Pass system (Canadian history)

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The pass system was an informal Canadian administrative policy that was never codified in the Indian Act or enacted as law. It intended to keep First Nations in Canada separate from settlers and confined to Indian reserves unless they had been issued a special travel permit, called a pass, by a government official known as an Indian Agent.[1]

The system was introduced in 1885, during the North-West Rebellion, and remained in force for about 60 years. First Nations who were caught outside their reserve without a pass could be returned to the reserve or imprisoned.[2]

Objections to the policy were raised by the North-West Mounted Police in 1893, and Commissioner William Herchmer ordered his officers to cease returning First Nations individuals to reserves.[2] He was overruled by the federal Indian Affairs commissioner, Hayter Reed.[2]

The policy is the subject of a 2015 documentary film, The Pass System.[3]

History[edit]

Before the pass system was implemented in Canada, some key events and issues led the Canadian government to follow the policy of issuing passes and permits to First Nations who sought to leave their reserve. The main factors were the settlement of the Prairie provinces, the building of the railway to the West, the North-West Rebellion, and the perceived competition between white settlers and First Nations farmers and ranchers. Both government bureaucrats and politicians felt[citation needed] that for the West to be settled, the movement of its indigenous peoples had to be restricted. The First Nations would be affected by the policy of restricting their movement for 50 to 60 years. The policy's effects included First Nations' inability to conduct trade and commerce or to attend cultural and social gatherings with neighboring Reserves and their isolation from Canadian society.

The federal government, settlers, and industry leaders felt that it was necessary to implement the pass system. The federal government felt the need to ensure safe passage for new settlers and immigrants who were coming to the West. Industry leaders were concerned[clarification needed] about the image that First Nations had on the communities around the reserves. Finally, both the bison herds and the migrations of First Nations posed a problem[citation needed] for the construction of railways.

Even prior to Confederation, settlement of the West became very important to Canadian leaders. On 11 July 1856, Sir John A. Macdonald wrote to the Provincial Secretary in Toronto in a letter stating, "2nd As to the mode of managing the Indian property so as to secure its full benefit to the Indians without impeding the settlement of the country."[4] The letter indicates that the settlement of the country is more importance than the interests of the First Nations. In August 1885, Macdonald began talking about the pass system for First Nations, which came about because of the North-West Rebellion. Macdonald told Lawrence Vankoughnet, the Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, "As to the disloyal bands this [pass system] should be carried out in consequence of their disloyalty. The system should be introduced in the loyal Bands as well and the advantage of the change pressed upon them. But no punishment for breaking bounds could be inflicted and in case of resistance on the grounds of Treaty right should not be insisted upon."

He said that because he was exasperated by the North-West Rebellion. It should also be noted that Macdonald was aware that the measure violated the treaties, but gave deference to them in dealing with the pass system.[5] Another reason that Macdonald may have taken into consideration is that the system could not pass the test of treaty rights, the only way that the policy could be accomplished was through the powers that Indian agents had over the First Nations. Indian agents had powers like police in dealing with what was deemed for public safety.

The North-West Rebellion brought security concerns for the Canadian Government. It started on March 18, 1885. Louis Riel, the Metis leader, seized the Indian agent and other officials because of outstanding grievances that he had with the Canadian government. The Indians joined the rebellion because[citation needed] in 1884, the federal government had stopped or banned the sale or the gift of ammunition and ball cartridges to First Nations members in the Manitoba and Northwest Territories in violation to treaty agreements. There were fears[by whom?] that Indians would start attacking and killing settlers on the Prairies.

Hayter Reed, the Indian agent for the Saskatchewan region, asked Macdonald to restrict the movement of Indians and stressed that the security and well-being of the country and the white settlers was at risk. On March 26, 1885, the Superintendent of the North West Mounted Police attempted to seize what he considered an important supply point. As a result of that confrontation, 12 men of the NWMP were dead and 11 were wounded. Five Metis and 1 Cree were also killed in the battle.[6]

Riel would be tried, found guilty of insurrection, and eventually hanged, but the incident created fear among the white settlers and government officials. Indians had to be contained in the minds of government officials, even for the good of the Indians themselves.[citation needed]

Before the North-West Rebellion, Edgar Dewdney came to be Commissioner of Indian Affairs and served in that post from 1879 to 1888. After David Laird resigned in 1879, Macdonald approached Dewdney and offered him the position of Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Dewdney did not like the idea of leaving his post as MP, but he found it difficult[citation needed] to refuse the offer from Macdonald, who after all stated that Dewdney had the right characteristics: "firmness and tact, mature judgement and experience, and 'knowledge of the Indian character' for the job."[7]

During his visit to Treaty 4 and Treaty 6, Dewdney observed that the First Nations had done a decent job of producing crops, but he noticed they were working with inferior or substandard equipment. Dewdney complained that even the rations that the Indians were getting were not enough. However, in his official undertaking as Commissioner, he met with many chiefs to try to rectify the concerns of First Nations with how treaty entitlements and obligations were being met.

