There is a diverse range of ethnic groups in Canada, though many of their histories have not been included in traditional education systems. Since that is the case, many people—including those belonging to such ethnic groups—are unaware of journey that their ancestors went through to make it and survive in Canada (unless of course they were taught). Because of this lack of information surrounding the immigration patterns of certain ethnic groups, many of us have become unaware of why certain systems in Canada exist and work the way they do.
To clear up some confusion and provide a better understanding of why certain ethnic groups are struggling, this unit will go through the history of some of the major ethnic groups in Canada that are often ignored. Please keep in mind that this is just an overview of the history of these groups and is not extensive. There will be opportunities throughout this unit to do your own research into these ethnic groups to learn more about them.
Indigenous Peoples
The Indigenous Peoples of Canada have been living on the land for thousands of years. The Indigenous community is comprised of the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Peoples.
First Nations
The First Nations peoples are comprised of “617 different communities” of which about 400 existed before Europeans came to the Americas (Facing History & Ourselves). These communities are spread across the 6 following geographical regions:
- Eastern Canada – Woodland First Nations
- Southern Canada – Iroquoian First Nations (a.k.a. Haudenosaunee)
- Prairies – Plains First Nations
- Canada’s inlands – Plateau First Nations
- Pacific Coast First Nations
- First Nations of the Mackenzie and Yukon River Basins
It is important to note that even within these regions “there is a richness and diversity of identity, culture, and customs, although the communities share…similar characteristics, languages, stories, and outlooks” (Facing History & Ourselves).
Inuit
Inuit “refers…to the Artic indigenous population” (Facing History & Ourselves). These are people who live in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. The word “Inuit” means “people,” and the language they speak is Inuktitut, “though there are regional dialects that are known by slightly different names.” Currently the Inuit communities in “Canada live in the Nunangat—loosely defined as ‘Inuit homeland,” a land that is divided into 4 regions (Facing History & Ourselves).
Métis
The word “Métis” is a term that does not completely encompass the “large and diverse group” that it represents (Facing History & Ourselves). “Métis,” which is a French word means “mixed.” “The terms describes descendants of both Europeans and First nations people” (Facing History & Ourselves). If we were to be nitpicky, the term technically only refers to “the descendants of First Nations people and French settlers and merchants who settled along the Red River in Manitoba” (Facing History & Ourselves). “The history of the Métis reflects the intermingling of the French and First Nations ways of life” (Facing History & Ourselves). As time passed, the people from this community created their own distinct traditions from the First Nations and European Canadians, thus creating a new thread of Indigenous peoples, the Métis.
Relations with the Europeans
You have probably heard the term “Indians” used to describe Indigenous people. It is offensive to call an Indigenous person and Indian because of how inaccurate it is and how it came into existence. When Christopher Columbus and the other explorers came to the Americas, they believed that they were in India, which is why they called the Indigenous people “Indians.” This was the first act of colonization, misnaming of a land that didn’t belong to them.
Before coming to the Americas, the Europeans filled their brains up with the stereotypes associated with the ethnic groups they had never encountered. They viewed these people—like Asians, Africans, and Americans—as “barbaric” and “uncivilized” (Facing History & Ourselves).
After viewing the Indigenous lifestyle for a while, the Europeans’ opinions of them became dangerous. A French priest named Louis Hennepin said:
The Indians trouble themselves very little with our civilities…Men and women
hide only their private parts…They eat in a snuffling way and puffing like animals…In fine, they put not restraint on their actions, and follow simply the animals. (Facing History & Ourselves)
Reflection
What words/statements stick out to you in this excerpt? Why? Do they concern you? Are they odd? What about them makes you feel that way? Are the Indigenous peoples viewed in a nice light here? How is this way of thinking dangerous?
