The Oka events of summer 1990 discussed in the previous chapter played a pivotal role in shaping most Quebecers’ perception of First Nations
First Nations
A term that came into common usage in the 1970s to replace the word “Indian,” which some people found offensive. Among its uses, the term refers to the Status, Non-Status and Treaty Indians of Canada. Some Aboriginal peoples have replaced the word “Band” in the name of their community with the term “First Nation,” respecting their distinct language, culture, heritage and systems of knowledge. Although “First Nation” is widely used, it has no legal definition.
Thus, a person might say that they’re from the Naskapi First Nation of Kawawachikamach, or the Atikamekw First Nation of Manawan, or the Mohawk First Nation of Akwesasne, etc., identifying both the nation to which they belong and their place of origin or residence.
. According to popular belief, Aboriginal people are privileged and even have greater rights than other citizens of Québec. This belief has become part of everyday discourse and, moreover, was confirmed by two opinion polls conducted in 1992 and 1994, not long after the Oka Crisis.
In the first poll, conducted by Léger and Léger for the Journal de Montréal in December 1992, 66.5 per cent of respondents said that Aboriginal people in Québec have more rights than other citizens. In the poll of Québec Francophones and Anglophones conducted in March 1994 for La Presse and Radio-Québec by SOM, 52 per cent of Francophone respondents were of the opinion that the quality of life on reserves was “much better” or “somewhat better” than that of Quebecers living in the rest of the province. Even more surprising, only 9 per cent of Francophone respondents believed that living conditions on reserves were “much worse” than elsewhere in Québec.
However, more recent opinion polls reveal a change in public perceptions. In 2006, 55% of respondents in a Léger Marketing poll conducted for the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador believed that the ocioeconomic situation of Aboriginal people was worse than that of Quebecers in general; of that percentage, 19% said that it was much worse. On the other hand, 15% of Quebecers believed the exact opposite: that the socioeconomic situation of Aboriginal people was better, while 23% were of the opinion that it was more or less the same. (AFNQL 2006, 6) The authors of the report pointed out that a significantly higher number of respondents who believed that the socioeconomic situation of Aboriginal people was similar to that of Quebecers were Francophone. (Idem.)
The results of a national public opinion poll conducted in October 2016 by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation are also telling: 41% of Canadians said that the federal government should work to remove any special status and programs for Indigenous Canadians. While this opinion was the strongest in the western provinces, it nevertheless received 35% support in Québec. (Radio-Canada 2016a)
In September 1994, a company had no qualms about exploiting popular prejudice against Aboriginal people.
This full-page advertisement appeared in the major French-language newspapers in the Montréal area; no doubt it relied on an opinion poll published a few months earlier. The small print suggests that the Mohawk enjoy special privileges that they don’t deserve: [TRANSLATION] “With Super Écono, there’s no special treatment! Everyone gets the best service at the best possible price and with the least expensive service plan in the business. Because keeping warm in the winter isn’t a privilege, it’s a must”.
“Beaver reserves”, where the government has granted Aboriginal peoples the exclusive right to trap fur-bearing animals, represent how much of the province of Québec’s territory?
The beaver reserves span an impressive 232,500 km2 in size, covering nearly 80 per cent of Québec. This network of sanctuaries and reserves, established in the 1930s by Québec in collaboration with the federal government to protect wildlife and counter abuses perpetrated by non-Aboriginals at the time, still exists today.
