Permanent Collection · Hall of Termination

The Buffalo Jump

Cabinet submission, leaked; sanitized in successive coats

Dimensions: Thirty-five years deep; one mechanism wide
Date: Manufactured c. 1985. Conserved 2026.

The Vitrine — Evidence

Quotation01
The internal nickname for the 1985 submission
“The Buffalo Jump of the 1980s.”
Quotation02
The stated goal, in the document's own language
To drive Status Indians to “cultural death.”
Primary document03
Russell Diabo, First Nations Strategic Bulletin, Vol. 2 No. 7 — “Jean Chrétien's Legacy of Betrayal and Deceit: Federal Indian Policy 1968–2004” (29 Aug 2004)
Traces the thirty-five-year continuity from 'cultural death' to 'new relationship': the rhetoric ascends while the mechanism holds.

Wall LabelAs authorized

A landmark in the evolution of the Crown's relationship with Indigenous peoples. From the policy reforms of the mid-1980s, through self-government, recognition of the inherent right, and the era of reconciliation, the record shows a steady ascent toward partnership and a new relationship.

Each decade refined the language of respect. The museum presents this piece as a milestone on that path.

Conservation Notes

01
Placement
Filed as a Cabinet submission — the most authoritative surface available — so the goal would read as administration, not intent.
02
Layering
'Cultural death' (1985) recoated as 'self-government,' 'inherent right,' 'reconciliation,' 'new relationship.' Each coat brighter than the last.
03
Integration
The mechanism never changed. Only the language conserving it improved.