NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Indians The First Nations The Native people (Indians) are the people who were the first inhabitants; they lead traditional way of life. In such a way, the concept of native people consists of two aspects. First of all we speak about indigenous, native-born people who lived at the territory from the very beginning. Americans have their special term that reflects this quality of the native people: First Nations. Actually, the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) organization determines the natives as follows: They are the descendants of the original inhabitants of North America. The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal people: Indians (now known as First Nations people), Metis and Inuit.
These are three distinct peoples with unique heritages, languages, cultural practices, and spiritual beliefs (Frequently Asked Questions About Aboriginal Peoples December 2003) Secondly, native people lead traditional indigenous way of life that is quite different from the modern. Besides, this aspect is one of the main conditions of preservation of ethno's as such. These two aspects determine peculiarities of legal regulation of status of the First Nations as well as criterion, which is used by the federal courts during court examinations regarding the rights of aborigines. The government undertakes obligations to preserve the natural environment and territories belonging to the natives as well as protecting their specific rights that are peculiar to aborigines. Excursus in History As every country in the world, America has its own peculiar features that attract attention and provide a powerful stimulus for interest to American history. The ancestors of native people of Northern America (Indians and Eskimos) left for America approximately 30 - 40 thousands years ago.
The archeologists have found the most ancient utensils made more than 25 thousand years ago at the Western part of Northern America (The territories of the U. S. and Southern Canada). More than one million of Indians lived at the continent till the beginning of European colonization.
According to archaeologists, 220 - 350 thousand of native people lived at the territory of future Canada. In the 16 - 17 th centuries there were several types of cultural-economic types of Aboriginal people. Settled Indian tribes (Tlinkita, Khaida, Cimshianas, Nuts, Quakutl, Selishes and Inuit) lived at the Western coast of the Pacific Ocean. They lived in big settlements, built wooden dwellings and totem columns.
Bison hunters (Indians Alkonkin Kri, Assinoboya, etc) lived in prairie. Forest hunters (Atapasks, Algonquin, and Selishes) lived in the Eastern and Northern Canadian forests. They hunted for fur-bearing animals and built wooden dwellings and canoe. Indian tribes, who settled down in the Great Lakes area, were mostly involved in agriculture. The Indian tribes were united into tribe leagues: Iroquois (consisted of Gurons, Mohawks, Senequa, Oneida, Onondaqua, Cayuga, and Tobacco), The Union of Gurons (four Indian tribes), the Neutral Union, etc. The Native people of Canada lived in villages and cultivated maize, beans and pumpkin.
The ancestors of Eskimos lived in the North of the country and formed an independent ethno-cultural community. The Indian Issues From the very beginning racial issues were explained by variety of reasons mainly based on religion. When Columbus first stepped at the land of the New World, he thought the land belonged to the India. Therefore, the natives were inferior, the second-chop people. Later the Holy Church announced that the Indians were descendants of Adam and Eva and should be put in Christianity in the same manner it was practiced in other pagan countries.
When the king signed New Laws, he understood that the law can be met with strong resistance in West-India. He needed strong people to embody the law into reality. Thats why Charles V offered Las Casas a bishop chair in Peru. Bartolome preferred Chiapas, because he had a good knowledge of language of area, located between Mexico and Guatemala. In the end of 1544 the bishop with group of Dominicans entered the New World (Baptiste 72). From the very beginning colonizers granted honors to new bishop, because they thought they will be able to get along with.
Soon Spaniards understand that compromise is impossible and Las Casas came to abolish the former regime. New Laws threatened to enquomedoro to lead a good life. It was the beginning of tragic story. The bishop seemed to fail. Intrigues, debates and claims became permanent companions of his life. He works hard and soon announces that he will not give absolution to colonizers who have Indian slaves.
