The Metis people were not white, so there was not a chance they would be recognized as a “third founding nation” of Canada. Two white countries struggled for the Dominion of Canada and the British won; but they did allow the French to retain much of their nationalism since they were powerful, civilized, and white. To think that the government ever considered the Metis requests for recognition of being a unique people and nation is not realistic due to the racism of the colonizers. Canada was much too racist and ethnocentric to consider these “half breeds” worthy.
The white immigrants to Canada were deemed civil and acceptable and those with dark skin were considered “…unsuited to the climate or requirements of Canada (section 38). Immigration from outside Northern Europe was actively discouraged until the middle of the twentieth century.” Chinese people were only welcome if they could pay a head tax that “…was levied on Chinese immigrants in 1885, 1900, 1903, and culminating in the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, commonly called the Chinese Exclusion Act.” Exclusion policies included preventing Indians from India to enter Canada and this “…led to the Komagata Maru incident in 1914, where a boat with over three hundred Indian citizens (all British subjects) was turned away from Vancouver, after sitting in the harbour for three months, and forced to sail to India.”
I am sure Asian countries did not easily assimilate white people either. There were and still are huge cultural differences between people in the world. As we globalize, Canadians accept diversity more, but we have been a racist country from the start. Canadians enjoy a reputation that says “we” are kind and accommodating–and we may not realize that early colonization of this country was clearly from the perspective that whites were superior people. Superior enough that they moved right into settled land and claimed it for their own. History shows “the discourse of race is colonialist, racist, and capitalist. Also obscured in critical race scholarship is how the contemporary colonization of indigenous peoples could and should inform an analysis and politics of “race,” racism, and empire” (3 Race Racism and Empire).
When the Hudson’s Bay Company discontinued in Metis territory, the government of Canada sent surveyors to divide the land. The government started surveying and dividing land that the Metis people had already sectioned. The Metis people opposed this takeover, “But the government did not feel justified in discontinuing its system of surveying, because the ignorant Half-Breeds were unable to comprehend its scientific and practical value” (Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1, March 1887).
Riel did get some response from the Canadian government when he spoke for the Metis, but there was not a chance he would ever secure a nation in itself. Riel was not fully Metis nor Indian, but most importantly, he was not fully white and therefore not a significant “Canadian.” He did get some positive action from the Canadian government, like scrips and patents re-distributed. In Saskatchewan, the government observed that many of the Metis were taking scrip instead of patent, then would sell their scrip for cheap, or some Metis were double dipping because they had already received scrip in Manitoba–so the government just stopped awarding scrip to them. There was not a great deal of respect for the Metis people–The Hudson’s Bay Company had used them to strengthen their business–not because they saw them as equals.
History proves over and over that at the root of everything is material and power. Canada has become less racist but we are certainly not innocent of racism and the “contemporary colonization of indigenous peoples could and should inform an analysis and politics of “race,” racism, and empire” (Empire) The Metis did not stand a chance becoming a nation of Canada.
It took Canada a long time to welcome people with out white skin. Canada changed their policies only when it meant improved economics or power:
“The end of the nineteenth century saw a wave of immigration after the completion of the CPR. The government saw a need to populate the prairies, especially the land near the railway line. They offered land grants of 120 acres each for suitable immigrants, including British, Scandinavian, Icelandic, Doukhobor, Mennonite, and Ukrainian farmers, among other groups (including those fleeing persecution before and during the Russian Revolution of 1917)”
Extra Notes Below…
All from peer reviewed and scholarly sites.
Must edit bibliography.
Further, new immigrants from non-English or French speaking cultures were also expected to assimilate to the ideal of white (British) civility.
