Description

In this thesis I review and attempt to provide a critical analysis of the work of the Royal Commission on Indian Affairs in the Province of British Columbia, otherwise known as the McKenna-McBride Commission of 1912 to 1916. This commission was established to review and assess the acreage of land set aside for the use and benefit of the Indians and was empowered to cut-off land from reserves, create new reserves or to add land to existing reserves. The Commission came into existence due to contention of the increasing number of settlers in British Columbia and their governments that there was an excessive amount of valuable land locked up and lying in idle waste within reserves. I have outlined the social events and forces which led up to the formation of the Commission. Ultimately, the Commission represented a small aspect of the struggle between the colonizers and the colonized for the land and its resources., Ronald Eric Ignace