TIMELINE OF FIRST NATION HISTORY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
| 1763 | The Royal Proclamation is signed, explicitly recognizing aboriginal land rights and authority in British North America. The British Crown establishes itself as the sole authority to negotiate cessation of aboriginal title by treaty. In Canada, the Royal Proclamation is the legal basis of aboriginal title and an historical root of the treaty process. |
| 1774 | Spanish explorer Juan José Peréz Hérnandez is the first European known to make contact with the aboriginal people of British Columbia when he trades with the Haida off what is eventually named the Queen Charlotte Islands. Hérnandez also later drops anchor in Nootka Sound and trades with the resident natives aboard ship. |
| 1778 | Captain James Cook stays nearly a month refitting at Nootka Sound on his third voyage to the Pacific, becoming the first European known to actually set foot in British Columbia. He discovers that the aboriginal people are familiar with iron (probably because of earlier trade with the Spanish) and trades for various items, including sea otter pelts. The pelts later command a fantastic price in China. |
| 1784 | The account of Cook's voyage is published, including the price fetched for sea otter pelts, inspiring a rush for furs. |
| 1785-1825 | The maritime fur trade is conducted off the western coast. During this period, roughly 170 ships from Europe ("King George Men") and the United State ("Boston Men") participate in the trade. The aboriginal people of west coast (the Nuuchanulth) are willing partners in the trade, which is generally amenable and mutually beneficial. Most ships stay only for a season, but encourage friendly relations with the natives because they might be encountered the next season. The Nuuchanulth skilfully play ships off each other, negotiating the highest possible price for their furs and thereby heavily influencing the trade. The fur trade declines when the sea otter population is hunted almost to extinction. |
| 1792 | Captain George Vancouver charts most of Georgia Straight, including English Bay, the future site of the city bearing his name. |
| 1793 | Alexander Mackenzie is the first European to reach the Pacific by land. His traverse is possible only because he follows the "grease trails" through the northern part of British Columbia, a network of well-established routes used by natives for the traditional trade in oolichan oil (or "grease"). |
| 1803 | Chief Maquinna of Nootka Sound attacks the Boston, an American sealing vessel, after enduring taunts and insults from the captain. The ship's blacksmith, John Jewitt, is captured and remains in Maquinna's custody for two years. Jewitt keeps a detailed journal during his captivity that remains one of the earliest insights into the daily lives of Maquinna and his people. |
| 1827 | The Hudson's Bay Company establishes Fort Langley near the mouth of the Fraser River. In addition to furs, the HBC conducts a thriving trade for salmon and other foodstuffs with the resident natives. |
| 1843 | The Hudson's Bay Company establishes Fort Victoria on the southeast tip of Vancouver Island. The fort becomes a center of trade between the HBC and most of the aboriginal nations on the coast and adjacent mainland. Some groups relocate to the vicinity of Victoria as the resident "homeguard," i.e., trading and working directly for the HBC. |
| 1849 | The British establish Vancouver Island as a colony, largely as a political manouver to counter American expansion into the Pacific Northwest. The Hudson's Bay Company, which already holds exclusive trading rights on the mainland, is granted jurisdiction on condition that it promotes colonization. Chief Factor James Douglas, who oversees all HBC activity in the region, is appointed governor of Vancouver Island in 1851 and establishes the legislature in the main fort at Victoria. |
| 1850-54 | Governor James Douglas enters into 14 treaties with various First Nations on Vancouver Island. He believes that the aboriginal population has proprietary rights to the land that must be properly extinguished in advance of settlement. Douglas tries to make more treaties, but Britain refuses to provide the necessary funds. |
| Natives and newcomers clash over access to lands and resources. The Haida chase off Americans exploring rumours of gold on the Queen Charlotte Islands. The Cowichan and Thompson River people have frequently violent conflicts with settlers encroaching on their territories without permission or tribute. | |
| 1858 | The Fraser River gold rush begins. Roughly 30,000 men and women head for the British Columbia mainland, many staying as the vanguard of settlement in the area. Conflicts with the natives escalate. To maintain order, Britain declares mainland British Columbia a colony under the control of Governor Douglas, who must resign from the Hudson's Bay Company to accept the position. Britain expects Douglas to ensure peaceful conduct in the gold fields. He introduces a series of regulations that are among the first imposed by a settler government upon native people. |
| Although he has no funds for treaty-making, Governor Douglas pursues a policy of assigning reserves to First Nations on the mainland. He allows the native people to point out the boundaries of the reserves and believes they should be able to pre-empt or purchase additional lands like any other citizen | |
| 1862 | One of the worst smallpox epidemics sweeps through British Columbia, killing an estimated one-third of the aboriginal population. Several thousand natives throughout the region are innoculated, but disease remains a major cause of population decline for a generation. |
