No Indians allowed: Challenging aboriginal segregation in Northern British Columbia, 1945-1969

Abstract

This thesis argues that Indians and White people who were sympathetic to Native issues episodically challenged racial discrimination and segregation during the postwar era by asserting Native people's growing citizenship rights while calling into question the cultural assumptions that underpinned such prejudice. Those participating in this discourse used analogies with global theatres of racial tension, namely the southern United States, to legitimize their protests. Indians articulated their demands for citizenship by leveraging their burgeoning political rights, their wartime contributions to Canada, and their growing economic contribution to postwar northern British Columbia. During this era, Indians, activists, and sympathetic Whites fought for the liberalization of Native drinking laws and the culturally deterministic preconceptions that motivated such legislation. Finally, newspaper reportage and public perceptions influenced, and to some degree shaped, public discourse on issues of racial discrimination as well as on Native political protest and activism. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a debt of gratitude to many people for providing a tremendous deal of help and assistance throughout my writing of this dissertation. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor and mentor Dr. Ted Binnema for his knowledge and support. Ted always made himself available to help me through the more trying parts of my thesis and to offer me advice. It was a privilege to work under his guidance as his constant encouragement and enthusiasm in my research challenged me to be the best historian I could be and to write the best thesis I could write. Ted's passion for history is infectious, and I am grateful for the fact that this enthusiasm rubbed off on me throughout the course of my undergraduate and graduate studies. I can only hope that someday I will, through hard work, reach his level of expertise in the discipline. I would also like to thank the many people who provided financial support which enabled me to conduct my research and complete this thesis.