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Long before Canada came into being as a nation, Aboriginal peoples
had their own cultures and ways of making collective decisions.
Many of their practices survive through to today, and some have
had an influence on the Canadian Constitution.
Topics in this Section:
Many Peoples, Many Cultures
No Centralized Government
Decision Making Among the Iroquois
Decision Making Among the Blackfoot
Decision Making Among the Pacific Coast Peoples
Decision Making Among the Inuit
Treaty Making
The Great Peace of 1701
The Legacy
Other Interesting or Important Documents
Many Peoples, Many Cultures
As today, there were many Aboriginal peoples in Canada before the
arrival of the Europeans, each with its own culture and ways for
making collective decisions. Nor did Aboriginal peoples stay in
one place, or stay distinct and separate from their neighbours.
They moved apart and merged with one another regularly. Warfare
contributed to this state of flux.
No Centralized Government
Despite their differences, however, Aboriginal peoples did have
some things in common. For one thing, they did not have centralized,
formal government in the European sense.
Aboriginal societies were largely governed by unwritten customs
and codes of conduct. For collective decision-making, the family
was the most basic unit. Other units could include:
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The Village
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The Clan
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The Tribe
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The Nation
Below are examples of decision making by some Aboriginal peoples.
Decision Making Among the Iroquois
The Iroquois
and Huron
were settled, living in villages and towns and farming the land.
The Iroquois and Huron Confederacies were a loose federation of
nations:
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Iroquois: Seneca, Cayuga, Onandaga, Oneida, Mohawk and later
Tuscarora.
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Huron: Arendaronon, Ataronchronon, Attignawantan, Attigneenongnahac
and Tahontaenrat.
Decision-making was done by in two councils (one for civil matters,
the other for war). Men over 30 were members, although lineage was
determined by the mother's line. Most matters were decided by discussion
and consensus, but old men and heads of large families were the
most influential.
On a national level, there were three levels of council:
The Grand Council met at least once a year. Its delegates were men,
but were selected by women.
Decision Making Among the Plains
Nations
The Plains nations were nomadic,
with village sizes being small in the winter and larger in the summer
- sometimes holding up to a thousand people. They made decisions
through a chief and a council of elders. The chief was usually chosen
for skill as a hunter and warrior. Decisions were usually made by
unanimous consensus.
When the smaller winter villages joined together in the summer
for the buffalo hunt, the most respected of the winter chiefs became
the voices with the most authority.
Decision Making Among the Pacific
Coast Peoples
The Pacific coast peoples were settled, and had a complex social
structure including nobility, commoners and slaves. The leaders
of each village would meet during potlatch
ceremonies and discuss issues of common interest.
Decision Making Among the Inuit
The Inuit
were nomadic. Leaders were selected according to the situation,
depending on skill as a hunter, generosity, oratory ability, or
skill at reconciliation.
Treaty Making
The lack of a central government did not mean that Aboriginal peoples
could not make treaties. They frequently entered into alliances
and treaties of neutrality, although such treaties were not recorded.
These treaties were as well respected and as frequently broken as
written European treaties.
When the Europeans arrived, they imposed European methods upon
the Aboriginal peoples they met. These treaties were usually written,
and form the basis of many land claims by Aboriginal nations today.
The Great Peace of 1701
One example of early treaty making between Europeans and Aboriginal
peoples, was the Great Peace of 1701. 1,300 delegates of more than
40 First Nations converged on Montreal. The treaty that followed
the negotiations ended almost 100 years of war between the Iroquois
Confederacy and New France and its allies.
The significance of the treaty lasts to this day, as it set a precedent
for negotiation. It set the foundation for the expansion of the
"empire" of New France to the south and west, and ensured
the neutrality of the Iroquois Confederacy in case of war between
the French and English in North America.
The Legacy
The absence of government in the European sense confused Europeans
and led to inaccurate judgments about the nature of the many Aboriginal
cultures they encountered.
Despite this, they entered into many treaties with Aboriginal peoples,
and made guarantees about Aboriginal lands in important documents,
such as the Royal
Proclamation, 1763. These documents continue to have an
impact on the Constitution today, as well as land claims.
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Other Interesting or Important
Documents
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