When being taught about the war of 1812, we focus primarily on the perspective of the British and Americans. But does anybody ever stop to think about what this war would have looked like for the First Nations people of Canada? 

   In this blogpost, I will highlight what I think the First Nations point of view would have looked like during the time of the war of 1812. I will also share what I believe their feelings and opinions towards the battles would have been, and how they benefitted form partaking in the war. 

   Going into the battles that made up the war of 1812, the First Nations people wisely sided with the British who were fighting to keep the land that is now Canada, safe and in their possession. Both the First Nations and the British wanted to keep the Americans from expanding up into what’s now modern day Canada. The First Nations people wanted to keep the Americans from taking over their ancestral land. In order to keep this land protected, more than 10000 First Nations warriors help to fight in almost every major battle, during the war of 1812. Not only did the First Nations increase the British’s army sizes, but they also offered exceptional fighting abilities. As a First Nations person, I would feel very honoured to be able to offer so much to the British army. It would make me fight with pride knowing that my contribution was making a big difference in protecting my ancestors lands. 

   There were three main areas that the war was fought on: the Western Great Lakes region, the Niagara region and the St. Lawrence region. In all three of these places, First Nations warriors helped to keep the American warriors from invading, and taking over the land. I imagine the First Nations saw this as a very important job, as the work they were doing was helping to keep their ancestral lands protected from being over taken. 

   The First Nations played a very key part in the victory at the Battle of Detroit. If it hadn’t been for the Shawnee leader, Tecumseh, and his great deception and bluffing techniques, the outcome of the Battle of Detroit may have been very different. Even thought the British went into the fight with less men, they were able to use strategic planning and deception methods to trick the Americans into surrendering. Once again, as a First Nations person, I would take much pride in the fact that it was because of not only our great efforts that the Battle was won, but also our traditions and practices that played a huge part in the British victory. 

   Overall, I think that the First Nations people fought the battles involved in the war of 1812 with a lot of heart and a lot of drive. This drive came not only from the fact that they were protecting their ancestral land, but that they were also protecting their ties with the British. 

   These ties with the British helped to provide them with jobs and equipment they wouldn’t otherwise have. If it wasn’t for the British people living in “Canada” the fur trade would not have existed. And to the First Nations people the fur trade was very important, as it provided many of them with a source of income. They were able to trade the pelts and furs they hunted for valuable things that they needed. This included things like pots, pans, weapons, metals... So by fighting along side the British, they helped to not only keep the fur trade alive, but also strengthen their ties with the British, and keep their ancestral land safe and out of the hands of the Americans. 

1812 The War That Saved Canada(2012)Uploaded By: Canadian War Museum. 

Available online at: https://legionmagazine.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/1812Lead.jpg

Websites used:

https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1338906261900/1338906300039

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/m/article/first-nations-in-the-war-of-1812/

Teacher POV on Residential Schools

Residential Schools were 'taught' by missionaries and nuns. The main focus of the First Nations children's' education at the Residential Schools was religion. The main purpose of residential schools was to assimilate the First Nations into European culture, so religion was a big part of that. Also as a part of their education, girls were taught to do laundry, sew, cook, and clean; while the boys were taught carpentry, tinsmithing, and farming. These were everyday lessons and were taught by the nuns and missionaries (people who did these things).
A lot of the teachers who accepted the jobs at residential schools were not fully aware of what the children were going through. Some of them thought they were there to nurture the kids. Much like Florence Kaefer, some were shocked to learn (40 years later) that all kinds of abuse was bestowed upon the kids by other staff members.
Decades later, many of the old residential school teachers reconciled with the old residential school students. Many were not as aware as people thought. Sometimes there was abuse, but a lot of times there wasn't. We now see that what they were doing was very wrong and cruel, but then, to them they  were teaching the First Nations children the European way of life, not stripping them of who they were.
A lot of former teachers of residential schools have shown empathy for the students that they used to care for. They are upset by the reputation left behind and they are willing to share their side of the story so that they can restore their relationship with the past.