Colonization of the Indigenous Populations
The beginning of the colonization of the Indigenous peoples began after the fur “trade began to collapse” (Facing History & Ourselves). Tension between the Europeans and Indigenous people arose after “the war and conquest of the French territories by the British in 1763” (Facing History & Ourselves). To mend and preserve the relationship between the Indigenous Peoples and British, King George III acknowledged the “pre-existing rights of First nations to their lands, and…also recognized the First Peoples as nations” (Facing History & Ourselves). The Royal Proclamation made by the king laid the foundations for the following treaties that would be “signed between the First Peoples and the British Crown.”
Between the 1830s and 1840s, the Europeans created laws that were meant to manage the “populations whom they came into contact” (Facing History & Ourselves). The way they “managed” these populations was by creating reserves that those people were forced to live on so they could acquire their land. Other strategies they used to control the Indigenous people was by killing their food source (the bison), introducing diseases like measles, smallpox, and influenza, and blatantly murdering them in cold blood. When Christopher Columbus arrived, there had been “more than 100 million indigenous people in the Americas;” at the end of the 19th century, “90 to 99% of them were gone.”
Laws Regarding Indigenous Peoples
The Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869, that eventually merged into the Indian Act in 1876, were laws that “aimed to gradually transform First Nations [people]…into Canadian citizens, provided that they give up all their ties to their native heritage,” and learn the ways of the Euro-Canadians (Facing History & Ourselves).
From there, the government banned all forms of indigenous culture, which included dress, dance, events, and language. The Euro-Canadians completely disregarded the fact that the “First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people had traditions, histories, and teaching systems,” different but not worse from their own “that reflected their experience and directed their lives” (Facing History & Ourselves). The way history and information were shared in their communities was by the Elders who would share “stories to instruct the youth, or to warn them against harmful actions, and infused their emerging language with layers of meaning and references from their history and experience.” Their way of education was very verbal and did not focus on writing, like the European educations system.
Industrial and Residential Schools
To “assist” with the assimilation of the Indigenous population, the government introduced residential and industrial schools that would help Indigenous children learn the ways of the Europeans in a government-controlled environment that was approved in 1879.
Nicholas Flood Davin, who was commissioned by Sir John A. McDonald to travel to Washington DC to determine how the United States “dealt” with the Indigenous peoples, proposed the idea of these schools. His belief was that “if indigenous children and youth were separated from their families and educated in the European tradition, they would abandon their traditional values, customs, and lifestyles,” and that “when the students returned home, they would bring these Western ways to the other community members” (Facing History & Ourselves).
Since residential schools did not come into effect until 1883, Canada got help from church denominations which led church initiatives which the government provided grants for.
Definition of Industrial Schools
“The industrial schools were to focus more on rudimentary farming skills and trades. Those were not boarding schools, although the students often lived in a separate building on site that served as a hostel” (Facing History & Ourselves).
Definition of Residential Schools
“The residential schools were to be more academic, though they too offered training in farm work (for boys) and domestic skills (for girls)” (Facing History & Ourselves).
The Churches’ Role in the Colonization of Indigenous Peoples
“The Christian denominations supported” the residential schools, and often helped run them. They also sent missionaries to Indigenous communities to Christianise and educate them (Facing History & Ourselves). “The Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches operated the majority of the residential schools even before the Indian Act made such schools the official government policy” (Facing History & Ourselves).
The Failure of and Dismemberment Residential Schools
After having run the residential schools for a long time, the government began to realize that they were not achieving their set goals. Children were traumatized from being ripped away from their families. The schools were underfunded which led to many students contracting diseases which they weren’t treated for. The students were also malnourished and suffered from constant hunger and poor nutrition. In addition to that, the children were often emotionally, physically and sexually abuse by the staff. This type of abuse and experiences passed down the generations (generational trauma) and still affects many indigenous people today.
After WWII, Canada finally recognized that they had a human rights issue concerning the Indigenous people and in 1948 “called for the abolition of the residential schools…and for the integration of indigenous people into regular provincial schools” (Facing History & Ourselves).
Reflection
- Questions for everyone:
- After having read the previous section, have you learned something new about Indigenous Peoples and the colonization of Indigenous Peoples?
