By Victoria Freeman
We do further declare it to be our Royal Will and Pleasure, for the present, as aforesaid, to reserve under Our Sovereignty, Protection and Domain, for the use of said Indians, all lands and territories not within the limits of …etc., etc..
DON’T GET ME STARTED
Someone should write a PhD thesis on the number of Indigenous lifetimes wasted on litigation because of these words. Someone should quantify exactly how much money lawyers (and historians) have made from them since 1763, or perhaps real estate developers, past and present. Someone else should write a dissertation on Stephen Harper and the concept of “protection.” I could go on…
I tried to write something balanced and thoughtful about the Royal Proclamation for this collection of essays. But the truth is that it just makes me mad. It is embarrassing, but my contribution to this discussion of the historical legacy of the Royal Proclamation is a rant. Oh dear, there goes my career… Continue reading