| 1864- 71 | Joseph Trutch, British Columbia's Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works, is responsible for establishing aboriginal reserve lands. Although Governor Douglas, who retires in 1864, believed allotting a minimum of 10 acres per family, Trutch interprets this as a maximum area and subsequently introduces a policy of "adjustment" to the Douglas allotments. Trutch also reverses Douglas's policy of allowing natives to pre-empt land, considering that it would be an "embarrassing precedent" to the goal of white settlement. Trutch's policies inspire vigorous protest from First Nations, to no avail. |
| 1864 | Chief Klatsassin of the Chilcotin Nation leads an attack on a survey party planning a wagon road through their territory to the Cariboo gold fields, killing 13. After a manhunt, Klatsassin and four other chiefs are seized, tried, and hanged for their role in the "Chilcotin Uprising." |
| 1866 | Vancouver Island and British Columbia are united to become the Colony of British Columbia. |
| 1867 | Canada is confederated under the terms of the British North America Act. |
| 1871 | British Columbia joins Canada under the Terms of Union. The aboriginal people, who comprise the majority of the population, are excluded from the political decision to enter Confederation. |
| 1872 | The right of aboriginal people to vote in provincial elections is rescinded. |
| 1874 | The Indian Act is restructured and codified from pre-confederation laws. It influences all aspect of a native's life from birth to death. Traditional political organization is replaced by an imposed Band Council structure and Indian Agents became the administrative intermediaries betweenthe aboriginal population and the federal government. |
| The Joint Indian Reserve Commission is formed to allot reserves to natives in British Columbia according to requirements, rather than set acreage. Composed of three members — a provincial commissioner, a federal commissioner, and a jointly-appointed commissioner — the JIRC allots reserves principally in the interior and other areas affected by settlement. | |
| The commission's effectiveness is limited by ongoing squabbling between the federal and provincial appointees, who disagree on policy for reserving lands. By 1878, the JIRC is reduced to a single commissioner. | |
| 1879 | A large gathering of members from various interior First Nations meet in Lytton and agree on a set of regulations to help educate their children, improve sanitary and medical facilities in villages, subdivide arable land on an individual basis, abandon the potlatch, and levy fines for drunkeness and gambling. Although the meeting was a significant attempt to conform to settler values, it was viewed with alarm by the newcomers as an example of political insurgence by First Nations. Fear of native organization and an armed uprising persist as First Nations continue to agitate forland and title rights in the following decades. |
| 1884 | A law is enacted against the potlatch, a traditional gift-giving ceremony central to aboriginal social organization, status, and life-cycle events. The federal government approves the formation of church-run industrial and residential schools in certain areas to educate aboriginal children. The federal government also introduce laws limiting aboriginal people in fishing, hunting, and other food-gathering activities. |
| 1887 | A delegation of Nisga'a and Tsimshean chiefs goes to Victoria "to petition for the return of their lands" and a formal treaty guaranteeing their rights to those lands "forever." The petition falls on deaf ears. |
| 1899 | At a protest blockade near Fort St. John, First Nations of the area demanded a treaty and halted the flow of miners. As a result, their entry into Treaty 8 is negotiated. |
| 1909-10 | A delegation of First Nations apply to King Edward VII to have the Privy Council determine aboriginal title. The request is denied on the grounds that it is a Canadian issue. |
| 1910 | Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier visits British Columbia. He supports recognition of aboriginal land rights, in contrast to the province which resolutely refuses to acknowledge aboriginal rights. The stark opposition of federal and provincial positions hamstrings negotiations for an aboriginal land policy for decades. |
| 1912-16 | The Royal Commission on Indian Affairs is established in response to increasing pressure from new settlers seeking lands in British Columbia. The commission, known as the McKenna-McBride Commission after the federal and provincial officials that founded it, reviews the size of reserves throughout the province and, while it introduced many new reserves (mainly fishing stations and poor quality lands), it cuts off 47,085 acres worth twice as much from existing reserves. |
| 1913 | Duncan Campbell Scott becomes Deputy Superintendent General of the Department of Indian Affairs, the chief bureaucrat responsible for aboriginal policy. His stated objective is assimilation. He oversees virtually all aspects of the department until his retirement in 1932. |
| 1916 | The Allied Tribes of British Columbia is formed to pursue recognition of title and treaties. |
| 1922 | Chief Dan Cranmer and his guests are arrested for potlatching in Alert Bay. Fifty-one people, including grandmothers, are convicted and 22 are sent to prison for terms of two–six months. It is the greatest prosecution of the anti-potlatch law since it was introduced in 1884. Valuable ceremonial regalia is illegally seized by the Indian Agent and unilaterally sold to museums throughout North America |
| 1927 | The Indian Act is amended to make it illegal for native peoples to raise money or retain a lawyer to advance land claims, thereby blocking effective legal action toward establishing aboriginal land title. |
| 1931 | The Native Brotherhood of British Columbia is formed at a December meeting in Port Simpson, with delegates from Masset, Hartley Bay, Kitkatla, Port Essington, and Metlakatla. |