- Make a list of 3 things you would like to further learn about Indigenous People and take a moment to look into them.
- What tactics did the colonizers use to get the Indigenous Peoples to assimilate to their way of living?
- What did the colonizers do when the Indigenous Peoples refused?
- What is your opinion on how the Canadian Government has made reparations with the Indigenous Peoples today? Do you think they have done/continue to do enough for them? If not, what do you think the government needs to do?
- In what ways do you think the colonization of Indigenous Peoples has affected their well-being, culture, and living circumstances? How have the effects of colonization trickled down the generations?
- What is one thing that you can do to either spread information about Indigenous Peoples or help them directly?
- Questions for people of Indigenous descent:
- Having experienced and/or learned about the devastating affects colonization has had on Indigenous communities, how do these experiences/this knowledge make you feel? How do you usually deal with/reflect on these feelings?
- How do you feel about the current situation (i.e., financial, social, educational, etc.) your Indigenous community is in right now?
- Are there things that make you frustrated with how the government and church has tried to rectify their mistakes? Are there things that make you hopeful for the future? What are these things?
- Questions for people of non-indigenous descent:
- How much of this information did you know before reading this section?
- Has your perspective on Indigenous Peoples changed? If so, how?
- How has your experience in Canada differed from the experiences of Indigenous Peoples?
Black People
In the 1600s, as part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, many people from Africa were forced from their homes and forcibly brought to Europe and North America to work as slaves. For 200 years, slavery in Canada continued until the slave revolts in colonies across the world which finally led to the abolishment of slavery.
Long after the removal of slavery, anti-Black laws and practices were maintained in Canada for years to come. It took time for communities to accept black and indigenous people.
Examples of Segregation: include legally segregated public schools in Ontario until 1965 and Nova scotia until 1983. Preventing homeownership or renting to people of African descent. Restricted employment to black people in low-paying jobs and lastly racial restrictions on public transportation.
Today, a number of Black people in Canada are people whose families immigrated here from African and Caribbean countries in the past decades.
The most recent census data from 2016 shows that Black Canadians face far steeper economic challenges than white Canadians and other racial groups. Black Canadians make significantly less money than non-racialized Canadians regardless of how long their families have lived in Canada. Black immigrants are up against a system that makes assumptions about them based on their skin colour. They always want someone with Canadian experience.
Black Canadians. Including young people, they generally face above-average unemployment. Among black youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate is twice the average for young Quebeckers and young Canadians as a whole.
Black women are three times less likely to have a family doctor than non-racialized women in Ontario.
Black residents are 20 times more likely than white residents to be shot by a police officer in Toronto.
Black workers are twice as likely as Asian workers and four times as likely as white workers to report experiencing racial discrimination in major decisions at workplaces in Canada.
East Asian People
The term “East Asian” refers to people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent. When referring to people from these racial groups, try to use their specific racial group name instead of just saying, for example, “Hinata is East Asian.” Instead say, “Hinata is Japanese.” Though, also keep in mind that within racial groups, there are many ethnic groups. For instance, in Japan, there are many ethnic groups, like the Yamato and Ryukyuan Japanese people. When possible, try to be mindful that there is much diversity within racial groups and even ethnic groups.
People of Chinese Descent
First Chinese Immigrants
The first Chinese people to arrive in Canada, Vancouver to be exact—were a group of 50 Chinese artisans that came to Canada with Captain John Meares to help him build a trading post in 1788.
Canadian Pacific Railway & Chinese Immigration
Many Chinese men moved to Canada for work, specifically to work on and maintain the Canadian Pacific Railway “between 1881 and 1884” (Government of Canada). A large number of them came from “coastal areas of the United States where they had helped to build the American transcontinental railroad,” though most of them came straight from southern China (Government of Canada). Chinese workers were employed mostly because it was easier to bring large groups of people across the Pacific than other routes. Though, “Chinese workers were paid lower wages than white workers, even though they were more experienced and efficient” (Government of Canada).
