This item is not viewable because it is not yet digitized or has special access permissions. Please log in or request access.
The Squamish Aboriginal Economy, 1860-1940
Academic Work
The arrival of white settlement and industry to the lower mainland of British Columbia had a profound impact on the economy of the Squamish first nation. From 1860 to 1940 the Squamish economy moved beyond subsistence activities to incorporate paid labour and revenues from the disposal of land and resources. In the course of expanding and diversifying their economy, the Squamish had to deal with numerous restrictions and impediments. Municipal, colonial, and provincial governments and local capitalists were often intolerant of the Squamish, while missionaries and officials of the federal Department of Indian Affairs hindered the Squamish economy with their benevolent paternalism. In the face of these obstacles, the Squamish failed to integrate fully into the provincial economy; they provided labour and resources to capitalists, but were not capitalists themselves. By 1940, the Squamish were wealthy but economically unstable. They had significant communal revenues from their lands and resources, but individual families relied on paid labour and subsistence activities, both of which were subject to intense, but variable, external pressures.
This thesis relies on the records of the Department of Indian Affairs, most of which are found in the National Archives of Canada. Records from the archives of the Oblate Missionaries, the British Columbia Archives and Records Service, and photographs from the Vancouver Public Library's Special Collections were also valuable primary sources of information. Several published interviews and biographies of prominent Squamish people help to offset the heavy reliance on government sources of information, as do numerous secondary sources on aboriginal cultures in the Pacific Northwest.
Major themes in the historiography of aboriginal-white relations in British Columbia and Canada play out in the evolving economy of the Squamish: the Indian policy of the colonial and provincial governments of British Columbia, the subtle but strong role of missionaries in aboriginal cultures, and the federal government's benevolent but often misguided paternalism towards aboriginal people. Focussing on a single aboriginal group allows us to illustrate the complexity and nuance of aboriginal-white relations that works of a larger scope cannot convey. The arrival of white settlers and industry presented the Squamish with a mix of both opportunity and discrimination.
This thesis relies on the records of the Department of Indian Affairs, most of which are found in the National Archives of Canada. Records from the archives of the Oblate Missionaries, the British Columbia Archives and Records Service, and photographs from the Vancouver Public Library's Special Collections were also valuable primary sources of information. Several published interviews and biographies of prominent Squamish people help to offset the heavy reliance on government sources of information, as do numerous secondary sources on aboriginal cultures in the Pacific Northwest.
Major themes in the historiography of aboriginal-white relations in British Columbia and Canada play out in the evolving economy of the Squamish: the Indian policy of the colonial and provincial governments of British Columbia, the subtle but strong role of missionaries in aboriginal cultures, and the federal government's benevolent but often misguided paternalism towards aboriginal people. Focussing on a single aboriginal group allows us to illustrate the complexity and nuance of aboriginal-white relations that works of a larger scope cannot convey. The arrival of white settlers and industry presented the Squamish with a mix of both opportunity and discrimination.
AW.00163
August 1996
Economics
Thesis / Dissertation
Do you have a comment, story, or something you would like us to know related to this item?