Dewdney's goal had been to get Indians onto reserves. Along with many of his administrative duties, he hired Hayter Reed as his Assistant Commissioner.[8]

In July 1885, Dewdney asked Reed to draft policies that would help in restricting and confining Indians.[citation needed] The proposed implementation of policy of managing Indians was[citation needed] the result of the rebellion. At issue was the need to punish those Indians who been disloyal to the Crown. Even as the Assistant Commissioner, Reed had always thought[citation needed] that it was necessary to deal with the Indians with harsh measures. The report was sent by Dewdney on August 1, 1885, and Macdonald and Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs Vankoughnet[9] made revisions and refinements to it, when the pass system would emerge.

The policy that emerged was never part of law. Vankoughnet went on to remark, "The status of the Indians in Canada is that of a minor with the Government as the guardian. It has been stated that his "remarks represent the quintessential statement of federal government policy in the early period, 1873-1912."[10]

In 1888, Dewdney resigned as the governor of the North-West Territories and as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Dewdney recommended for Reed to be appointed as a replacement. From the very start of his administration, Reed delivered the department's policy of "protection, civilization, and assimilation.". He stated, "If the Indian is to become a source of profit to the country, it is clear that he must be amalgamated with the white population."[11]

After Reed became Commissioner, the North-West Mounted Police would object to the returning of First Nations members who did not possess a pass or permit back to Reserves. Commissioner Lawrence William Herchmer ordered the North-West Mounted Police to end the practice as it was not entrenched in law. However, Reed overruled Herchmer and wrote a letter to him on June 15, 1893: "I beg to inform you that there has never been any legal authority for compelling Indians who leave their Reserve to return to them, but it has always been felt that it would be a great mistake for this matter to stand too strictly in the letter of the law."[12]

However, the greatest impact for the policy for restricting movement for First Nations would be the incoming Liberal government of Wilfrid Laurier in 1886. Laurier put in place Clifford Sifton as Minister of the Interior. The settlement of the West took now a turning point. The world was experiencing an economic boom, which gave Sifton greater reason to bring Canadian and American farmers to the Prairies. He felt that those farmers were best suited and more desirable as new settlers. He felt that Europeans were not suitable as they did not like the hard work and were likely to give up on farming.[13]

Also, Sifton had little simply for First Nations as he made plans to settle the West. He "left Indian policy in the hands of an "Indians Affairs" bureaucracy with little sympathy for the aspirations of First Nations."[14] His major concern for Sifton was the settlement of the West. The Laurier government and Cabinet told Sifton that a railroad to the West was not possible. The government of the day told him "No money, no Railways, no settlement of the West."

Sifton saw that the only way that the settlement of the West could occur was by constructing the railway, which he knew had to be paid by the Canadian government. However, the Liberal government said that was not possible, and it had accepted the railway to be out of the question.

However, Sifton would not give up and saw his chance when the Americans said they would attempt to build a railroad to British Columbia. With the Liberals not wanting the Americans to come into British Columbia, the government agreed to build a railroad through Crow's Nest Pass.[15]

Experiences of First Nations[edit]

The pass system brought many difficult experiences for First Nations. Even though Commissioner Herchmer had been willing to follow the policy when it came to returning First Nations people back to the reserves, other officials were strict in applying the pass system policy.

Those who did not possess a pass or permit were charged under the Vagrancy Act. However, many officers knew that the First Nations members were not able to pursue legal matters in court.[16] The North West Mounted Police Superintendent McIlree in Calgary had his officers return people from Sarcee (Tsuu T'ina) to the reserve, whether or not they had a pass.

As First Nations members were moved to the reserves, many of them became successful farmers and ranchers. The North West Mounted Police preferred to buy hay from Treaty 7 ranchers since it was considered superior feed for NWMP horses. However, non-indigenous farmers and ranchers believed that First Nations farmers were being given handouts, which were seen as unfair competition. That became one of the reasons that First Nations had the pass system imposed on them.[17]

The pass system affected hunting, commerce, and cultural ceremonies. First Nations visiting other reserves were required to obtain a pass from the Indian agent, regardless of the proximity of the reserves to each other. Cecile Many Guns from Brocket, Alberta, in 1973 told of two men visiting from another nearby reserve without a permit. The police retrieved them and forced them to sleep on a stone floor for the night. The next day, the two men were returned to where they came from. She indicated in her interview with Dila Provost and Albert Yellowhorn incidents details on the lack of dignity shown to Indians, who were viewed with suspicion by white people.[18]

Victoria McHugh recalled that even going from Siksika to Tsuu T'ina, people were allowed only up to five days to visit and return to Siksika. Bill McLean mentioned[where?] that the missionaries, with the help of the NWMP and government officials tried to stop the Sun Dance, and condemn the ceremony. Sun Dances had allowed First Nations from various groups to travel from community to community, but the pass system did not allow for the intercommunity travel.[citation needed] Elva Lefthand said that hunting became more restrictive under the pass system.[19]

In Treaty 6, John Tootoosis talked about speaking for a group of First Nations farmers who had given in the 1920s and quoted another activist, Reverend Edward Ahenakew, "for myself I would rather starve than go beg for such a trifling thing as a permit to sell one load of hay."[20]