The men came with the notion that eventually they would be able to bring over their families to join them. Though, that’s not quite how it went.
Beginning of Racism Towards Chinese People
As the Chinese population grew in Canada, so did racism towards them. “The media…portrayed Chinese cultural practices such as clothing styles, living conditions, and even funeral rites, in a degrading way” (Government of Canada).
Racist Legislature
In the 1930s they introduced laws that made it extremely difficult for Canadians of Chinese descent to own land “outside of the Chinatown areas” (Government of Canada). People of Chinese descent also moved to Chinatowns, which tended to be in poor communities, to avoid being harassed by other Canadians (Government of Canada).
The Chinese Immigration Act (1885)
The Chinese Immigration Act, which was introduced in 1885, put a $50 head tax on Chinese immigrants. They were basically considered as slaves; Canada wanted them as labour workers but did not consider them to be citizens “because of their country of origin.” As time passed, the head tax became more expensive, reaching its peak of $500 in 1903 to dissuade people of Chinese descent from immigrating to Canada (Government of Canada).
The Electoral Franchise Act (1885)
The Electoral Franchise Act was another piece of legislature that was blatantly racist. This act prevented Chinese immigrants from voting in federal elections (Government of Canada).
Dominion Elections Act (1920)
This act prohibited people of Chinese, Japanese, and South Asian descent in British Columbia the right to vote. It wasn’t until 1948 that “this section of the…Act was repealed” (Government of Canada).
The Chinese Immigration Act (1923)
Even with the restrictions and head taxes, Chinese immigrants were still coming to Canada, which the Canadian government did not approve of. So, in 1923 they introduced new legislature that basically “restricted all Chinese immigration to Canada by narrowly defining the acceptable categories of Chinese immigrants” (Government of Canada).
People of Japanese Descent
First Immigrants
In 1877, the first Japanese immigrant landed in Canada; his name was Manzo Nagano and he settled in Victoria (Government of Canada). The time periods in which the most Japanese people immigrated to Canada were “between 1877 and 1928, and after 1967” (Government of Canada).
Japanese Interment, World War II
After the Pearl Harbour attack on December 7th, 1941, the day that Japan joined the war, “Canadian’s of Japanese descent were forcibly removed from Canada’s West Coast” (Government of Canada). There was minimal proof that they “posed any threat to Canada’s security” yet the government used the excuse of “military necessity” to justify the “mass removal and incarceration of the Japanese population” (Government of Canada).
The War Measures Act
This was the act that called for the removal and displacement of people of Japanese descent. This act “affected more than 21,000 Canadians of Japanese descent” (Government of Canada). When the act first went into motion, “many were held in the livestock barns in Hastings Park [in Vancouver]…before being moved to hastily-built camps known as ‘interior housing centres’ in British Columbia (Government of Canada). A result of this displacement was many families of Japanese descent being ripped apart. Women, children and the elderly population were moved to “farms in Alberta and Manitoba, where there were labour shortages” (Government of Canada). “Those who resisted…the orders from the Government of Canada were arrested by the RCMP and incarcerated in a barbed-wire prisoner-of-war camp in Ontario.
The “Custodian of Enemy Alien Property”
This sector of the Canadian Government was in charge of distributing the assets (belongings) that belonged to prisoners of war. The “Custodian of Enemy Alien Property” “sold the property” that belonged to the Canadians of Japanese descent that were taken away from them and sold them “to pay auctioneers and realtors, as well as storage and handling fees” (Government of Canada). Whatever money was left was given as allowances “to those in internment camps” (Government of Canada). Since Canadians of Japanese descent were not “prisoners of war of enemy nations,” they “were forced to pay for their own internment” and were under heavy restrictions (Government of Canada).
End of WWII
Canada wanted people of Japanese descent to prove their loyalty to Canada, so they forced them to “’move east of the Rockies’ or by signing papers agreeing to be ‘repatriated’ to Japan when the war was over” (Government of Canada). Many settled in the Prairies and others in Ontario and Quebec. “About 4,000, half of whom were Canadian-born and one third who were dependent children under the age of 16, were exiled to Japan in 1946” (Government of Canada).
