Understand
BC was the sixth province to join the Confederation of Canada, in 1871. This was done at least partly on the basis of a promise by the Federal Government to build a railway linking BC to the rest of Canada. Significant geographical barriers and political feuding delayed the completion of this railway until 1885 when the last spike was driven home at a place called Craigellachie in the Eagle Pass area in the interior of BC.
Being on the Pacific, there has always been a strong Asian influence. Many Chinese men arrived in the early part of the 19th Century to work in the gold rush of that era and later many more worked on the construction of the railway through the mountains.
The indigenous people of BC have been called Indians or Native Canadians, but now the generally accepted term is First Nations.
Prior to arrival of Europeans BC was a very prosperous area. This was largely due the abundance of salmon. This was demonstrated by the advanced culture that existed in BC. More than thirty languages belonging to seven different language families were spoken in BC. Initially the arrival of Europeans was a positive relationship. However, eventually the Europeans brought smallpox and other diseases, which decimated the First Nations population.
Many First Nations people were encouraged or even forcibly required to send their children to residential schools during the early to mid 20th century. These schools were government sponsored. The primary intent of the schools was to assimilate the First Nation population. Children were taught that their culture was backward and evil and were not allowed to speak their native languages. This was a systemic problem at that time and has only recently been addressed and discussed openly.
Many of the First Nation communities have being trying to revive their culture and are now often the center of much of the ecotourism industry.
With a few exceptions, the First Nations of BC unlike the rest of Canada have never signed treaties or officially ceded their territory to Canada. Therefore the official ownership of much of the province is contested as the First Nations claim much of the province as their territory. The courts have generally acknowledged that there is a basis for the claims based on historical use of the land and has urged the governments to negotiate a settlement to these claims. Settling these land claims has been a complex issue that is still ongoing. The first modern treaty signed was by the Nis'ga in Northern BC. In 2007, the Tsawassen and Maa-Nulth First Nations signed treaties with the Province and the federal government.
