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Indian Act
of Canada
I.
Introduction
Indian Act of Canada, law designed to integrate Indians
in Canada into the mainstream economy and culture. Introduced
in 1876, the act allowed the Canadian government almost
complete control over how Indians lived and interacted
with non-Indians. At the same time, it gave the government
special responsibility for the health, education, and
lands of much of the Indian population. The Canadian
Parliament overhauled the act in 1951 and continued
to amend it significantly throughout the remainder of
the 20th century. While the more recent changes allowed
less federal intrusion, the government still exercised
a large degree of control over the lives of Indian people.
In addition, the government's control of the Indian
population actually worked counter to the act's stated
goal; the act isolated Indian people from mainstream
Canadian society instead of integrating them into it.
II.
Passage of the Act
The Constitution Act that established Canada as a confederation
in 1867 gave the new federal government responsibility
for and control over most of the aboriginal people and
their land reserves. (Since the 1700s the government
had set aside lands for some aboriginal bands in return
for most of the bands' territory.) Prior to and immediately
after confederation, provincial and federal officials
passed many laws restricting interactions between aboriginal
people and the increasing number of whites settling
near them.
By
1876 there were so many aboriginal-related laws that
Parliament consolidated them in the Indian Act. In this
way, Parliament hoped to ensure order in relations between
whites and aboriginal peoples. The new act defined who
was an “Indian,” using a person's lifestyle and heritage
as the primary criteria. The government had complete
discretion over who was designated an Indian. To be
given Indian status, one generally had to be a member
of an aboriginal band that was granted a reserve or
government funds or had negotiated a treaty with the
government. The act only applies to Status Indians.
Aboriginal groups not recognized as Indian in the act
include non-Status Indians, the Inuit,
and the Métis, people of mixed European and aboriginal
heritage. These aboriginal groups have never been subject
to the Indian Act's restrictions, but many have struggled
without benefits provided by the act.
The
act set forth what rights and protections Status Indians
had. Under the act, Indians could continue to hunt and
fish for a living, and they were eligible for government-funded
education and health care. The government was obligated
to protect reserve land from white settlers who wanted
to take it, and non-Indian people were prohibited from
trespassing on reserves. But the act deprived Indians
of the right to govern themselves and denied them citizenship,
barring them from voting in federal or provincial elections.
The act also restricted their ability to conduct commerce
and to own land. Indians were prohibited from consuming
alcohol or leaving their reserves without governmental
permission. Most of the power on any Indian reserve
was held by the federal agent for the Department of
Indian Affairs (now the Department
of Indian Affairs and Northern Development), who
controlled government money and could veto decisions
made by the reserve council.
Although
the act differentiated Indians from whites, its main
goal was to assimilate the Indian population into white
Canadian culture. The act provided guidelines for Indian
behavior. When an Indian met white standards by adopting
the values and beliefs of the European Canadian population,
he or she could be enfranchised (given Canadian citizenship).
The requirements for enfranchisement changed over time,
from knowing how to read to being a farmer or attaining
professional status, for example as a lawyer or doctor.
However, enfranchisement meant loss of Indian status.
In some cases the act allowed the government to enfranchise
Indians whether they wanted to be citizens or not. The
act also forced Indians to abandon their own cultures
by forbidding traditional ceremonies such as the potlatch
and the Sun Dance. Many officials
believed the government's relationship with Indians
was appropriate because they thought aboriginal people
were unable to make intelligent decisions or to control
themselves.
III.
Reforms Since 1951
After World War II (1939-1945) Canadians developed a
new awareness about Indians. They noticed, for example,
that Indian men had served admirably in the Canadian
army during World War II. They also considered a federal
report that showed that most of Canada's aboriginal
peoples were living in poverty. Canadians became more
concerned about the ways the government violated the
rights of Indians. In response, Parliament decided to
remove objectionable and outdated provisions from the
Indian Act. After four years of review by a special
parliamentary committee, with advice from Indian leaders,
Parliament reworked the act in 1951.
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To
Aboriginal War Veterans in Canada and to the Fallen
"This
monument is raised in sacred and everlasting honour
of the contributions of all Aboriginal Canadians
in war and peacekeeping operations.
Many
thousands of Aboriginal people saw action and endured
hardship in the First and Second World Wars and
the Korean War. They served with honour and distinction
in all branches of the service and in every rank
and appointment. They fought overseas to defend
the sovereignity and liberty of allied nations in
addition to supporting the cause at home. Their
dedication continues in peacekeeping operations
in faraway lands ....."
Monument
in Ottawa, Canada.
Pictures by Shades
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The
changes generally reduced the control federal agents
had on reserves, giving a measure of self-government
to Indian bands. Parliament removed the controversial
section of the act banning potlatches and Sun Dances.
It also took out the rules prohibiting Indian people
from consuming alcohol or leaving their reserve without
permission. In addition, Parliament lifted some restrictions
on Indian trade.
The
government continued to amend the Indian Act after it
was reworked in 1951. By 1962 Indians had the right
to vote in federal and provincial elections. In 1985
the law was changed so that Indians could no longer
be forced to give up their Indian status, and Indian
women who married non-Indian men no longer automatically
lost their Indian status. In the 1980s and 1990s amendments
gave bands more self-government, including some control
over deciding who was entitled to band membership and
could live on their reserves. Despite these changes,
the act remained similar to the original act.
IV.
Effects and Reactions
One of the most pervasive pieces of legislation in Canadian
society, the Indian Act regulates almost every aspect
of Indians' lives. At the same time, it has failed many
times to protect Indian land, allowing non-Indians to
take reserve property or purchase it through the government
at a fraction of its worth. The act has stifled Indian
economic development by putting commerce on all reserves
under the control of an unresponsive centralized bureaucracy.
Finally, the measure intended to protect the Indians
by barring non-Indians from trespassing on reserve land
isolates Indians from mainstream society.
Indians
view the act as a tool the federal government uses to
control their actions. Although many provisions that
violated Indians' civil rights have been removed, the
act still restricts their right to govern themselves.
Most Indians want to abolish the Indian Act, but they
realize that its recognition of their distinct status
provides some safeguards for their culture and their
land. Indians would like to keep some of the government
benefits provided under the act but gain additional
benefits and attain more self-government.
Contributed
By: James S. Frideres, B.S., M.A., Ph.D. Professor of
Sociology, University of Calgary. Author of Native Peoples
in Canada: Contemporary Conflicts.
"Indian
Act of Canada," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia
2001 http://encarta.msn.com
© 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Tribes
Affected:
Abenaki,
Blackfoot, Cree,
Haida, Huron,
Inuit, Kwakiutl,
Mohawk, Ojibwa,
Oneida, Sioux,
and Tsimshian.
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