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session, of their, hunting grounds and the protection of the Crown;:. This document the Indians look upon* as their Charter; They have preserved a copy of it tilt the present time and have referred to it on several occasions in their representations to the Government.’ r “We find, in the Imperial Statutes passed in 1803, 1821 and 1849, fwhich followed up the royal proclamation of King George the Third, all the lands now forming the province of British Columbia described as 'Indian Territories.’ The Statute of 1849 reads: 'And whereas forthe purpose of the colonization of that part of the said Indian territories called Vancouver’s Island it is expedient that further provision be made for the administration of justice therein/ lt;/'During the years 1850 and 1851 fourteen treaties were made between Sir James Douglas, then agent of the Hudson's Bay Company which then held from the Grown a lease of Vancouver Island, and various tribes, of Indians. The consideration consisted of money and other benefits, and .by means of a formal document, which'describes itself as a sale upon its face, each tribe of Indians surrendered its title to the tract of land mentioned in the treaty. As a result of twelve^ of these treaties a tract of land lying within the limits of the present City of Victoria was specially set aside and has since been held by the Crown in trust for the Indians.“The Imperial Statute passed in 1858 by which the first colony of British Columbia was formed also refers to 'Indian Territories’ and contains a recital stating that those who had previously settled upon various parts of this mainland had so settled 'by the license and consent of Her Majesty/ These' words are quoted from the Imperial Statute of 1858.“Passing now to the year 1861, and across the water to the Colony of Vancouver Island, we find another piece of historical evidence there. In that year the Legislative Assembly of, the Colony, of Vancouver Island presented a petition asking the Imperial Government to provide funds for extinguishing 'the Indian title* to the remaining lands/of the Island. In replying to that petition, the Secretary of State for the Colonies said: T am fully sensible of the great importance of purchasing without loss of time the native title to the soil of Vancouver Island/, But the Imperial Government refused to furnish the. funds, and for that reason the policy advocated by Sir James Douglas, that of purchasing the. titlevof the Indians, was not carried out.“Reports relating to the Hudson’s Bay Company presented to the Imperial Parliament, between the years 1857 and 1870 contain evidence that the whole of the mainland of what is now /British Columbia was then known as 'the Indian Territory/ •“In 1866 was formed the united Colony of British Columbia. Soon after that date the Government of the Colony adopted a view regarding the claims of-the Indians which was the exact opposite of that which historical evidence would appear to support. This view was first expressed in the report of the Minister of Lands and Works, made in January, 1870. from which I* now quote: 'But the title of the Indians in the feeof the public lands, or any portion thereof, has never been acknowledged by Government,.but, on the contrary, is distinctly denied. In no case has any special agreement been made with any of the tribes of the mainland for the extinction of their claims of possession; but these claims have been held to have been fully satisfied by securing to each tribe, as the progress of the settlement of the country seemed to require, the use of sufficient tracts of land for their wants for agricultural and pastoral purposes/At JS tuiliauicu HI ci lUCKIUIdllUUllI UL me AUUIIlty-VJCll-eral; Hon. G. A. Walkem, dated 7th August, 1875. In that full and interesting report, the Honourable the Attorney-General outlines the Colonial Indian policy. He adopts the views of the Minister of Lands and Works expressed in his report of January, 1870, and, at the same time, admits the urgent importance of a speedy settlement. ...“This was followed, a short time afterwards, by definite action on the part of the Dominion Government. By memorandum dated November 5, 1875, the Acting Minister of the Interior, the Hon. R. W. Scott, made proposals for dealing with the matter. Of theses proposals I quote the first: 'That with the view to thespeedy and final .adjustment of the Indian Reserve question in British Columbia on a satisfactory bfe$is, the | whole matter be referred to three Commissioners, one to be appointed by the Government of the Dominion, one by the Government of British Columbia and the third to be named by the Dominion and Local Governments jointly/“While in accepting these proposals the Provincial Government admitted the importance of 'a final settlement of the land question’ yet from the reports upon which the Province then acted, namely, that of the Minister of. Lands and Works made in January, 1870, and that of the Attorney-General made in August, 1875, it clearly appears that the Provincial policy on the subject fell short of being what would secure 'the speedy and final adjustment of the Indian reserve question in British Columbia on a satisfactory basis/ and contemplated setting aside only such village-sites, cultivated fields, fishing stations, fur trading posts, and other tracts of landas 'the progress of the settlement of the country’ and‘the habits and pursuits of our natives’ seemed to require.“In September, 1876, the Earl of Dufferin made a famous address in Victoria, delivered before some thirty or forty persons, mainly members of committees who had met him. Before I quote from his address, allow me to point out that in expressing these views the Earl had behind him the report of the Department of theInterior and the report of the Department of Justice,and that he was following up those reports in his statements. I take the statements from the 'History of the Administration of the Earl of Dufferin/ written by Mr. George Stewart, Junior, at pages 457, 491, • 494. Earl Dufferin said: 'From my first arrival in Canada I have been very much pre-occupied with the condition of the Indian population in this Province. You must remember that the Indian population are not represented in Parliament and consequently that the Governor-General is bound to watch over their welfare with especial solicitude. Now, we must all admit that the condition of the Indian question in British Columbia is not satisfactory. Most unfortunately as I think there has been an initial error, ever since Sir James Douglas quitted office, in the Government of British Columbia neglecting to recognize what is known as the Indian title. In Canada this has always been done; no government, whether provincial or central, has failed to acknowledge that the original title to the lands existed in the Indian tribes and communities that hunted or wandered over them. Before we touch an acre we make a treaty with the chiefs representing the bands we are dealing with, and having agreed upon and paid our stipulated price—oftentimes arrived at after a great deal of'haggling and difficulty— we enter into possession, but not until then do we con-, sider that we are entitled to deal with an acre. The result has been that in Canada our Indians are contented, well affected to the white men and amenable to the laws
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Vancouver BC Saturday Sunset
Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
Sat, Mar 25, 1911
Page 18
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Richa B.
CA 21 Jan 2024
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