"In the late 1980s, many former students came forward with stories detailing physical and sexual abuse, cultural repression and enforced loss of language. Some eventually filed lawsuits against the federal government and the churches.
In 1993, Archbishop Michael Peers, then the Anglican church’s primate, apologized for the church’s involvement in the schools and for the harm it had done to aboriginal people.
Since then, the Anglican church has sought to address the residential schools legacy in various ways, including support for indigenous ministries, the establishment of a healing fund in 1991, and signing both the initial Residential Schools Settlement Agreement in 2003 and the revised agreement in 2007".
Residential schools staff urged to share stories. (2011). Uploaded by Anglican Journal. Available online at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/residential-schools-staff-urged-to-share-stories-9694

Canada's residential school story to be taught in classrooms this fall.(2015). Uploaded by CBC. Available online at:  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/canada-s-residential-school-story-to-be-taught-in-classrooms-this-fall-1.3216399

Info references
Living conditions at the residential schools. (2009). Uploaded by First Nations and Indigenous Studdies. Available online at: http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government-policy/the-residential-school-system.html


Back to the Red Road. (2015). Uploaded by Caitlin Press Inc.. Available online at: http://caitlin-press.com/our-books/back-to-the-red-road/


http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/memoir-tells-two-stories-of-residential-schools-261346601.html


Residential schools staff urged to share stories. (2011). Uploaded by Anglican Journal. Available online at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/articles/residential-schools-staff-urged-to-share-stories-9694

Teachers in Residential Schools

Residential schools were "boarding" schools meant to keep Indigenous people (F.N.M.I) so that they could assimilate them into European cultures.

Dear Diary;

Today is the day that I start my job at the local residential school, and I have to admit that I am quite nervous. I have heard lots of not so nice things about these places like their teaching is horrible, no empathy for these children at all, I just hope today won’t be one of those days that I have heard all about.

Dear Diary;

It is terrible! These poor children have it so rough. Some of these boys had to wake up at the crack of dawn and do the morning chores like milking the cows and feeding the animals before anyone else woke up. Then about a half hour later everyone else woke up.  After they did their morning Mass, they had their breakfast and trust me it didn’t look good at all.

Dear Diary;

All they do is chores! And when I finally get them for their studies, a lot of it was the religious stuff and then finally the stuff that mattered. Once we finally had gotten to the math, reading, and writing these poor children were so tuckered out that they were too tired to focus or just didn’t really care. We only have two hours per day to learn the things every child should know and we aren’t even getting that!

Dear Diary;

The children have finally gotten out of their lesson and it’s time to do more work. The little girls learn how to sew, do the laundry, cook and clean. Most of the stuff they learn to cook is served to all the other children for breakfast in the morning. The boys are taught how to tend to the land, like raise a farm, grow a garden and chop down the wood, they also learn other things like shoe repair which for the amount of time they are on their feet, it will definitely be useful.

The children have finally finished all the things they have to do and are all getting ready for bed. They brush their teeth, cleaned up their face and hands threw on some pyjamas and went off to bed.

Dear Diary;

I don’t know how these children do it but however they get through it is something I wish I had in me. They all know they don’t have it easy but they don’t let it get them down. If I were one of them I’d just look at each day as if it were a new opportunity to make the next one better and better.

Sources: My brain,

              Nishnawbe Aski Nation Package 

battle of loos

Dear dairy

 French British and British forces will try to break through are defenses in Artois.  We presume that their goal is to improve their war effort and restore the war of movement. The enemies have begun to their assault and are trying to break are wire around loos with artillery strikes. They have been unsuccessful thus afar but we must drive them back before they are able to gain any more ground on loos. A unforeseen event however is that the British are using chlorine gas against us which was a surprise because they have never used it before, never the less this won’t be a big issue for us. We have not lost and major casualties only some ground losses but we were able to hold them off for the time begging. The have reinforcement only a few days away so we need to regroup and begging to prepare for another assault.