Finally he realizes that he will not be able to win without support. In 1546 he leaves for Spain. Bartolome tries to put the ideas into the kings head that system of colonization is doomed to failure. In order to solve the problem, the government arranges a special meeting of theologists and lawyers. It doesnt bring any valuable results and Las Casas publishes work about the destruction of the Indians (Brevsima remain de la destruction de las Indias).
He presents evidences of crimes committees against Indians. Spaniards treated natives as they treated livestock. The Conquistadors were rude and cynical. They acted with the cross in their hands and insatiable thirst for gold in their hearts. Colonizers were trying to get cheap labor source; they threatened Indians with brutal punishments and forced them to work as slaves.
Conquistadors had the feeling of impunity and permissiveness. Passive resistance of Indians made Conquistadors to be crueler. Some people believed in possibility of peaceful colonization of Europeans and tried to draw distinctions between good and bad methods of colonization (Bakewell 114). Yet, the Indians were justly treated as slaves. It is easy to understand that the murders committed by Conquistadors were the direct threat to metropolitan interests. The Indian strong resistance to Conquista was a fair and righteous affair, because the colonization of Indian lands was a violent bloody usurpation.
Las Casas writes that inhabitants of all colonized lands have right to wage war against colonizers and to raze them to the ground. This will be their rights till the Justice Day (Las Casas 49). The historical documents witness the pseudo-missionary work of Spaniards who used brute force and made the pagans judge Jesus Christ as the cruelest God in the whole world. Christian religion is equal for all people in the world.
Christians shouldnt deprive people of personal freedom and property. The Christian religion (and Spaniards in particular, being the weapon of religion) shouldnt turn people into slaves with excuse that people can be slaves or free because of their origin. The removal of Indians it is a story of Conquista, full of gloomy facts of crimes, murders, violence and cruelty. Many historians stigmatize colonizers, because the closer we get acquainted with Indians, the more we understand that situation between the Spaniards and Indians was in a terrible plight (Las Casas 48). The God created Indians as ordinary naive people without any malignancy and insidiousness. The Indians are very obedient and devoted to their gods and Christians, whom they serve.
The native people are extremely patient, peaceful and virtuous. Some social and political leaders considered necessary to keep national traditions of Indians and power of their chiefs-classics. They understood they Europeans cannot judge the pagans as barbarians. Conquistadors were impressed by monuments made by local inhabitants: pyramids, statues and citadels. Olmecs, Aztecs, Maya and other people of continent belonged to highly-developed civilizations that were highly competitive with those of Ancient East or Medieval Europe. Even Diego de Landa, a person who strictly persecuted American natives, confirmed that Maya have long and significant history.
Does the removal of Indians concern race and racism? We need to admit that the main losses brought to decline of Indian population were directly caused not by conscious actions of Spain government but by actions of Spanish colonizers. Ignorance and cruelty of colonizers resulted in devastation of territories they could derive better benefit from and both with less economic losses and use of violence and brute force. Some leaders, as well as Bartolome de las Casas in their passionate accusation spoke about Christian mercy. They proposed more rational policy of colonization. For example, instead of treating Indians as livestock and shorten the period of their capacity for work by three-four years, Bartolome de las Casas proposed to create special colonies where the Indians could obey their ancient customs and traditions and work effectively.
Otherwise they would be wiped off the face of the earth. We can suppose that the common feature of policy of colonization was vicious mentality of colonizers. The king gave Spaniards free hands to do whatever they would consider as necessary. The Spaniards, in their turn, determined the future of Indians without any remorse. Some historians often resort to various semantic tricks to draw a veil over the genocide and racism during the epoque of colonization and use term ethno cide instead of genocide. In such a way they accentuate the destruction of culture and put the destruction of the Indians aside not to compromise the harmonious world history.
