First peoples in Canada

401 Pages·2012·10.076 MB·English

by  McMillan, Alan Daniel;Yellowhorn, Eldon

FirstPeoplesCoverFinal 6/14/04 11:20 Page 1
more than 25 000 copies sold
, F Third updated and revised edition of Native Peoples and Cultures of Canada
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A
R F I R S T P E O P L E S
boriginal issues feature prominently on the
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Canadian agenda—from land claims agreements to
self-government to resource rights,and First Peoples M T C A N A D A
c
in Canadasets the context for the evolving relationship M
IN
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between Canada and the Aboriginal communities within its L P
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borders.This comprehensive book,widely used as a basic A
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text in universities and colleges,now incorporates a Native & O
perspective with new research from archaeology,anthropol-
Y ALAN D. McMILLAN
ogy,ethnography and history to tell the story of Aboriginal E P
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people from ancient times to the present.Generously illus- ELDON YELLOWHORN
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trated with many maps,drawings and photographs,these W
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pages clearly detail the rich cultures of all First Nations
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in this country. R
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alan d. mcmillan,PhD,is Chair of the Anthropology- I
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Sociology Department at Douglas College and is an adjunct

professor of archaeology at Simon Fraser University. C
eldon yellowhorn,PhD,was born and raised on the A
Peigan Reserve (now the Piikani First Nation) in Alberta.
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A faculty member at Simon Fraser University,he teaches
archaeology and First Nations studies. A
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$29.95 A
canada
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Douglas & McIntyre
Vancouver/Toronto
Cover design by Jessica Sullivan
Cover photograph by ©Galen Rowell/corbis/magma
Printed on forest-friendly paper douglas &
Printed and bound in Canada mcintyre
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FIRST PEOPLES IN CANADA
FirstPeoplesInteriorFinal 6/14/04 11:55 Page ii
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Thirdupdatedandrevisededition ofNative Peoples and Cultures of Canada
F I R S T P E O P L E S
C A N A D A
IN
ALAN D. McMILLAN
ELDON YELLOWHORN
Douglas & McIntyre
Vancouver/Toronto
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Copyright © 2004by Alan D.McMillan and Eldon Yellowhorn
04 05 06 07 08 5 4 3 2 1
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced,stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted,in any form or by any means,without
the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian
Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright).For a copyright licence,
visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
Douglas & McIntyre
2323 Quebec Street,Suite 201
Vancouver,British Columbia
v5t 4s7
www.douglas-mcintyre.com
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
McMillan,Alan D.(Alan Daniel),1945–
First peoples in Canada / Alan D.McMillan and Eldon Yellowhorn.
— 3rd ed.
Previous eds.published under title:Native peoples and cultures of Canada.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn1-55365-053-0
1.Native peoples—Canada—History. 2.Native peoples—Canada.
I.Yellowhorn,Eldon,1956– II.McMillan,Alan D.(Alan Daniel),1945– .
Native peoples and cultures of Canada. III.Title.
e78.c2m32 2004 971.004′97 c2004-902588-0
Editing by Lucy Kenward (third edition)
Copy-editing by Pam Robertson
Cover and text design by Jessica Sullivan
Cover photo by ©Galen Rowell/corbis/magma
Maps by Dennis and Struthers Visual Communications Inc.
Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens
Printed on paper that is forest friendly (100% post-consumer recycled paper)
and has been processed chlorine free.
Every attempt has been made to trace accurate ownership of copyrighted
visual material in this book.Errors and omissions will be corrected in subse-
quent editions,provided notification is sent to the publisher.
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada
Council for the Arts,the British Columbia Arts Council,and the Government
of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program
(bpidp) for its publishing activities.
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C O N T E N T S
Photograph Credits viii
Preface ix
chapter 1 Anthropological Research and Aboriginal People 1
Aboriginal Peoples within Canada 3
Language Families 5
Culture Areas 9
Anthropologists and Aboriginal Peoples 10
chapter 2 Terra Nullius:The Land that Was Empty 25
Pleistocene Environments and the First People 27