Dear diary

Sep 26. The British have resumed their attack on loos with new reserves. We managed to recover and improved are defensive positions. In a matter of hours we have managed to take out more than half of their battalions we killed 8000 of the 10000 sent to attack loos. We are hoping that they do not attack from the north for are defenses there are not as strong as are defenses in the southern part of loos. Before the days end we will have defeated the opposing force.

Dear diary

Sep 28. We have full driven back the British and French army’s. We must have killed more than 20000 solder’s during the battle. While digging through the mound of corpses we discovered that among the mass of body’s we had also killed three major generals during the fight. This is a massive step for us and is war effort s. now we must work on recapturing the Hohenzollern Redoubt and the rest of the ground we have lost during the battle which will prove to be a difficult task and will take weeks to accomplish. Most of our time in this division will be spent repairing the damages that loos had suffered and burning the countless body’s the fill the land surrounding the town.

sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Loos and my brain

Eyes from the Ground

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a part of a country that fought against Canada in World War One?

Well, now's your chance to find out what it was like on the other side of the war, in the German Empire.

 
The Germans had always been enthusiastic about war and they greeted it with open arms, desperate for the chance to gain new territory. They were different in this way than the Canadians were, as our country often took the role as a conflict-avoider.




However, after the initial rush of power that comes with war, enthusiasm began to fade in Germany and morale lowered its self as the numbers of casualties kept rising. Germany was not a country that prepared for long-term wars and the economy began to struggle after a few months, remaining disorganized throughout the war. They had a tough time getting food and experienced food shortages and by 1917, hundreds of thousands of Germans suffered and died because of malnutrition and diseases experienced. In Canada, agriculture became more supported by youth of the country and they were asked to help out on farms so that they could support the warfront. Victory bonds in Canada raised over two billion dollars in order to finance the war. Canada remained in a relatively good position meanwhile, Germany struggled.


Both nations took more than their fair share of casualties. 61 000 Canadian soldiers were killed and 38 million civilians and soldiers were killed during world war one.  

On the other side of the Fence: Residential schools

  Residential schools were one of history’s most cruel events to have taken place. In Canada, Residential schools had taken hundreds of innocent First Nations children away from their families and traditional lives. They were forced to forget their native languages, culture, and identity against their wills. Many schools were said to be run by nuns and missionaries, who were abusive emotionally, physically and sexually towards the children. Though to think there was never once one nun or missionary that had ever treated the children with love and care, would be to say there was never a rose within a thorn bush.

  Dear Diary,

Today is my first day working for the government as a teacher in a local Residential school. I have no idea what to expect, I’ve heard rumours that many mean old missionaries work there. And that they beat the children. How could anyone do that? I know for certain that I would never do that, I could never harm I child. I accepted this job to teach, to do what I loved. I was lucky enough to get my grade 6 reading and writing so I would love to pass that on. I would treat the First Nation children like I would treat any other.

Dear Diary,

 I don’t even have words to describe how horrific it is here. All the children started their days by being waken up without warning. Some of the young boys were up earlier to feed and milk the cows. They had to make their beds, brush their teeth, and clean the bathrooms all in a span of 10 minutes. Some children also had stay behind and scrub the bathroom floors after all the other children were done. Morning mass was next, the children had to kneel, all I could think about was their poor little knees.  Then they went to the dining room to eat a less the healthy breakfast. Sticky porridge, a small piece of bread with butter and one glass of milk. How could a growing child grow with a morning meal so weak as that?

 After breakfast, all the children had to do more cleaning and chores. I understood that chores had to be done but wasn’t learning more important? I made the mistake of asking the older nun showing me around, she barked that “These children need to learn responsibility.” That made no sense, but she was very scary so I just nodded. Finally, it was class time at last! But all the first hour was was more praying. Then I only had two hours to teach them as much as I could, about writing, reading, and math. It was impossible, these poor children were already either to exhausted or bored to focus. I tried by best but I knew all they wanted to do was to go home and see their families.

Dear Diary,

 After the very un successful class, the children were now sent to do work and MORE chores! The little girls learned to sew, laundry, cook and clean. I was hoping they were going to be able to sew a felt doll or something but no only cloths and towels. The boys learned the parts on the farm, and how to grow a garden. Then they were handed axes and were to chop wood. They could cut off an arm! Especially the younger boys who didn’t have their upper body strength yet.

