One of the recommendations contained in the report of the Royal
Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is for a new Royal Proclamation,
to be signed by the Monarch, and to enshrine a "new relationship"
between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The summary report
published by the Commission People to People, Nation to Nation
states: "To support the rebuilding of Aboriginal nations and shift
from paternalistic policies to partnership relations, we propose a
bold starting place: a new Royal Proclamation, issued by the
Monarch as Canada's head of state and guardian of the rights of
Aboriginal peoples." According to the summary "The Royal
Proclamation of 1763 was a defining document in the relationship
between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in North
America,...(it) offered Aboriginal people not only peace and
friendship, respect and rough equality, but also protection." The
summary itself points out that "Protection was the leading edge of
domination. At first, it meant preservation of Aboriginal lands
and cultural integrity from encroachment by settlers. Later, it
meant `assistance', a code word implying encouragement to stop
being Aboriginal and merge into the settler society."
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was proclaimed by King George
III largely to ensure the Aboriginal nations that in the wake of
the British victory on the Plains of Abraham and the expansion of
British colonies in North America, further settlers from the
seaboard colonies would not occupy their lands. It followed the
battles led by Pontiac in 1763, when the Aboriginal forces nearly
succeeded in pushing the British back to the east side of the Great
Lakes; all the British forts west of Niagara (with the exception of
Detroit) were captured. The Proclamation established boundaries
beyond which settlement was not allowed, while entry into the West
was only to be permitted those granted a licence. The terms of the
Proclamation were never respected. Writing before the American
Revolution, George Washington called the Proclamation "a temporary
expedient to quiet the minds of the Indians." He was proved
correct.
It is quite shocking that the central recommendation of the
report would call for the renewal of the very document which
symbolizes the two-faced character of British colonialism in
regards to the Aboriginal peoples. Far from 'protecting' the
Aboriginal peoples, the Canadian state has taken every measure to
wipe out the Aboriginal nations, from robbing them of their lands,
outlawing their languages and cultural practices, to the kidnapping
and forced assimilation of Aboriginal children. To day, the
terrible statistics speak for themselves of the kind of
"protection" the state provides the Aboriginal peoples.
The Canadian state, as it is currently constituted, is
incapable of acting as a guardian of the rights of the Aboriginal
peoples. It is based on the same old arrangements of the nineteenth
century, aimed at suppressing the Aboriginal nations and the nation
of Quebec and excluding the working class and people from playing
any role. It is only through the establishment of new
arrangements, led by the working class and people, that the
hereditary rights of the Aboriginal peoples will be guaranteed.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
