This document explores the history of indigenous people and their connection to the Hudson Bay Charter and Comprehensive Land Claims Policy. It discusses the rights and treatment of indigenous people.
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Running Head: HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE History of Indigenous People Name of the Student Name of the University Author Note
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1HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE Indigenous People as Defined by the Hudson Bay Charter The Hudson’s Bay Charter was one that granted exclusive rights or monopoly for trading with the indigenous people or the native people of the land that fell within the purview of the Charter. All the native people who were living in all of the areas that were designated within the Hudson’s Bay Charter could be traded with. In a way this implied that only the members of the company and the governor of the company were in a position to deal with the native people, and that too for commodities such as fur. A number of different trading posts were set up by those who were officially working for the company at the various rivers that surround the Hudson Bay. If any one was found to be infringing upon such trading rights, then their goods and their ships would be confiscated immediately, with half of the loot going to the Crown while the other half of the loot would be pocketed by the Company. It is important to remember however that the right to punish offenders who infringed upon trading rights with the native people, was something that was for the most part never really exercised. Authorities for the Hudson’s Bay Company Charter There were a number of authorities or signatories for the Hudson’s Bay Charter, the first and foremost one being the Hudson’s Bay Company itself, followed by the governor and the deputy governor. The governor was at the helm of affairs and functioned in a manner similar to that of a chairman, running the affairs of the charters from the headquarters of the Company in London, England. The deputy governor of the charter was a man who ran the administration in
2HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE much the same way as the director of a company. This is a person who had many people working under him, and who would make more frequent visits to the various posts of the Charter compared to the governor, who would only visit the posts every once in awhile. This is a person who had a number of clerks and traders working under him, with the traders being responsible for all trading and business affairs and the clerks keeping stringent records of all of the business activities that were carried out with the native people. Understanding the Connection between the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy and the Royal Proclamation of 1763 As pointed out by Sharon Verne the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy as the title suggests is a policy and not a piece of legislation. It is distinctly different from the elements that the Royal Proclamation of 1763 is made up of. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was established by the British Crown primarily for the governing of subjects. One of the most important statements set out in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 is that one would have to make use of a treaty or an agreement in order to access the land or the territory of the native people. Secondly if the subjects of the Crown occupied land or territory that belonged originally to the native people, then it would be mandatory for the Crown to go ahead and remove them immediately. If these people were not removed, they would be considered as squatters and treated as such. Thirdly, treaties or agreements would be drafted but only if Indians ever truly desired this. Treaties
3HISTORY OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE therefore became an important pre-requisite if one intended to embark on the lands or territories that were occupied by the Indian people. The Comprehensive Land Claims Policy on the other hand does not seek out co-existence in the same way that the Royal Proclamation of 1763 is known to do. It sanctions the illegal occupation of the land of the indigenous people whereas the Royal Proclamation had successfully acknowledged the right of the indigenous people to the land that they were occupying. It in a way was a piece of legislation that gave the indigenous people of Canada the importance and the dignity that they deserved, something that the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy failed to do later on, marginalizing them instead of being inclusive in nature and scope.