The gap between colonizers and Indians was sorely felt and colonizers made all conscious efforts to deepen this gap and draw clear-cut differences between the two nations: biological, religious, cultural and social-economic. The differences, in their turn, contributed to degradation: murders and violence in relation to Indians were held in honor. The victims had too little in common with Spaniards to be put in doubt concerning their right to kill. Racism was the fundamental principle of this genocide and contained more indifference and contempt than hatred. When I read Las Casas Much Abbreviated of the Destruction of the Indies, it made me to re-conceive the events of our past.
Really, the monstrous destruction of the Indies and further decline of population was a crime that yielded huge profit. The victims were deprived of their property, land, culture, belief, self-consciousness and ideology. Whatever character the destruction was, it was inevitable and final. The problem was solved first, last and all the time.
Slavery was the only alternative to this genocide. On the other hand, destruction of the Indies and murder brought more profit to Spaniards: one day the slave can demand freedom, whereas a dead man keeps silence. The policy of Spanish colonialism that was killing the Indians was easy to understand: the land without the natives is virgin and is ready for new inhabitants. This terrible chronicle of destruction can be easily associated with the Nazi regime, Stalin's policy of repressions and many other crimes of history.
Camus says the victims reached the final stage of tragedy people are bored with them. Victims, racism, crimes, murders, communal graves gradually become something we are used to. Legal experts and politics took into account dreadful lessons of world history: colonization, world wars, genocides They managed to put obstacles on the way of war preparation and foresaw sanctions for military crimes. They worked out the definition of military crimes and crimes against the mankind.
The definition of genocide should have been interpreted as the corner stone of this prophylactics. The Nature of Conflict Between the Whites and the Aboriginal People The conflict between the whites and First Nations is quite old. It evolved from the process of migrations of European nations to America and Canada, colonization of territories belonging to the native people and exclusion of the natives from their lands. During the last dozens of years the conflict between the whites and First Nations achieved the status of important social problem. Canadians consider land claims to be the fourth most serious issue facing Aboriginal Canadians, behind alcohol / drugs , discrimination and standard of living. (The Landscape Public Opinion on Aboriginal and Northern Issues) Many factors contributed to this process: increased public activity of political elites among the First Nations, the possession of information about analogical processes in other world countries, change in attitude to the native people from the side of governmental structures and ethnic groups, new approach of government institutions to liquidating conflicts between the whites and the aborigines under the influence of new concept of partner interrelations and standards f international law, etc.
American and Canada are the first countries that made attempts to regulate the status of First Nations at the constitutional level. Public relations with the aborigines are so important that Canadian Constitutional Act of 1982 includes a special article (II) regulating the rights of the First Nations. Canadian government also made several attempts to conclude agreements with the native people starting from 1867. Nevertheless, the rights of the Aboriginal people, their participation in work of Canadian government, the return of the territories belonging to the natives these are the main problems resulting in numerous conflicts between the whites and the Aboriginal people.
Returning the Territories: How is the Conflict Being Confronted? Department of Indian Affairs: Agreements 1 - 7 In 1880 the Canadian government created the Department of Indian Affairs to regulate the questions of relationships between the Indians and the whites. There are more than 11 Acts and Agreements that were concluded and renewed in result of negotiations between the government and the Aboriginal people. The Agreements 1 - 7 (they are registered in accordance with their ordinal numbers) were concluded within the period of 1871 - 1877 and were dedicated to regulation of land tenure at the territories of former company Hudson Bay (the biggest Canadian company during the period of colonization, that became rich because of furs trade) to the west from Upper lake till the Rocky mountains. These Agreements actually meant that the Native people forfeited their rights for available lands. Department of Indian Affairs: Agreements 8 - 11 The Agreements 8 - 11 concerned the northern territories of Canada.
The first negotiations were held during the period of 1899 - 1921. All these agreements determine mutual rights of the parties, including the right for education, hunting and fishery, reservations, annual cash disbursements by federal government as well as some fringe benefits and privileges of the native people that vary depending on specification of each agreement. Putting in Possession: James Bay and Northern Quebec (1975) The native people of Canada make all possible effort to return their native lands. However, the practice of solving land claims by legislative bodies is quite young. In 1974 the Indians, living at the coast of James Bay and Northern Quebec won putting in possession of their lands. Process of agreement is the most important method of regulating the relationships between the government and the native people of Canada.