People of Korean Descent
First Immigrants
“The first Koreans came to Canada on a temporary basis to train as missionaries beginning in the 1890s” (Government of Canada). While Canada “formally established diplomatic relations with South Korea” in 1963, many Koreans coming to Canada stayed temporarily until 1973 when the Canadian embassy opened in South Korea (Government of Canada). Within a decade, “over 26,000 immigrants arrived in” Canada (Government of Canada). Many permanent residents that came from Korea “were skilled workers or professionals and settled” in places like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton, and Calgary” (Government of Canada).
Reflection
- Questions for everyone:
- After having read the previous section, have you learned something new about people of East Asian descent?
- Make a list of 3 things you would like to further learn about people of East Asian descent and take a moment to look into them.
- What tactics did the government use to keep East Asian people from Immigrating to Canada? How were they treated once they got to Canada and how did they deal with that treatment?
- What is your opinion on how the Canadian Government has made reparations with people of East Asian descent? Do you think they have done/continue to do enough for them? If not, what do you think the government needs to do?
- In what ways do you think the colonization of people of East Asian descent has affected their well-being, culture, and living circumstances? How has the effects of colonization trickled down the generations?
- What is one thing that you can do to either spread information about Indigenous Peoples or help them directly?
- Questions for people of East Asian descent:
- In what ways does this information resonate with you? Are there things that you previously did not know that now you do? What are they?
- Having experienced and/or learned about the devastating affects colonization has had on East Asian communities, how do these experiences/this knowledge make you feel? How do you usually deal with/reflect on these feelings?
- How do you feel about the current situation (i.e., financial, social, educational, etc.) your East Asian community is in right now?
- Are there things that make you frustrated with how the government has tried to rectify their mistakes? Are there things that make you hopeful for the future? What are these things?
- Questions for people of non-East Asian descent:
- How much of this information did you know before reading this section?
- Has your perspective on people of East Asian descent changed? If so, how?
- How has your experience in Canada differed from the experiences of people of East Asian descent?
Latinx Peoples
The term “Latinx” refers to “a group of republics in Central and South America” (The Canadian Encyclopedia).
Countries
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay and Venezuela
- Puerto Rico
- the French West Indies and other islands of the West Indies may also be considered part of ‘Latin America’ (The Canadian Encyclopedia).
Origins
“Many Latin Americans see themselves as a product of the Spanish conquest in the 16th century” (The Canadian Encyclopedia). “The region’s culture…is a mixture of European elements (primarily Spanish and Portuguese but also Italian, German and Dutch) and Indigenous elements” (The Canadian Encyclopedia).
Immigration
The Latin American in Canada prior to the 1970s was fairly small, capping at less than 3,000 people. It wasn’t until 1970 that Canada saw an influx of Latin Americans, which was widely attributed to Canada’s “open door” immigrations policy (The Canadian Encyclopedia). With the increasing number of Argentinian immigrants came the increase of Chilean refugees that immigrated to Canada “after the overthrow of the Allende regime” (The Canadian Encyclopedia). Also during this time, “about 20,000 Ecuadorians immigrated to Canada, primarily to Montreal and Toronto, in search of a better life” (The Canadian Encyclopedia). In fact, “Latin Americans are some of the most recent cultural groups to arrive in Canada” and also a fast growing population in Canada (The Canadian Encyclopedia).
Settlement Patterns
Most Latinx people settled in urban areas, though many settled in suburban areas because that was where the work was (industry and light manufacturing companies).
Economic Life
“Many Latin American workers gravitated to the service industry,” like sales (The Canadian Encyclopedia). “With the growth of the Latin American community in the mid- to late 1980s, many entered occupations in insurance, real estate, travel and the restaurant industry” (The Canadian Encyclopedia).
Leave a Reply