ADAPTING TO NEW ECONOMIES

1. ADAPTING TO NEW ECONOMIES Chapter 7

2. COLONIALISM AND RESOURCE APPROPRIATION • relationship between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal in BC revolved around exploitation and appropriation of natural resources • fur trade • lost control of trade • new lifestyle of farmer introduced • rights of land denied • control of land and resources destroyed by laws of government

3. loss of fishing rights • law passed for “food fishing” only • lost traditional and customary rights to fishing resources • ownership to industrial firms • First Nations as employees • struggle to regain control of traditional land and resources continues in conflict • needs of market economy supersede those of Aboriginal land title and resources

4. FISHING FOR A LIVING • 1880 – 1970s primary industries were major industries in BC • First Nations men and women as employees • supplied bulk of labour force for fishers and canneries • recruited as family units • 1890s allies with non-Aboriginals in trade union in fishing industry • critical strike in 1900 • demonstrated labour force of diverse cultural background could work together • established employers had to share some profits with workers • prior to strike, fish processing firms had almost complete control of terms of employment and pricing

5. until 1930s labour unions included both First Nations and non-Aboriginals • First Nations fishers chose to join rather than organize themselves • finally in conflict when unions failed to develop a united policy of recognizing First Nations rights and title • 1931 Haida and Tsimshian commercial fishermen formed Native Brotherhood of British Columbia • for recognition of Aboriginal rights in hunting, fishing, trapping, and off-reserve logging • Sisterhood – led struggle for better working conditions and wages for women in canning

6. in role as labour brokers, some First Nations leaders able to accumulate wealth and higher social position • able to purchase own motor boats and control labour supply • some unable to do so because government regulations prevented them from borrowing money from banks • driven out by increasing operation costs • Euro-Cdns under different set of rules • fish companies maintained control through monopolies • most workers had to work in different industries • had to collectively organize – trade unions

7. WORKING IN AGRICULTURE • common false assumption of colonization is that agriculture is the hallmark of civilization – agriculture shows more advanced society • government and missionaries determined to make First Nations into farmers • most coastal farmers had little arable land • Interior First Nations tried to farm • discriminatory laws favoured settlers • agricultural interests displaced people from territories • formed important segment of workforce

8. large differences between First Nations resource-gathering and Euro-Cdn farming • First Nations wide variety of plants and animals • farmers limited crops and livestock • First Nations needed larger space • farmers in one place year-round • farming more labour intensive • principal resources in farming – land and water • First Nations denied access to both • settlers could pre-empt land 160-320 acres • prohibited from taking land that were burial sites, First Nations villages or cultivated fields • often ignored • First Nations tried to seek justice but legal system against them

9. people in despair • survivors of epidemics finding land disappearing • animal habitats gone • salmon run failed (1879) • First Nations in agriculture • subsistence farming • provide food for family • commercial farming • few areas –Cowichan Valley, Fraser Valley, Okanagan • difficult to succeed • restricted to land reserves • no access to water irrigation • couldn’t get water licence • could make more money as labourer than owner • farm labourers • seasonal work suited lifestyle

10. LABOURING ON HOP FARMS • hop industry one of first agriculture to hire large numbers of First Nations as seasonal workers • flowers ripened late August-September • plantations required hundreds of workers • depended on First Nations until mechanization • hundreds families to hop farms usually after salmon canning • more than extra income – social gathering

11. RANCHING • cattle ranching in interior since 1860s • Okanagan Valley, Nicola Valley, Cariboo, Chilcotin country • fit First Nations lifestyle – already expert with horses • some First Nations successful owners, but few • one – Chief Johnny Chillihitzia (Okanagan) • strong leader for interior people in politics • Thomas family in Peace River • had to give up Indian status and Treaty (8) rights in order to pre-empt land

12. IMPACT OF THE NEW ECONOMIES • capitalist economy transformed First Nations economic and social structures • became wage labourers • changed from collective, independent production to dependent, single family subsistence • had to move beyond local regions to work • seasonal • disastrous result – smallpox epidemic 1862 • difficult choices – stay at home on reserves and communities or more to urban centre for more economic and educational opportunities • population decline in rural reserves

13. family changes • no longer families working together • roles of men and women diverge • men resource gather, women processing or stay at home • women • primary role in processing food for family, but demands of jobs put pressure on production • traditional diet changed to Euro-Cdn • spend cash at grocery store, because less time in food production