Insights from Languages and Human Biology 31
Archaeological Evidence for Early Peoples 32
After the Ice Age 39
chapter 3 The Atlantic Provinces 44
Early Cultures of the Holocene 45
Later Holocene Cultures 49
The Beothuk 53
The Mi’kmaq and Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik) 56
Into the Global Era 62
The Mi’kmaq and Maliseet Today 64
chapter 4 The Iroquoians of the Eastern Woodlands 67
Holocene Cultural Developments 68
The St.Lawrence Iroquoians 73
The Huron and Petun 77
The Neutral 86
The Haudenosaunee (League of the Iroquois) 88
The Canadian Iroquois in the Modern Era 93
Tension and Violence in Mohawk Country 98
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chapter 5 The Algonquians of the Eastern Woodlands
and Eastern Subarctic 102
Holocene Cultural Developments 103
The Anishinabeg (Ojibwa-Odawa-Algonquin) 108
The Cree 116
The Innu (Montagnais and Naskapi) 118
Impact of the Fur Trade 120
The Central Algonquians in the Modern Era 123
chapter 6 The Plains 129
Dog Days on the Northern Plains 131
Archaeological Sites on the Plains 138
The Horse Days 143
The Ethnographic Cultures 145
The Blackfoot and their Allies 155
The Plains Cree and Plains Ojibwa 157
The Assiniboine,Stoney and Dakota 159
The Reserve Era 161
The Modern Era 164
chapter 7 The Plateau 166
Holocene Cultural Developments 168
The Interior Salish 173
The Ktunaxa 180
The Plateau Athapaskans 184
The Plateau Cultures in the Global Era 185
chapter 8 The Northwest Coast 189
Holocene Cultural Developments 191
The Ethnographic Cultures 202
The Northern Groups 210
The Wakashans 214
The Coast Salish 221
Into the Global Era 223
First Nations of the Northwest Coast Today 228
chapter 9 The Western Subarctic 233
Holocene Cultural Developments 235
The Athapaskans (Dene) 239
The Athapaskans of the Shield and Mackenzie Lowlands 240
The Cordilleran Athapaskans 246
Into the Global Era 252
The Modern Dene 256
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chapter 10 The Arctic 261
Arctic Cultures in Ancient Times 262
Traditional Inuit Culture 273
The Mackenzie Delta Inuit 280
The Central Inuit (Copper-Netsilik-Iglulik-Ba¤inland) 281
The Caribou Inuit 284
The Inuit of Northern Quebec and Labrador 286
The Inuit in the Global Era 287
The Modern Inuit 290
chapter 11 The Métis 299
The Red River Métis 301
The Métis and the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 307
The Métis in the Last Century 311
chapter 12 Aboriginal People and Canada:Emerging Relations 315
Becoming Modern 316
Aboriginal People in Canada’s First Century 318
Aboriginal People in Canada’s Second Century 322
Aboriginal Rights as Human Rights 323
Aboriginal Rights as Land Claims 325
Jumping O¤ the Band Wagon 329
The Stalemate with Canada 332
Colonizing Canada 333
Epilogue 335
Sources 337
Index 379
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Photograph Credits
All photographs are credited in the captions.Some institutions are identified
by their initials:
cmc:Canadian Museum of Civilization
nac:National Archives of Canada
pabc:Provincial Archives of British Columbia
rbcm:Royal British Columbia Museum
rom:Royal Ontario Museum
viii
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P R E F A C E
. . . . .
M
uch has happened since the first version of this book appeared in
1988.Land claims agreements establishing Aboriginal governments
have been completed across much of Canada’s north,and the Inuit as-
pirations for a self-governed homeland have been achieved through the creation
of Nunavut.Canadian court decisions continue to clarify and expand the nature
of Aboriginal rights recognized in the constitution.Aboriginal issues are featured
prominently in the media,and talented Aboriginal individuals enrich Canadian
society through their contributions in fields such as the arts.Despite great suc-
cesses,there are still major areas of grievance and unrest,as the violent outbreaks
at Oka (Quebec),Ipperwash (Ontario) and Gustafson Lake (British Columbia) in
the 1990s amply demonstrate.In this book we examine the evolving relationship
between Canada and the Aboriginal communities that exist within its borders.In
addition,recent academic research has substantially added to our knowledge of
the Aboriginal past,providing new perspectives on such topics as the initial ar-
rival and settlement of First Peoples in Canada.
For this re-titled new edition I am pleased to welcome my friend and colleague
Eldon Yellowhorn as co-author.Eldon brings to this task a wealth of knowledge
from his Blackfoot heritage and his extensive experience in First Nations Studies.
His involvement helps to ensure that an academic approach to Aboriginal studies
is not incompatible with a First Nations perspective.
In writing a book of this nature,we have incurred more intellectual debts than
could ever be acknowledged.Many anthropologists,archaeologists,historians,
Aboriginal scholars and others have provided perspectives and knowledge that
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