can be broken into three environmentally and linguistically distinct groups: Plains, Swampy and, Woods Nehiyawak. Historically, Nehiyawak groups organize themselves into small mobile bands during the winter. In the summer months, these bands would gather into larger groups. Individuals of these groups would considered to be more socially and politically equal. People tried to show respect for each other by an ideal ethic of non-interference; a concept that each individual was responsible for his or her actions and the consequences of those actions. Although the ideal of Nehiyawak groups was to be egalitarian and communal, some people were considered to be more powerful within their group. This could be due to their performance in hunting or warfare activities, or due to spiritual powers. Leaders who showed skill in specific activities would be granted the authority to lead activities and direct tasks. One of the major political goals of contemporary Nehiyawak communities is to establish a self-governing body. In the northern areas of Quebec and around James Bay, Nehiyawak people have developed the Grand Council of Crees or Eeyou Istchee. The Grand Council of Crees represents approximately 18,000 members with the Grand Chief acting in a leadership role. The Grand Council has developed a declaration of their rights as Nehiyawak people. The declaration includes such rights as the development of natural resources, their inherent right to self determination and traditional principles of sustainable development. The Inuit peoples come from Canada's far North. Inuit communities were generally small bands consisting of multiple families that would hunt together in the winter and separate in the summer months. Alliances were created between certain families that were not always necessarily blood related. Like the Nehiyawak, the Inuit chose their community leaders based on that individual’s superior skills, such as hunting, warfare, oratory skills or spiritual gifts. Warring conflict between Inuit communities was rare and many lived in peaceful coexistence. Self-restraint and sharing, or nigiqtuq, were valued traits in their culture. This concept of peaceful existence can be attributed to the Inuit's tradition of treating everything with equal respect and maintaining harmonious relationships. Because of the harsh weather and the geographic isolation of the Inuit, their communities depended on each other to survive. And therefore, sharing became, and still is, one of the foundations of Inuit society. Modern Inuit peoples of Canada identify their political system as being one of self-determination and self-government rather than being one single nation. This does not mean that Inuit communities do not have a sense of national identity. The Inuit people of Labrador won the right to self-government in 2004 after settling a land claim agreement with the Newfoundland and Labrador governments. The settlement area consists of over 72,520 square kilometres of land in Northern Labrador. This area includes the five major Inuit communities of Nain, Hopedale, Rigolet, Makkovik and, Postville. The Nunatsiavut government came into power as a result of the agreement and is now able to pass laws concerning education, health and cultural affairs. In the North, Inuit peoples have negotiated comprehensive land claims, or modern treaties with the Canadian government. As you can see on this map, the settlement areas of the Inuit claims are very extensive. These agreements include land and marine waters and pertain to regions in which land rights had not previously been negotiated through historical treaties. [MUSIC]
