Nlaka’pamux playwright and director Kevin Loring believes that Donald Trump is placing First Nations in Canada under threat “in a really pronounced way” with his ambition to erase the U.S.-Canada border. Loring, artistic director of Savage Society, mentioned this during a recent interview about his play, Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer.
According to Loring, Trump’s goal of absorbing Canada into the United States means that the U.S. president wants to sever First Nations’ relationship with the Crown.
“He’s also wanting to erase our history and replacing it with another colonial history, which is a much more violent history and ideology,” Loring noted.
Moreover, events over the past week have convinced Loring that Trump is a “Putinist”.
“He looks at us in the same way that Putin looks at Ukraine,” Loring stated. “We’re not a ‘real country’ is what the rhetoric is from [Elon] Musk and Trump right now, which is terrifying language.”
The Royal Proclamation of 1763, which was issued by King George III, recognized that land west of established colonies were “Indian territories”. Under the proclamation, Indigenous lands could not be seized by settlers in the absence of a set of protocols and procedures.
“The Proclamation forbade settlers from claiming land from the Aboriginal occupants, unless it has been first bought by the Crown and then sold to the settlers,” UBC’s Indigenous Foundations website states. “The Royal Proclamation further sets out that only the Crown can buy land from First Nations.”
Would Trump takeover negate Delgamuukw?
In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada’s Delgamuukw decision acknowledged that the Royal Proclamation of 1763 recognized Aboriginal title. That decision also affirmed that Aboriginal title continues to exist in Canada post-Confederation.
“It had originally been thought that the source of aboriginal title in Canada was the Royal Proclamation, 1763,” the court stated in its ruling. “However, it is now clear that although aboriginal title was recognized by the Proclamation, it arises from the prior occupation of Canada by aboriginal peoples.”
This proclamation, sometimes called the “Indian Magna Carta”, also limited the expansion of the 13 colonies south of the British colony then known as the Province of Quebec. That enraged some settlers, which contributed to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. The American Indian Wars continued until 1890 as the United States expanded southward and westward.
Several other Supreme Court of Canada decisions—including Guerin, Sparrow, Van der Peet, Marshall, Gladstone, Powley, and Tsilhqot’in Nation—have affirmed and defined Indigenous legal and land rights in a wide range of areas.
“All of that would be erased,” Loring said in reference to Trump’s ambitions. “It would no longer be a relationship with the Crown. It would no longer be a relationship with Canada.”
Loring’s play, Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer, revolves around the “special relationship” between Indigenous peoples and the Crown. The Cultch is presenting it at the York Theatre in East Vancouver until March 16.
U.S. tribes exist under different framework
In Canada, the federal government continues to rely on the Indian Act to administer local First Nations governments and the management of reserve lands for those nations that have not negotiated self-government agreements.
In the United States, tribes are “sovereign nations” with the right to pursue their own economic, social, and cultural development on their lands. However, under Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress retains power to regulate commerce with foreign nations.
“That Section was later interpreted by the United States Supreme Court to mean that Congress has exclusive rights and powers to regulate affairs and trade with Indian tribes,” the University of Alaska at Fairbanks Tribal Governance website states. “The power that Congress has over Indian tribes is very broad, and is often referred to as ‘plenary power’.
“Plenary power means that Congress has the same power and authority over Indian affairs as States have over the affairs of their citizens,” it notes. “Congress can limit, modify, or eliminate powers that tribes possess. Congress can even terminate tribal status. The plenary power of Congress essentially keeps the states out of Indian affairs.”
The Cultch presents Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer until March 16 at the York Theatre. For tickets and more information, visit the Cultch website. Learn more about the communities that make up Canada on the Toronto Spark website. Follow Charlie Smith on Bluesky @charliesmithvcr.bsky.social. The Toronto Spark is also on Bluesky @torontospark.bsky.social.
