The Thatcher Government In Saskatchewan and The Revival Of Metis Nationalism, 1964-71

The 1960s was a significant decade in the history of the relationship between the government of Saskatchewan and Aboriginal peoples. Premier Ross Thatcher, who led the Liberal party to victory in the April 1964 provincial election, had a strong personal interest in the plight of Indians and Metis, and his government undertook a number of initiatives intended to improve their living conditions. At the same time, Indians and Metis themselves experienced a political awakening and became more assertive. One might have expected many positive achievements flowing from this combination of a well-intentioned government and an energized Aboriginal community. In fact, the opposite happened. As the 1960s progressed, the Thatcher government became more and more estranged from Aboriginal organizations. This paper explores the reasons for the misunderstandings and antagonisms. In Canada, status Indians and Metis belong to different legal categories. Section 91, Subsection 24 of the British North America Act {now the Constitution Act} gave the federal government jurisdiction over Indians and lands reserved for the Indians. Metis were not included. The Indian Act (1876) provided a legal definition of an Indian as any male person of Indian blood belonging to a particular Indian band, any child of such a person, or any woman who had lawfully married such a person. Until 1985 , when the law was changed by the passage of Bill C-31, Indian women lost their status upon marrying some one who was not a status Indian. Nor did the children of such marriages have Indian status.1 In addition, status Indians whose bands are located in Saskatchewan are treaty Indians, since the entire province is covered by treaties negotiated between Indian chiefs and the Government of Canada in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Unlike status Indians, Metis have no legal definition.2 Generally speaking, they are considered to be people of mixed ancestry descended from the mingling of Indians and Europeans (French or English) in the fur trade.3 Unlike status Indians, Metis do not fall under Section 91, Subsection 24 of the BNA Act, they are not covered by the Indian Act, and they have no treaty rights and no land base. Therefore, although Metis have some common ancestry and cultural affinity with status Indians, they have a different political history. In the 1960s in Saskatchewan, Indians based their claims on the fulfillment of treaty obligations, and they very much resented being placed in the same category as Metis who had not signed treaties. Consequently, it makes sense to discuss the two groups sep\u27arately. This paper focuses primarily on the relationship between the Saskatchewan government and the Metis.