Dear Diary,

  After study time and supper, during recreation time I saw a little boy who had just been beaten for speaking in his native language. I gave him a hug and tried to tell him everything was going to be alright. The boy smiled up at me and at that moment I knew these Residential schools had to be shut down. Children should not be treated this way.

Dear Diary,

Today is my last day.  

Sources: My brain and the Nishnawbe aski Nation, healing The Generations Residential School hand out.

On The Other Side the Fence of World War 1

When we talk about World War 1, we often discuss it from the Allies point of view because of where we are located in the world (Canada). But, wars are never one-sided and there is always another side of the story. War is about pride and everyone is fighting for something. For this assignment, I will be discussing the Second Battle of Ypres (which was the first battle the Canadians were involved in, in World War 1) from the perspective of the Germans though a diary entry.

Dear Diary,

Today on April 22^nd, 1915 my army (the Germans) released around 160 tons of poisonous chlorine gas on the attack line held by the French, Moroccan and Algerian armies. This was our first successful attempt. A few months earlier during a battle I was not fighting, we released the gas but it had become inert in the cold.

Each soldier had to open the cylinders that contained the silent killer and it was an indescribable feeling. I was releasing something in the air that would kill our enemy within minutes. It gave me a sense of pride but also a small sense of guilt from taking innocent lives, but this was war. Everything was fair and I couldn’t disappoint my home country of Germany. We were relying on the wind to carry the gas to the line but some of our brothers were lost in the cross fire of releasing it.

The attack was successful and most of the French retreated and those who stood their ground, didn’t last very long. We didn’t expect this attack to be so successful; the enemy was incapacitated so quickly that after the gas had passed, we moved in as quickly as we could. The problem was though; we released the gas at 5:00 pm at night so we were losing daylight quickly. We closed the gap as best we could without getting too close to the gas and waited for the next morning.

Dear Diary,

The day is April 24^th, 1915. Since the gas attack of the 22^nd, the front line of the battle has moved to the nearby village of St. Julien. Today, we were planning another attack but this time our target has changed to the Canadians. We released another chlorine gas attack towards to front line and we quickly retreated, learning from the previous attack that we could lose some of our own soldiers to the gas. Rumors spread quickly that the Allies have figured out a way to survive the attack, urinating on a handkerchief or a sock and breathing through it. It was so simple! Something in their pee must be neutralizing the effects of the gas. This may be a setback but we will figure out a new way to eliminate the enemy quickly because we are Germany and we are strong!

The guilt of taking lives is slowing decreasing. My comrades have expressed similar feelings but this is war and we will be victorious. We will fight until the last drop of Allie blood is split. We are fighting for Germany and we will not lose.

