Ryan's Reading Notes 9 on: Clearing the Plains: Disease, the politics of starvation and the loss of aboriginal life by James Daschuk

After reading the articles that were assigned for class 9 there was one that stood out to me. I chose this article partly because of my minimal knowledge of First Nations people in Canada and how much I learned from this small piece; and partly because I have been hearing a lot about their past in the news recently and thought it would be interesting to take a deeper look at their history and on how it may have affected their citizenship. The article that I chose is by James Daschuk and is titled Clearing the Plains: Disease, the politics of starvation and the loss of aboriginal life.

When looking at this article, though it may not be clear at first, there are a couple of things that stand out, especially about our concept of citizenship. The main argument that I see contained in this conclusion of a book as described by Daschuk is that based on ecological, economical and “political forces that shaped the medical histories of First Nations people in Western Canada”, “it has outlined the origin of health inequity between Indigenous and mainstream Canadians” and showed that a “decline of First Nations health was the direct result of economic and cultural suppression” in two distinct phases. The first being the introduction of contagious diseases that hammered otherwise healthy populations, and the second being the relationship between First Nations and Canada.

Looking at the first phase, the author describes these epidemics as a result of the extension of the economic system into western Canada. Explaining that generally First Nations in the west were shaped by disease. He shows us that based on all the deaths that were occurring, the Assiniboine left the Red River valley and went to the parklands in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan. He goes on to describe that in the 1830’s they felt the full epidemic of smallpox because of their location between English and American traders. Because of this, Daschuk says there are only a handful of their reserves left. He also talks about the decline of Arikara and Mandan near the Missouri River, again blaming disease for spreading through their communities. Next he talks about the virgin soil outbreak of smallpox in southern Alberta before 1750 but says it got there before the Europeans. Its pointed out that equestrian travel is what may have brought it over from eastern Canada.

Now looking at phase two. The author describes a terrible relationship between the First Nations and Canada. The treaties were essential for the government and were seen as necessary for the development of the region, where as for the First Nations they were seen as a bridge to a future with no bison. The treaty 6 not only helped them gain agricultural support, but negotiated for medical aid and relief. It turns out that getting rid of the bison “brought a fundamental change in the power dynamic between First Nations and the Canadian state. With loss of the bison, indigenous people lost their independence and power”. This led to famine, and the first emergence of tuberculosis in the region. The author goes on to describe that once the conservative government took over in 1878 famine became a huge issue. The government began to use food as a way to control the First Nations population, allowing people to supply bad or contaminated food in order to maximize their profits. Because this was the only food source for the First Nations in the area it made many “vulnerable to the predations of officials who abused their authority”.

 As Daschuk explains, by the early twentieth century based on what had happened with disease and the government, it was looked at as acceptable to think that indigenous people were more likely to get disease than the mainstream population. With this belief, it made Aboriginal people marginalized from Canadian society. This shows that the “decline of First Nations health was the direct result of economic and cultural suppression”.

When looking at the strengths of this article there a few that stand out. I thought that it was good that the article did not only look at one time period or one tribe of First Nations people. The article went through different times in history, and looked at affects that were felt by different tribes. I also thought one of the strengths was the language used in the text. It was easy to understand and made reading it a lot more enjoyable than having to search for meaning. One small weakness that stood out to me was that it only looked at the bad things Canada has done to its First Nations people. I understand that’s part of the argument, but I’m sure in all the history between Canada and its people there must be something positive the country did.

This article is very useful. It allows readers to see into the past; a past that they may not have even known existed. It allows teachers and regular citizens alike to see that First Nations have been struggling with citizenship for centuries, and that they have been suppressed economically and culturally for just as long. By teachers reading this article, it may allow them to get a better understanding of what their First Nations students ancestors went through, and why they may have a negative view of Canada.