This event concerns the low wages that Metis and First Nations people were paid throughout Saskatchewan. In an interview of Janet Fietz, a First Nations activist in Northern Saskatchewan, the question is asked by the interviewer Murray Dobbin “Were people afraid then to fight for their rights or did they fight for their rights more often?” In response, Janet explains why persons of Aboriginal ancestry often did not stand up for their rights, in relation to wages “I don't think so. I've never seen anyone speak up for themselves, you know, if they knew they weren't getting paid. We didn't know about wages, you know.” She further explains the mentality of people stating that “They never kicked. Fire fighters, I think they used to get 25 cents an hour or something, and they never kicked about it. You know, this is what we were getting from the white man so this is what we get. They never thought of saying, "This is real hard work and we want some more money." I have never heard of anything like it.” This isn’t to say that people were happy with this situation, in fact, according to Janet, while attending a meeting of the Metis society, headed by Jim Brady “Yeah, they all agreed, the ones that were at the meeting. They all agreed that people should get more for their work than they were getting at that time, because the wages at that time were real low.” So, while there was a willingness to organize, and demand better conditions, there were other factors at play. Again, according to Janet “But, you know, when you're working for somebody you're scared to go and say, "I want better wages than this." They might fire you and hire someone else at the same wages you are getting, because this was done, I'm sure, at that time. If you said anything about your working conditions or anything, well you were out of a job.” The question is then asked: “ Well, you know, the white man has been ruling all of Canada for how many years now? Back then the Metis and the treaties were told, "Do this, do this, and do that." So it will take us quite a while for us to get up and do things by ourselves. Because in those days you were told to do things and you did them, rather than asking for things, you know. In those days they gave you something and that's what you get. You wouldn't ask for more.”
Summary
Implications
The implications of this event are as follows: the continued control and exploitation of labour. As Janet has aid in the summary of this event, when you work for someone, asking for higher wages and better conditions can lead to a loss of a job. This is an asymmetric relationship, where one party has the power. They then use this power to extract as much value from the oppressed, and pay them a subsistence wage. This acts as an intentional barrier to the organization of groups, to demand that they be treated as human beings, and not merely as tools of an organization, to extract wealth for the owners. In short, this is a form of modern colonialism.
Date
0000-00-00