By: Kelsey Ainscough

On the Other Side of the Red River Rebellion

   After Manitoba entered Confederation  by signing the Manitoba act in July 15 1870, many thought life for the Metis would of gotten better. However things only got worse. New settlers came into Manitoba, and without the government immediately protecting or giving metis land rights like they promised to do, many of the new residents took there own claim leaving the Metis with less. This would make anyone mad, and it resulted in a lot of people, who originally lived on the land, moving west. Eventually more settlers went west to, which again resulted with the same metis moving even farther west. This happened again, and with the metis outraged they decided to fight against the government, an event know as as the North West or Red River rebellion.
   There were also several other reasons for the rebellion, like extreme racism against the Metis. The rebellion also consisted of Aboriginal people, mad at their treatment as well, and the decedents of former HBC workers known as the country born. But when you think of the red river rebellion you think of Metis, and thats the group I want to focus on.
   The Metis had never been treated fairly even though they had contributed so much to the fur trade, an important event in Canada's history. They were left out of all government deals, which enraged the whole Metis community every time it happened.
   If you know anything bout Manitoba's confederation you should think of one man, Louis Riel. A hero to the Metis, but a traitor to the government. Why? Well first he lead Manitoba into confederation, but then he lead the Metis rebellion. The rebellion resulted in lives lost on both sides, and a huge headache for Canada's government. in the end, he was tried and hung for highest treason. But was it so?
   Louis Riel had only stood up for what he believed in. He had not tried to overthrown the government, only made them aware of the issues facing the Metis. The government of course disagreed and had him killed. They failed to realize that they were mistreating the Metis, and how hard life would of been for them.
   Louis Riel, through the eyes of the government, was a evil traitor to the nation. He had never wanted to harm anyone though, he just happened to walk the path he did because that was the one he believed lead to better results. Did it? We will never know for sure, but i think the rebellion was a better choice. If they didn't fight and walked a peaceful path, I don't think the government would of cared as much and the Metis would of ended up with less.
  Another view we often fail to see these event through is that of the first natives. The first natives were also receiving horrible treatment from the government. Their people were starving because of the poor rations they received from the government. They had treaties and land from the government, but life was hard on the first Nations. The Red River rebellion is a fight thought of being between the Metis and the Government, but lots of people don't know that the first Nations were involved too. Angry for there poor treatment, once they heard that the Metis were rebelling they joined in. They robbed stores for food and supplies and fought against police, and thing would of been way bloodier if it weren't for First Native leaders who interfered because they believed in a peaceful rebellion.

The Royal Proclamation!

What is the Royal Proclamation?

The Royal Proclamation is a very important/well known event that happened in history. In 1763 to be exact. For those of you who don't know what the Royal Proclamation is it is a document that was signed to establish rules between the British, Yankees, France, and the First Nations.

This is a photo of The Royal Proclamation. (2009). The University in British Columbia. indigenous foundations. arts.ubc.ca.

http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/government-policy/royal-proclamation-1763.html

How Did The Royal Proclamation Come About?

King George III was the person who came up with the idea of having a document that established guidelines for the European settlement. King George III was the British leader. The British King was a very greedy/selfish man along with the rest of his country. They all thought that they were better than everyone else so it was okay for them to boss the Yankees, France, and the First Nations around. After Britain won the Seven Years War King George III wanted to claim all of the British territory in North America.

Who Was Affected?

The British, Yankees, French and the First Nations were all affected. The British played the part of being the bully. The French, and the First Nations were the ones who were targeted by the bully. The Yankees weren't affected just involved. They were kind of the bi-standards who saw everything going on, but didn't care too much about it because they weren't involved. They were only involved because they wanted to see what they could get from the deal.

Who Were The Leaders?

Each country had a different leader, except for France. France did not have any leader. Their country just worked together to get through this at the time. The British ruler was King George III. William Hull was the Yankees Ruler. And the First Nations had Chief Pontiac.

Why Were The French Against The Royal Proclamation?

-Worried that they wouldn't have a religion (Roman Catholic)

-Boundaries around Quebec were limited

-Limited areas where they could trap

-Had to leave own land

-Loss of money

Why Were The First Nations Against The Royal Proclamation?

-Didn't want to lose land
-Didn't want to lose hunting/fishing areas

What Did They Do To Stop The British?

Nobody agreed with the British, but some groups were putting up a fight a little more than others. The group that put up the most fight was the First Nations.
The French just basically rolled over and died even though they didn't like what was happening. They let the British bully them. When the British said "jump", they said "how high". Every once in a while there would be a French family that tried to stand up for what they believed in, but then their land usually got burned down.
The Yankees were the group that didn't really get affected. All they did was sit back and see how they could get benefited by making deals between the French, and the First Nations people. They didn't care too much about what happened.

How Would It Be Different If The British Saw Things Through The First Nations or the Frenches eye's?

If the British saw things through the First Nations of the French's eyes then they wouldn't have tried to take away/destroy their land. If the British would have seen how important their land was to them they might have helped them maintain it. They could have helped with dressing game that they have killed, or with fishing, and the British also could have helped them gather. At the very least they would have left them alone, and let them do their own thing. If they saw how much they like the land they would have realized how much they relied on the land for their own food/income.