Indian Act Thesis

The Canadian government has great control of where the aboriginals are situated and what resources and services are made available to them. In 1876 the Indian act was created by the Canadian government (Indian Act). “The Indian act is a Canadian federal law that governs and matters pertaining to Indian statuses, bands, and Indian reserves”(Indian Act). A part of the Indian Act made the government give some crown land to the Aboriginals; the

The Indian Act was an attempt by the Canadian government to assimilate the aboriginals into the Canadian society through means such as Enfranchisement, the creation of elective band councils, the banning of aboriginals seeking legal help, and through the process of providing the Superintendent General of the Indian Affairs extreme control over the aboriginals, such as allowing the Superintendent to decide who receives certain benefits, during the earlier stages of the Canadian-Indigenous' political interaction. The failure of the Indian Act though only led to more confusion regarding the interaction of Canada and the aboriginals, giving birth to the failed White Paper and the unconstitutional Bill C-31,

Although the Canadian government has done a great deal to repair the injustices inflicted on the First Nations people of Canada, legislation is no where near where it needs to be to ensure future protection of aboriginal rights in the nation. An examination of the documents that comprise the Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms reveal that there is very little in the supreme legal documents of the nation that protect aboriginal rights. When compared with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples it is clear that the Canadian Constitution does not acknowledge numerous provisions regarding indigenous people that the UN resolution has included. The most important of these provisions is the

Different laws like the Indian Act and other treaties played an outstanding role in shaping Aboriginal relationship in Canada. The Indian Act led to a huge conflict of interest following its effect on the Indians living in Canada during its implementation. The Indian Act was a mechanism that strengthened the eviction of Indians ad also a means of displacing Indians from their tribal lands. On the onset of the 19th Century, land hungry Canadian settlers clustered in the coastal south of Canada and slowly moved into the neighboring states. Since most of the tribes occupying that area were the Indians, the Canadian settlers petitioned the Canadian government to remove them as they perceived them as an obstacle to expansion towards the west. The rationale for the Indian Act was that the southeast Indian tribes had no attachment to any particular land. However, this rationale ignored the fact the Indian tribes had vast crops of corn and lived in settlements.

Throughout history European people have been conquering territories that were already inhabited. Canada was one of them and the people that were already living there are known as The First Nations Peoples. They are the peoples who used to be called Indians. They are divided into more than 600 diverse bands. All these tribes have different history, culture, and traditional cuisine. Something they share in common is that they were forced to assimilate to European Culture by the Indian Act. According to the website Indigenous Foundations the Indian Act was composed of two previous acts, which were the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869. The Indian Act was established in 1876. The website Indigenous Foundations explains the Indian Act and the following quote explains part of the Indian Act, "This authority has ranged from overarching political control, such as imposing governing structures on Aboriginal communities in the form of band councils, to control over the rights of Indians to practice their culture and traditions. The Indian Act has also enabled the government to determine the land base of these groups in the form of reserves, and even to define who qualifies as Indian in the form of Indian status". In other words the Indian Act was created so that Natives would lose their cultures and so that the government decided their lives for them. At the same time the Act protected them from tax exemptions in the reserves. The

The only purpose of the Indian Act was to relocate and assimilate Canada’s Aboriginal citizens. It was combined from other legislation meant to force assimilation and displacement. An example of a law from the Indian Act that integrated Aboriginal Canadians is, “The Gradual Civilization Act of 1857.” It was drafted from the principle that by gradually removing distinctions between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people through empowerment, it would be possible to fully absorb Aboriginal People into the Canadian society. This act was the basis of the Indian Act to incorporate the Native people, and absorb them into the Canadian culture. To further adapt Aboriginal Canadians the Canadian government created the “Policy of Assimilation.” The Policy of Assimilation was to ensure Aboriginal People in Canada have no rights unless they integrate and become Canadian. Being conformed into the Canadian mainstream culture meant that the Aboriginal Canadians were not allowed to speak their language; they were dealt cruelly if they spoke their language. For an example, a Native woman came to my class to speak on the subject of assimilation. She explained that she accidently spoke her language and got whipped as a result. Assimilation forced Aboriginal Canadians to dress western-like, change names to standard Canadian citizen names, change culture, religion, and move out reserves (Climatic Parallelism). For an example, an Aboriginal boy had to change his name to Alvin Dixon at

The Indian Act of 1876 did not meet the needs of the Aboriginal peoples who were forced to withdraw their territory and assimilate into British culture. The initial purpose of the Act was to set laws regarding Indian status, bands and reserves. The act defined Aboriginals as “children” or “wards of the state” who were encouraged to abandon their Indian status to become “persons” and abolish their

