There are many parallel between the United States of America and Canada. For instance they were both former possessions of the British crown, they speak mostly English, and they both had to deal with Native Americans. But one important difference is how they treated their native population during Western expansion. The Americans treated the Natives Americans like they were below them. The made treaties with the natives only to ultimately break them, the engaged in open war with the natives, and generally didn’t respect them. While, in direct contrast, the Canadians honored treaties, generally did not engage in war with the natives, and respected them as individuals. According to Keith Walden, who is a history professor at Trent University, a major catalyst for this was the North West Mounted Police, which are now known as the Royal Canadian Mountain Police.
The Native Americans were treated horribly by American officials, and some Americans on the frontier. Throughout Western expansion the Americans had to deal with the fact that the Native Americans occupied the land to the west. They had an idea known as Manifest Destiny, which was basically a wish, or goal, that country would expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This idea came into realization during the 19th century, but in order to reach this goal the Americans had to figure out what to do with the sovereign native population. Many times they would sign a treaty, where they would force the Indians to give up their land; they would then move them to reservations. Sometimes they would then “throw out” the treaties and force the Indians to move again. In other situations they would engage in open war with the Indian nations, this involved a quasi-total war. Meaning that the Americans would attack the Indians’ food source in an effort to drive off and kill off the Indian population. The buffalo was a major staple to many of the planes Indians. This is one reason that the American Buffalo is almost non-existent. During this time period there were various large groups of buffalo, often ranging in sizes in the thousands, roaming the western planes. Another important factor during Western expansion was the role of the American sheriff. This person was responsible for upholding the law and keeping order. The sheriff was sometimes elected but more often than not he...
