The Indian Act

1. The Indian Act • 1876

2. Throughout this Presentation, Find + write... 1. Details of the Royal Proclamation, 1763 2. Details of the Gradual Civilization Act, 1857 3. What were the main functions of the Indian Act, 1876 4. When were First Nations people given the vote, federally and provincially. 5. What are the difficulties and injustices with the government defining who is ‘status’. 6. What did you learn (and what stood out to you) from this presentation that you didn’t know before?

3. Aboriginal Legislation Prior to the Indian Act 1. Royal Proclamation, 1763 -Issued by King George III of Britain. - Established a system of government for former French colonies in North America, which Britain won following the Seven Years War. - Included basic framework for relations with North American Aboriginals. - Essential to this act was the separation of Aboriginal lands from those forming parts of the North American colonies. - Aboriginal lands were reserved for the exclusive use and possession of Aboriginal peoples (title was acknowledged). - Implemented a process by which Aboriginal lands could be purchased for British settlement and development.

4. 2. An Act for the Better Protection of the Lands and Property of Indians in Lower Canada & An Act for the protection of Indians in Upper Canada from Imposition, and the property occupied or enjoyed by them from trespass and injury, 1850 - The first acts to attempt to define ‘Indian’ and who would receive the rights and duties of Indian status. 3. Gradual Civilization Act, 1857 - The first statute to introduce the concept of enfranchisement or the process by which Aboriginals lost their status and became full British subjects. - Colonial government viewed enfranchisement as a privilege for Aboriginals, by which they could gain their freedom from the protected Indian status and gain rights of full colonial citizenship, such as the right to vote. - The strategies of civilization and assimilation began their legislative existence.

5. 3. British North America Act,1867 • Canada became a country and the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) was created to administer policies regarding First Nations. • 4. The Indian Act, 1876 • - Essentially made "Status Indians" wards of the Crown. • - It also judged the lives of First Nations people. • - It placed restrictions on them, from rules about how they would elect leaders, to how their children would be educated and how their estates would be dealt with after death. • - The Act deals with such things as the legal definition of who may claim Indian status in Canada, the rights and duties which accompany that status, the structure of Canada’s reserve system and the nature of Aboriginal self-government.

6. Essentially, the Indian Act gave legal power to government to control the lives of First Nations communities across the country - including their lives and land (including defining the reserve system). • It combined earlier colonial and federal laws into one act, and included clauses about land, Indian status, and local government.

7. First Nations Reserves in Canada

8. It defined who is considered a “Status Indian”. • “Status Indian” - individuals who qualify are wards of the government, meaning that the act treats them as if they were children in need of parental care. • "Status Indians" were not deemed to be ‘people’ under the laws of Canada before 1951 and therefore were denied certain rights that other Canadians enjoyed. • "Status Indians" could only become ‘persons’ by relinquishing their Indian Status - voluntary enfranchisement - then they would be allowed to vote, own property, or have the rights of other Canadian citizens.

9. Enfranchisement • Enfranchisement gives people the right to vote in elections. For First Nations people, however, it has meant more than this. Until 1949 provincially, and 1960 federally, First Nations people could only vote if they relinquished their Indian status. This meant cutting themselves off in many ways from their reserve communities.

10. Indian act =Status CardQuestion: Does government have the right to define culture Identity?

11. Certification of Indian Status

12. Justin Bieber? • What does Justin Bieber on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine (August, 2012) have to do with the Indian Act and Status Cards?

13. “I’m actually part Indian.” “I think Inuit or something. I’m enough percent that in Canada I can get free gas.” -Justin Bieber, Rolling Stone Magazine (August, 2012)

14. His comments hit a nerve with many Canadians, including the The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, an organization representing aboriginal people in Canada. His claim that "Aboriginal people are entitled to free gas is simply not true," said the Congress' national chief Betty Ann Lavallée in a statement. • "These kinds of remarks are another example of what Aboriginal Peoples in Canada struggle with every day," she said. "It promotes the misconception that we are somehow getting a free ride. This simply is not the case and we are concerned that many people may believe what he said."  • Lavallée said she would be pleased to offer the Canadian pop star help find out more about his heritage if he wished. 

15. This ‘confusion’ goes to show that the definition of status is defined by the government and not by the people - and identity is not something that someone else can define. • This also shows the ignorance or apathy that mainstream society still holds in regards to the plight of First Nations people in this country. • Educate yourself about others and ultimately learn your own history...know who you are!!!

16. The Indian Act, 1876 and Amendments • In its previous versions, the Indian Act clearly aimed to assimilate First Nations. People who earned a university degree would automatically lose their Indian status, as would status women who married non-status men. Some traditional practices were prohibited, such as the Potlatch, Sundance and sweats. • The act provided for reserved land to be set aside for the use of Status Indians, and it specified who could live on the reserves.

17. Over the next 100 years the Act continued to amend a number of times. With each time it changed it became more clear that it was aimed at efficient methods of assimilating the Indians to the white society.

18. -Between 1876 and 1950, the purpose of the amendments to the Indian Act was to strengthen the philosophy of civilization and assimilation underlying the first Act. Key amendments to the Indian Act during this period include: 1884: Prohibition of several traditional Aboriginal ceremonies, such as potlaches. 1894: Removal of band control over non-Aboriginals living on reserves. 1905: Power to remove Aboriginal peoples from reserves near towns with more than 8,000 people. 1911: Power to expropriate portions of reserves for roads, railways and other public works, as well as to move an entire reserve away from a municipality if it was deemed expedient.

19. 1914: Requirement that western Aboriginals seek official permission before appearing in Aboriginal “costume” in any public dance, show, exhibition, stampede or pageant. 1918: Power to lease out uncultivated reserve lands to non-Aboriginals if the new leaseholder would use it for farming or pasture. 1920: Attendance at a day, industrial or residential school became compulsory for all Aboriginal children. 1927: Prohibition of anyone (Aboriginal or otherwise) from soliciting funds for Aboriginal legal claims without special license from the Superintendent General. This amendment granted the government control over the ability of Aboriginals to pursue land claims. 1930: Prohibition of pool hall owners from allowing entrance of an Aboriginal who “by inordinate frequenting of a pool room either on or off an Indian reserve misspends or wastes his time or means to the detriment of himself, his family or household.”

20. 1951-1981 Aboriginal Rights Movement Upon signing the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 1948, Canada’s government was forced to re-examine its treatment of Aboriginals for the first time. Voting rights were extended in 1960, and Aboriginal civil rights became an ongoing concern in the 1970s. While there were still many Aboriginal grievances, they would make significant gains during this period.

21. In 1951, the Indian Act was changed so that many of the most oppressive laws banning key customs - including potlatches, pow-wows or other cultural ceremonies - were no longer effective. Aboriginals were also now allowed to possess and drink alcohol for the first time, but only on their own reserves. Just as significant were changes made to the act allowing Aboriginals to sue the government over land claims. The provinces gained an increased role in determining Indian Status. However, ultimate control over the Aboriginal peoples still resided (and still resides) with the federal government.

22. Indigenous people never accepted the Indian Act as their fate. There has always been, and still continues to be, resistance to these government policies.