Mechanisms Used by the Government to Regulate the Conflict The government creates various mechanisms of self-government of the Aboriginal people. These mechanisms include all kinds of agreements, mutual structures for usage of natural resources, special rights of administration of settlements, autonomous, special system of police structure (for example, the policemen have to know culture and traditions of the Indians to be allowed working in Indian reservations, etc), special policy of taxation, supervision instances that control fulfillment of agreements, to mention a few. Nunavut Territory (1999) The creation of Nunavut territory in 1999 within the limits of legal governmental approach for Inuit (Eskimos) people of Canada can be called one of the most important governmental decisions (Moss, n. p. ).
Gwich " in Agreement 1992: Northwestern Portion of the Northwest Territories and 1, 554 Square Kilometres of Land in the Yukon (Hurley, n. p. ) There are several agreements adopted recently. For example, in 1992 Gwich " in tribe that lives in delta of Mackenzie River got the rights for putting in possession of more than 16 thousands of sq. km. including the rights for bosom at the territory over 4 thousands of sq. km within the limits of North-West territories of Canada and more than 1. 5 thousands of sq.
km. of Yukon lands. The Aboriginal people obtained rights for hunting, fishery and agriculture. They got the guarantee of participation in the work of governmental and legislative bodies that regulate and control administrative decisions and maintain the wild-life conservation. Sahtu Dene (1994) Two years later another agreement came into force. It was concluded between the government of Canada, the Sahtu Dene and motives and stipulated putting in possession of 41. 5 sq.
km of Indian former lands including the rights for bosom at the territory of 1. 8 sq. km. The government decided to pay to Aboriginal communities 75 million dollars during 15 years. Dogrib Claim Treaty (1999) In 1999 Dogrib Claim Treaty was signed. According to this treaty, the Aboriginal communities received 39 sq. km.
in the valley of Mackenzie River. The Canadian government also was obliged to pay 90 million dollars of the income received from natural resources. Conclusion The conflict between Indians, being the First Nations and the whites is of very great importance. The removal of the Indians by Columbus and further decline of population is the tragedy no one can hide. We need to remember that the Indian conflict cost more than half a million lives. The Indian history can be treated as microcosm or small model of what is happening in the world.
Their history is tragic and unique. It is often associated with the experiences of other nations in the world. Bakewell, Peter. (1997). A History of Latin America. Oxford: Blackwell Baptiste, Victor N. (1990). Bartolome de las Casas and Thomas Mores Utopia: Connections and similarities.
Culver City: Labyrinth os CANADIAN PRESS / LEGER MARKETING. How Canadians View Aboriginal Rights. 507, place d Armes, bureau 700, Montreal (Quebec) H 2 Y 2 W 8. Retrieved November 6, 2005. < web > Hurley, M. (1999). Settling Land Claims. Law and Government Division/ Political and Social Affairs Division. Library of Parliament.
PRB 99 - 17 E Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. (2005). The Landscape Public Opinion on Aboriginal and Northern Issues. Retrieved November 6, 2005. < web > Las Casas, Bartolome de. (1999). Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Penguin Classics. 1 st edition Moss, W. (1991). Aboriginal Land Claims Issues.
Parliamentary Research Branch, Library of Parliament, Ottawa. BP- 237 E. Nunavut Fast Facts/Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Ottawa, 1999 Publications and Public Enquiries Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. (2004). Frequently Asked Questions About Aboriginal Peoples December 2003. Ottawa, ON K 1 A 0 H 4
Free research essays on topics related to: sq km, aboriginal peoples, indian tribes, frequently asked questions, las casas
Research essay sample on Frequently Asked Questions Las Casas