In the words of Amerindian spokesman Harold Cardinal, the Indian Act has 'subjugated to colonial rule the very people whose rights it was supposed to protect ' (Dickason and Newbigging 293). Until the 16th century, Aboriginal people were the only inhabitants of Canada, they were an independent and self-governing people till the European invasion (Elias 1). The European Invasion brought about The 1876 Indian Act, which was developed over time through separate pieces of colonial legislation regarding Aboriginal peoples across Canada such as the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869. In 1876, these acts were consolidated as the Indian Act (Hanson). The introduction of the Indian Act and its implementations was an active effort to destroy the Indian culture; through residential schools and an unequal recognition of women. More so, successive acts functioned to preserve the essential features of the 1876 legislation by implementations of bans on cultural practices such as the potlatch. The increasing awareness of the Indians by Canadians was key to the 1951 amendment to the Indian Act which focused on changing the more oppressive sections of the act. However the inadequacies of the amended Indian Act led to the Hawthorne report which advocates for citizens plus status for Indigenous people.

In 1756, the European groups such as Britain decided to colonize North America, resulting in multiple legacies for the First Nation groups who occupied these areas. As the Europeans started to imperialize and colonize Canada in order to expand globalization, they believed their culture was superior to the First Nations, and by having a Eurocentric worldview, this resulted in the European empires deciding to assimilate the Aboriginal groups with the use of The Indian Act and residential schools. The Indian Act was established in 1876, the purpose of the act was to encourage assimilation. It encouraged assimilation by controlling the First Nations, the government controlled them by defining if they were a status Indian or not. Another action the act took to assimilate the Aboriginal groups trying to abolish their culture by banning their cultural practices. Lastly the act banned them from pursuing land in 1927, without consent from those on the Indian Affairs. Not only did the government use the Indian Act to assimilate the First Nations, they also used residential schools to help. Aboriginal children were forced and or taken away to attend these schools in the 1880s. The residential schools used abuse to make sure the children wouldn't follow their traditional ways, this resulted in them losing their history, language, and culture. By using paternalistic ways to assimilate, it created cultural erosion for the Aboriginal groups, leading to the loss of their culture. As years went on, it created a cycle of problems towards them, as they were not able to pass on their traditional culture to the next generation, thus making them now have to revitalize their culture to help preserve and affirm their culture again. With their Eurocentric views and wanting to expand their resources, the Europeans left their mark on Canada

1969 White Paper in which the Liberal government attempted to abolish the legal status of ‘Indians’ – was defeated, a new awareness of ‘indigenous’ emerged among First Nations people across Canada” (p 198).

The acts regarding Aboriginal peoples is a third important aspect of the major terms and conditions set in the constitution act (1867). Throughout the years, Canada has faced many issues regarding the rights of Aboriginal People. “As colonization spread across North America, native peoples often found themselves unwelcome in habitats of their own lands, and Europeans used a combination of force and peaceful means (eg. treaties) to re-settle natives in reserved areas of land.” (McCormack & Bueckert, 2013). The harsh treatment directed towards the aboriginal people made their lives very difficult. It’s hard to imagine why the people who were in Canada before colonies started to form would be kicked out of their own land. After many years of this

The Indian Act, legislation through treaties 6,7,8, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in combination recognize the status and identity of First Nations people. The Indian Act recognizes the many First Nations people. It was originally created to assimilate the First Nations people, but after many revisions, it was finally partially beneficial to them. It assimilated them by controlling how the FN people dressed, their affairs and their culture as well as their movement throughout Canada. Now the Indian Act helps recognize their status and identity by ensuring they are treated a equal to White people, and it helps

The Indian Act illustrates how government policy on the macro level, shapes micro level privileges and exclusions for aboriginals based on citizenship. Mandatory residential schooling stripped children of their culture, and predisposed survivors to mental health issues and strained parent-child relationships for future generations. The Sixties Scoop ripped families apart by disrupting intimate relations within the family.

After this, the Registrar will launch an investigation inwards and then their decision after that is final and conclusive. Section 14.3 discusses that it is possible to appeal the decision after six months but then a court makes the decision and if they feel unsure then the case is sent back to the registrar for further investigation. The Aboriginal population is under complete control of the Canadian government and the only one they can complain to is the government that is causing these injustices. Cardinal argues that “We are fodder for the various departments and agencies of the dominant society,” and this section of the Indian Act proves that to be true. They are completely at the mercy of these immigrant

Centuries ago, Aboriginals migrated to Canada in search for resources, as well as habitation grounds, besides settlement, they would practice ceremonies, traditions, and journey to different areas in Canada. Many decades later, European immigrants started to occupy Aboriginal territories rapidly, their government, also known as the Canadian government presented treaties to resolve conflicts. But not all treaties benefited Aboriginals, in fact, treaties forced Aboriginals to give up their land in exchanges for reserves, likewise the Canadian Government established the Indian Act, which striped Aboriginals of their rights, freedom, and equality. Finally, on March 31st, 1960 Prime Minister John Diefenbaker rewrote the Canadian Election Act to