The Indian Act of 1814
1:58 min. - 1814 marks the darkest period in Innu history. With no more need for the Indians, the government decided to assimilate them.
Transcription
Narrator - 1814 is one of the darker years for indians’ history on this continent. It is the end of hostilities between the Americans and the British, so no more allies are needed and the fur market is all but gone. Indians are not needed anymore…but their land is well liked. From these facts comes L’Acte des Sauvages and the basis for an assimilation policy. A basis which is :
It is an inferior people unable to govern themselves, while colonial authorities understand better what is at hand to preserve their interest and well being.
This singular relation build upon respect and sharing established by the treaties is an historical aberration which should be eradicated.
European views on progress and growth are definitely accurate and should be forced upon native without any consideration of their ethics, nor their opinion not even their rights.
Evelyne St-Onge - The Indian act was written to get rid of Indians.
Narrator - From this moment on, all the rights to the salmon rivers will be taken away from the Innus. The Mingan river will be rented by the Montréal industrialist George Alexander Drummond for his exclusive usage. His groundkeepers shoot at Innus who are traveling up the river to reach their traditional territories.
Music - Philippe Mckenzie
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The Indian Act of 1814
1:58 min
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Nametau innu: Memory and knowledge of Nitassinan, a website dedicated to the Innu nation in which elders pass on their skills and knowledge to younger generations.
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