Description
Battle Grounds: The Canadian Military and Aboriginal Lands is a fascinating historical study of the use of First Nations lands by the Canadian military. Over the years the Canadian war effort grows with each new world conflict. This situation has led to an increase in the misuse of First Nations lands by the Canadian government. In this case study of the Canadian military's appropriation of reserve land, the author, P. Whitney Lackenbauer, recounts the specific instances of loss of Aboriginal land. Beginning with the First World War, the Canadian government searched for locations in British Columbia and on the Sarcee Reserve. During the Second World War, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan identified land at Six Nation and Tyendinaga as sites for training. More disturbing was the loss of 2000 acres of land at Stony Point in Southern Ontario when the government took action to create Camp Ipperwash from the Chippewa community. During the Cold War, land at Cold Lake, Alberta was used as the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range. This area around Cold Lake was recognized as the traditional lands of the Dene Soun'line and Cree. In fact the area overlapped the Treaty 6, Treaty 8, and Treaty 10 regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The author examines the Oka Crisis and Ipperwash in the final chapters. This original research includes an extensive index and bibliography and an important list of cases in which the Canadian Military formally acquired Indian Reserve lands. This study of First Nations and military interaction makes a major contribution to Canadian history and the significance of Aboriginal Peoples and their territories during times of war and peace. is assistant professor of history at St. Jermone's University. This title is also available in paperback format.