The Lives of Native People in Western Canada Before and After Contact

Prior to the discovery of North America by European explorers, the Aboriginal peoples had an entire continent to themselves. They were able to satisfy their spiritual and material needs by utilising the natural resources that surrounded them, each group followed their own culture and traditions, which ranged from nomadic lifestyles, such as the plains peoples who followed the buffalo, to the settled farmers such as the Iroquois. The arrival of the white man would eventually change everything, and fundamentally affect the Aboriginal people's relationship with the land and its resources.

There were six main groups of First Nations, each identified by their geographical area, these were; Woodland First Nations, Iroquoian First Nations, Plains First Nations, Plateau First Nations, Pacific Coast First Nations and the Mackenzie and Yukon River Basins. (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada; Government of Canada) In keeping with their name the Woodlands First Nations set up roots in the forests of the east, the Iroquoian First Nations in the south, they were skilled farmers as the land they settled on was fertile, in the Prairies were the Plains First Nation, while way up in the mountains the Plateau dwelled. Along the Pacific coast of course the Pacific Coast First Nation could be found salmon fishing and lastly the Mackenzie settled in the forest and swampy land. The first Nations of the Woodland, Plains, Plateau and Mackenzie were primarily nomadic whilst the Pacific Coast and Iroquoian built more permanent houses.

It is difficult to determine just how many people lived in North America before the Europeans came to the shores. Some reckon only around 100,000 native peoples lived throughout Northern America. In this pre contact era, aboriginal peoples were distributed unevenly across the Canadian landscape. Across the Northern regions, in Arctic areas stretching from Labrador to the Beaufort Sea, were a succession of Inuit peoples. Later some of these Aboriginals would settle themselves in portions of what is now knows as Quebec. A few of the other major groupings included the Central Inuit where some could be found on the shores of Hudson Bay, the Banks Island Inuit who could be found in Victoria and other large areas of the central Arctic Coast, and the Western Inuit (Inuvialuit) who were located along the Arctic Shore of the western part of the modern-day northwest territories and the easternmost portion of modern-day Yukon.

In what is now known as Quebec City the Iroquoians inhabited most of this area hunting, fishing, gathering and trading. Eventually either when the Europeans came to the shores or when diseases spread these aboriginals were wiped out, no one really knows how they disappeared. But what is known is that before the Iroquoians were wiped out they occupied most of the Quebec area as well as areas of Ottawa and St, Lawrence rivers. At this same time, the Blackfoot dominated most of Alberta as well as down as far as Montana in the United States. Over in British Columbia could be found the heaviest population of aboriginal peoples. There were many hunter-gathering clans in deep within the province from the southeast right in to the centre. While in the northern area the Chilcotin and Tutchone dominated the majority of the lands.

Prior to contact, aboriginal mobility was understood in two senses: seasonal and long term. Virtually all aboriginal communities moved around according to the seasons. This was most obvious in the case of the hunter-gatherers who in the summer months could be found near fishing locations while in the winter months they would move to the northern parts of Quebec. The other form of mobility resulted in long term or sometimes permanent relocation. This movement was the shift, usually over many years, of a group from one region to another, most likely due to military setbacks or in search of other economic opportunities.

Aboriginals did not have a centralized, formal government like the Europeans. They were largely governed by unwritten customs and codes of conduct. They had many treaties already intact before the European fur traders and settlers arrived. Aboriginals used oral treaties and trade/marriage arrangements to settle land disputes as well as to end wars between tribes. When the Europeans arrived, they brought their own methods of law with them, especially the written treaties. Particularly after the conquest, when the British gradually began to establish a strong hold on the continent, Aboriginals were not happy with the outcome of the written treaties - sometimes these treaties did not include the oral promises made to the Aboriginals. An example of a written treaty between the white people and the natives is the Great Peace of 1701. The treaty ended an almost 100 years war between the Iroquois Confederacy and New France. The Treaty lasts right up to today as it is used as negotiation to settles disputes between the First Nations and Europeans. It also set the foundation for the expansion of the "empire" of New France to the south and west.

With