THE INDIAN ACT Flashcards
The Indian act:
-laws & policies are socially constructed instruments that expose fundamental social beliefs
-the Indian act allowed officials to legally coerce “Indians” to abandon central elements of their culture & political economies
-the Indian act is the foundation of historic Indian policies
-continues to operate in 2022
-thus the stage goal of “Indian” absorption into Canadian society was/remains a prominent theme
Trends & events of the Indian act:
-truth & reconciliation commission
-60’s scoop
-community infrastructure challenges
-murdered & missing INDG women
-government cuts to aboriginal spending
-AANDC discrimination against on-reserve children
-millennium scoop
Towards an Indian act
-two 1850 acts were implemented to protect INDG people from fraud & other abuses
-assimilation was always left unstated
-it also noted that remaining an Indian was no longer an option
-that is, INDG persons seeking civilization in the law’s eyes needed to renounce their heritage
-the two categories - Indian & civilized - were mutually exclusive (our status & non-status categories)
restrictions introduced by the Indian act:
-residential schools: attendance mandatory for status Indians till they turn 16
-prohibited sale of alcohol to First Nations
-denied First Nations the right to vote
-INDG & nothern affairs Canada
-bill C-31
Indian act - residential schools
Colonial officials adopted responsibility for educating indigenous children
-federal officials accepted full responsibility for Indian education
-school system developed to ease indigenous transition into mainstream society
-set aside funds for schools teaching English to INDG children
The experience was largely negative
-frequent stories of abuse
Indian act restriction - INDG & Northern affairs Canada
-department of Indian affairs (DIA) was a branch of the military
-a civilian department of Indian affairs replaced it
-its mandate was to “civilize” Canada’s “Indians” through assimilation
-guided by the Indian act, INAC exerts significant control over Canada’s First Nations
Indian act restrictions - Bill C-31
-married indigenous women and their children lost status if their husband/father lost status
-integrated by the Indian act
-a women marrying a non-Indian man would lose her status, as would marrying someone from another community
-bill C-31 reinstated status of registered Indians
Indian act restrictions - sale of alcohol
-denied Indians the sale of alcohol
-became a felony for Indians to purchase, consume, & enter a licensed establishment
-intent behind the ban was the belief that if Indians were able to access alcohol they wouldn’t be diligently working their “farmland”
-other words they should be on the reserve, working land that in many cases was not arable, with rudimentary hand tools bc they were denied access to modern farm tools
Oppression of women under the Indian act
First Nations women under the Indian act resulted in long term poverty, marginalization & violence - still trying to over come today
Indian act summary
The Indian act is troubling in many ways:
-it makes it impossible to integrate community concerns into the existing legislation
-the act itself is a vestige of a colonial period that INDG leaders have no desire to relive
-it denies the value of the treaties to the nation-to-nation relationship INDG leaders insist exists
-it enables the federal gov’t to dictate band govt’s operations, among other important issues
Definition of status
-status can be held only by those INDG peoples who fit the definition laid out in the Indian act
-eligibility is based on descent in ones family - a person may be eligible for status if at least one parent is, was or was untitled to be registered as 6
-a person is also eligible if 2 parents are registered as 6
-explicitly denied status to the Métis & Inuit
-male lineage
Impacts of losing status
-lack of identity, community
-disconnect from family
-right to land
-access to benefits
-financial - taxation
-Métis & Inuit
Indian act present affects
-long term poverty
-marginalization
-violence
Main purpose of the indian act
Created to assimilate INDG peoples into mainstream society
-contained polices intended to terminate the cultural, social, economic, and political distinctiveness of INDG peoples