As a result of the construction of the white British settler as the ideal Canadian, early racialized settlers and later immigrants were seen as less worthy, and therefore less Canadian. The word immigrant can carry a negative charge when it is applied to some incomers and not others. An account of a speech given by Louis Riel in 1884 comments that
Assimilation was sought through legislation such as the Immigration Act of 1910 that
Political Science Quarterly
Race, Racism, and Empire: An Introduciton
Nice post, Kim. I like how you bring material and power into your argument. There is just one point that I do not agree with you on. I do not think that Canada is a very accommodating place to immigrants who are not Caucasian even to this day. There are studies that show that people without a Caucasian last name are less likely to get interviews based on their resumes, even if the resumes are well written and the people are well qualified. This has made employment more difficult for non-Caucasian immigrants. It has also ghettoized communities such as those who immigrated from India, Iran, and China to some extent. Meanwhile Canadian policies about the ideals of multiculturalism were made more to disguise bilingualism than to be accommodating to immigrants and indigenous peoples.
Hi Sarah,
Immigration to Canada is more lenient than it was in 1885, and many different ethnicities have taken up residence in Canada. Vancouver is a strong example–in some areas white people are minorities. Colour is less important than it used to be–many people have figured out we are all the human race. What makes us Canadian? The Indigenous story must be incorporated in our immigration policies. I wonder if immigrants are educated about how this country began? Cheers, Kim
Hi Kim,
I found your post very powerful even with just your first sentence. “The Metis people were not white, so there was not a chance they would be recognized as a “third founding nation” of Canada.” That about sums up. Being Eurocentric (ethnocentric with a focus on believing European culture is best above all others) was happening not just in Canada but around the world. It is what much of slavery is based on although the Europeans were not the first to embrace it, it dates back thousands of years. In Ethnic Relations, an Anthropology/Sociology, it is theorized that the notion of race began about 5000 years ago during the Bronze age when states were beginning to form. It is rather incredible to learn about in detail, of which most I couldn’t recall even if I tried but learning it all was rather “mind-blowing” as the notion of “The Other” is unfortunately nothing new to humanity.
Although I would certainly agree that by no means is Canada racism free, it certainly is improving. The work place at Vancouver General Hospital is made up of people from all over the world and I find it rather incredible. They are many non-white individuals working there including from the Philippines, China, various parts of Africa, the Caribbean and South America. I love learning about the differences in our cultures given my anthropology background. A few of these people lived in the states before moving to Canada and all agree, even though Canada isn’t perfect, it is certainly better than other places in terms of the amount of racism they have to face day-to-day.
Colleen
Thank you for your comment, Colleen.
Hello Kim,
It was a pleasure reading your blog post which attributed the failure of the Metis requesting sovereignty to colonial racism characterised by White civility. It struck me as interesting that the ways in which the White immigrants treated immigrants from other countries such as China and Indian and in turn the ways in which they were treated in Asian countries were ingeniously juxtaposed in your work. It reminded me of the first envoy of Britain to China in 1792 led by George Macartney who was known for his refusal to Kowton, that is kneeling and bowing, in the presence of the Chinese Emperor and as a result failed to accomplish the task of opening trade with China. Around that time (1757-1842), Canton, my hometown, was the only port for trading with the West and all the foreign businessmen could only stay in one designated area near the seaport and were not allowed into town. Nevertheless, China has come to be more and more open to immigrants from around the world as Canada becoming more accommodated to cultural diversities. One of the reasons, ironically though, is likely to be the ?material? or ?capitalist? motivation to improving ?economics or power?, as indicated in your essay. Like the Great Chinese Famine of 1958?1962 that led to the opening-up policy in 1978; and the project of Canadian Pacific railway that prompted English Canada to accept non-White labour immigrants.
Although you recognised that Canada has become less racist, you seemed to suggest there is still more deracialising effort to be made when arguing ?how the contemporary colonization of Indigenous peoples could and should inform an analysis and politics of ?race,? racism, and empire? seemed ?obscured in critical race scholarship?. I was just wondering if you could elaborate on your critique in the inadequate academic attention to the Canadian colonization history in relation to Indigenous peoples. Hopefully your insights would illuminate the research gaps or the future direction of Canadian or Indigenous studies.
Regards,
Patrick
Thank you for your response. Very cool: your information about Canton and trading. We need to educate our immigrants and Canadian people (especially in school) about our Canadian story. I think Canadians are under-educated about Indigenous people and their stories in this country.