Those who were considered sympathetic[to whom?] were overruled by either their tribal superiors or the government. Commissioner of Indian Affairs Hayter Reed overruled Commissioner of NWMP Herchmer.[citation needed] The Liberal government of Wilfrid Laurier criticized Commissioner Dewdney as the cause of the unrest among the First Nations, which in turn caused the North-West Rebellion. Dewdney was accused of being too generous to the Natives because he increased rations and met with various groups to inquire about the treatment First Nation peoples were getting from government officials. There is some suggestion that the indigenous groups took advantage of the situation by asking for more supplies.[21]

In the 1890s, First Nation farmers protested the new policy, the pass system, and many Indian agents and farmer instructors sided with them. As a result, they were fired for their efforts to bring to light that First Nations were being required to get a permit to sell grain and other farm products. According to the First Nations, the pass system would be enforced until the 1950s.[22]

In an article in the Toronto Star, Joanna Smith brought the obscurity of the pass system to light. According to Smith, "The federal government said that some records of the pass system—the apartheid-like policy that forbade First Nations from leaving their reserves without written permission—were destroyed before anyone knew of their historical value."[23]

Even among First Nations and in Canadian society, very little is known today about the pass system and the policies surrounding its implementation.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sarah Carter Aboriginal People and Colonizers of Western Canada to 1900 1999 0802079954 "The pass system was never a law; it was never codified in the Indian Act, and it can only be described as a 'policy.' From the time of the earliest discussions about such a system, there was recognition among officials that it ran directly counter to the treaties and had no validity in law. Official rationales advanced for maintaining the system after 1885 were that Indians had to be kept separate from the rest of society for their own good, as contact tended to be injurious to them."
  2. ^ a b c Cram, Stephanie (2016-02-19). "Dark history of Canada's First Nations pass system uncovered in documentary". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  3. ^ Benjoe, Kerry (November 26, 2015). "First Nation reserves prior to 1960s were 'open-air prisons,' says Saskatoon filmmaker behind The Pass System". Leader-Post. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. ^ J. K. Johnson. The Papers of the Prime Ministers Volume 1 The letters of Sir John A. Macdonald 1836-1857 Ottawa. Queen's Printers and Controller of Stationary, Public Archives of Canada. 1968. p. 365.
  5. ^ D.J. Hall. From Treaties To Reserves The Federal Government and Native Peoples in Territorial Alberta, 1870-1905. Montreal. McGill-Queen's University Press. 2015. p. 301.
  6. ^ Olive Patricia Dickason; William Newbigging (2015). A Concise History of Canada's First Nations (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 207–209.
  7. ^ Brian Titley. "The Indian Commissioners. p. 66.
  8. ^ Titley, Brian. The Indian Commissioners Agents of the State and Indian Policy in Canada's West, 1873-1932. Edmonton. University of Alberta Press. 2009. pp.63-120.
  9. ^ Shewell, Hugh. The Guiding Philosophy and Organization of the Department of Indian Affairs. "Enough To Keep Them Alive" Indian Welfare in Canada, 1873-1965. Toronto. University of Toronto. 2004. p. 36.
  10. ^ Hugh Shewell. Enough To Keep Them Alive p.36.
  11. ^ Brian Titley. The Indian Commissioners. p.101.
  12. ^ Stephanie Cram (2016-02-19). "Dark History of Canada's First Nations pass system uncovered in documentary". CBC News.
  13. ^ Gregory P. Marchildon. Immigration & Settlement, 1870-1939 History of the Prairies West Series. Regina. University of Regina Press. 2009. p. 33.
  14. ^ Marchildon. Immigration & Settlement, 1870-1939. p. 4.
  15. ^ Stevens, G.R. History of the CN Canadian National Railways New York. Collier-Macmillan Publishers. 1973. p. 169.
  16. ^ Hall, D.J. From Treaties To Reserves The Federal Government and Native Peoples in Territorial Alberta, 1870-1905 Montreal. McGill-Queen's University Press. 2015. p.302.
  17. ^ Francis, Douglas R.. & Chris Kitzan. "We Must Farm To Enable Us To Live": The Plains Cree And Agriculture To 1900. The Prairie West As Promised Land Calgary. University of Calgary Press. 2007. p. 117-119.
  18. ^ Smith Keith D.. Stranger Visitors Documents in Indigenous-Settler Relations in Canada from 1876. Toronto. University of Toronto Press. 2014. p. 46.
  19. ^ Hildebrandt, Walter, Sarah Carter, & Dorothy First Rider. The True Spirit And Original Intent of Treaty 7 Treaty 7 Elders and Tribal Council Montreal. McGill-Queen's University Press. 1996. p.152-153.
  20. ^ Helen Buckley (1992). From Wooden Plow To Welfare: Why Indian Policy Failed in the Prairie Provinces. Montreal: McGill–Queen's University Press. pp. 57–58.
  21. ^ Titley, The Indian Commissioners p.78-81.
  22. ^ Buckley. From Wooden Ploughs To Welfare. p.53-54.
  23. ^ Smith, Joanna. Filmmaker digs into Prairies pass system. Toronto Star April 10, 2016.
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