Module 8 Flashcards
What was the primary function of the Indian Act?
Facilitated acts of assimilation, dispossession, and colonial authority over First Nations people.
How did the Indian Act specifically impact First Nations women?
It served as a tool of oppression, leading to profound harm and violence against them.
What principle was gender equality based on in First Nations communities?
Complementarity of gender roles, valuing all genders equally and accepting differences.
What roles did women often hold in matrilineal and patrilineal communities?
Political and military leadership positions.
What was the role of clan mothers among the Haudenosaunee?
They held highly influential positions and could select or remove Chiefs.
What did the arrival of Europeans introduce to First Nations societies?
Patriarchal values that were imposed through the Indian Act and other means.
What restrictions did the Indian Act place on First Nations women regarding governance?
Prevented them from running for elected positions and voting in Band elections.
Until what year were women excluded from political participation under the Indian Act?
1951.
What was the role of property ownership for women under the Indian Act?
Women were not allowed to hold property; Certificates of Possession were held by men.
What did Section 12(1)(b) of the Indian Act state about First Nations women who married non-status men?
They would automatically lose their status as legally defined Indians.
What was the difference in status retention between Indian men and women marrying non-status individuals?
Men retained their status and could confer it to their wives, while women lost theirs.
What recommendation did the Royal Commission make regarding Section 12(1)(b)?
Indian women should retain their status and transmit it to their children upon marriage to a non-Indian.
What was the outcome of the Supreme Court case Attorney-General of Canada v. Lavell?
The Supreme Court ruled against the women, stating that the Indian Act was not invalidated by the Canadian Bill of Rights.
What was the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s stance on the Indian Act?
It found that the Act interfered with the rights of individuals to access their culture.
What was the significance of the 1981 ruling by the United Nations Human Rights Committee?
It compelled the Canadian government to begin changes to the Indian Act.
What did Bill C-31 aim to address?
Sexual discrimination in the Indian Act and provide band control of membership.
What major issue remained after Bill C-31 was implemented?
Residual sex discrimination, particularly affecting Indian women under second-generation cut-off guidelines.
What was the response of First Nations leadership to proposed changes in the Indian Act?
Concerns about assimilating First Nations and financial costs of increased membership.
True or False: The Indian Act allowed First Nations women to retain their status after marrying non-status men.
False.
Fill in the blank: The Indian Act was amended to address sexual discrimination in ______.
1985.
What was the purpose of Bill C-31 passed in 1985?
To address sexual discrimination in Section 12(1)(b) of the Indian Act.
What ongoing issue did the second-generation cut-off guidelines of the Indian Act present?
They continued to affect Indian women more than Indian men.
What does Section 6 of the Indian Act allow?
Reinstatement of status for persons who lost it through marriage to non-status individuals or voluntary enfranchisement.
What are the two subsections of Section 6 in the Indian Act?
Section 6(1) refers to individuals with both parents as status Indians; Section 6(2) refers to individuals with one status parent.