Oppression in the shadows : the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and the development of Indian Affairs, 1760-1950

Abstract

This thesis is a political history of the development of the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) in Nova Scotia. Rather than position assimilation as the central objective of the DIA, this research proposes that protecting the capital interests of the government was the DIA’s purpose. Four distinct periods of colonialism in Nova Scotia are examined to demonstrate the fluctuating priorities of the DIA. This examination reveals how the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia consistently experienced government oppression through neglect rather than control or surveillance. By questioning the validity of our national historiography on Indians Affairs, a broader understanding of colonialism is created. Positioning the protection of capital as the DIA’s core objective also allows for the Maritime region to be included in Canada’s history of Indian Affairs and colonization, rather than isolating it as an outlier.