People of the Potlatch

Throughout the history of Canada, the Canadian government, its colonial predecessors, and European settlers perpetrated systematic violence against Indigenous peoples that increasingly has been described as genocide, and cultural genocide. The treatment has also been described as ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. These collective actions included forced displacement, land dispossession, medical segregation, deliberate starvation policies, nutrition experiments, physical violence, and compulsory cultural assimilation programs. Canada is a settler-colonial nation whose initial economy relied on farming and exporting natural resources like fur, fish, and lumber. European Canadians initially had peaceful treaties with First Nations and Inuit, but these changed to dispossession treaties, and forced assimilation, emphasizing European values like Christianity, farming, and education. The Canadian government implemented policies such as the Indian Act, internal passports and residential schools and asserted control over the land and its resources. Despite current views that might define these actions as racist or genocidal, they were seen as progressive at the time, a form of state intervention. In response, a number of Indigenous communities mobilized to resist colonial policies and assert their rights to self-determination and sovereignty. The Canadian Historical Association contends that the treatment of Indigenous peoples constitutes genocide. Notwithstanding, scholarly debate over terminology usage, and genocide denialism are ongoing components of Canadian society. A period of redress began with the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada by the Government of Canada in 2008. This included recognition of cultural genocide, Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreements, and betterment of racial discrimination issues, such as addressing the plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.