| 1949 | The right of aboriginal people in British Columbia to vote in provincial elections is reinstated. |
| 1951 | In a restructuring of the Indian Act, the federal government quietly drops the regulations against potlatching and land claims activity. |
| 1960 | Aboriginal people in Canada are permitted to vote in federal elections. |
| 1969 | The Nisga'a go to court over the Calder case. The Supreme Court rules that the Nisga'a hold title to their traditional lands before British Columbia was created. The court splits evenly on whether Nisga'a retain title. |
| The federal government, under Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister of Indian Affairs Jean Chrétien, issues its "White Paper" advocating policies that promote the assimilation of aboriginal people. Aboriginal opposition is vigorous and immediate. They respond with the "Red Paper" declaring that native people are a distinct category of people within Canada, or "citizens-plus." | |
| The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs is formed to act as a unified voice to advance the political interests of its member First Nations. | |
| 1972 | Indian Control of Indian Education policy document is written by National Indian Brotherhood advocating parental responsibility and local control over First Nations education. This policy is accepted by federal government a year later. |
| 1973 | As a result of the Calder case in 1969, the federal government adopts a comprehensive land claims policy to address issues of aboriginal title. British Columbia refuses to participate. |
| The federal government also establishes a specific claims policy to "fast track" First Nations claims over breaches of treaties and federal fiduciary obligations through negotiation rather than litigation. | |
| 1970s-1980s | Increased First Nations protests and evolution of political structures, such as tribal councils representing traditional historical associations. British Columbia still refuses to recognize aboriginal title or negotiate treaties. |
| 1982 | Canada's Constitutional Act, Section 35, recognizes and affirms existing aboriginal and treaty rights. |
| 1989 | The British Columbia Premier's Council on Native Affairs is created to meet with First Nations representatives and prepare recommendations on a range of issues. The BC Ministry of Aboriginal Affair is formed. |
| 1990 | The Oka Crisis in Québec receives national attention when Mohawk warriors meet in an armed stand-off with the provincial police and Canadian army over the land at Oka. Native people across the country rally to support the Mohawks and to emphasize their demands for recognition of inherent aboriginal title and rights. |
| The Sparrow decision is handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada, confirming that the right of the Musqueam people to fish for food, social, and ceremonial purposes was never extinguished. | |
| British Columbia agrees to join the First Nations and Canada in treaty negotiations. | |
| 1991 | BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Alan McEachern dismisses the claim of the Gitxsan-Wet'suwet'en chiefs in the Delgamu'ukw case. The case subsequently moves to the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. |
| Nisga'a Tribal Council, British Columbia, and Canada sign a tripartite framework agreement that establishes the scope, process, and topics for a treaty negotiation. | |
| The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples is established to investigate the relationship between native and non-native people in Canada and propose solutions to identified problems. Four native and three non-native commissioners are appointed to the commission. RCAP issues its final report in 1996, which contains 440 recommendations covering a wide range of native issues. Few of these recommendations are ever implemented by the federal government. | |
| 1992 | The British Columbia Treaty Commission is formed through agreement with the First Nations Summit, British Columbia, and Canada as a neutral body to facilitate treaty negotiations. Within two years, the BCTC receives Statements of Intent from 42 First Nations to negotiate treaties. |
| 1997 | The Supreme Court of Canada hands down its unanimous decision on the Delgamu'ukw case. The court rules that aboriginal title to the land was never extinguished. Furthermore, the court states that the previous trial judge erred by not accepting oral history as evidence in the case. The claim was sent back to trial with the suggestion that negotiations are the best way to resolve outstanding claims. |
| 1998 | The Nisga'a conclude a treaty with Canada and British Columbia. Stemming from the Calder case in 1969, the treaty is the first "modern treaty" negotiated between a First Nation and the British Columbia government. The treaty sets out the Nisga'a's right to self-government, and the authority to manage lands and resources. |
| 2001 | The Office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada is formed by the federal government to address roughly 13,000 claims of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse suffered by aboriginal students that attended residential schools. |
| 2006 | The Tsawwassen First Nation Agreement is initialled. Hailed as a modern treaty and the first in the Lower Mainland to complete the six-stage settlement process with the British Columbia Treaty Commission, the agreement calls for the Tsawwasen First Nation to own approximately 724 hectares of land in fee simple without any more reserves or the privileges arising from owing reserve lands. |
| 2008 | The Canadian federal government issues a formal apology to the survivors of the Indian residential school system, not only for the excesses suffered in the system but also for the creation of the system itself. Aboriginal leaders across Canada cite the apology as an mportant step to the healing process. |