In Canada 60% of all first nation children live in poverty, with benefits not being seen on or off the reserves. The Indian Act, created in 1876 is an act which covers native land, education, health care, governing, and eligibility for having status. The “act to amend the Indian act”, Bill C-31 was introduced in 1985 and was created to regulate gender equality within native communities under the act. The Indian Act is the root of many problems in the Native community and the act does not protect and provide for natives as it is thought to among the majority of the Canadian population. Special Status for natives should not be enshrined in the constitution. The Indian Act, which gives special status to Natives, is the root of many problems …show more content…
When created, it was under policies of the federal government calling for assimilation and “civilization”. The act was made so that Natives would become “civilized” and lose their status coming apart of Canadian society. The fact that a native becoming a part of the military, becoming a doctor or lawyer or receiving a university degree would take away their Indian status shows that the goal of the Indian Status of was to keep natives improvised and only given status based on social class rather than compensation for their race. Next, not all Native people have special status under the Indian Act in Canada. The Act applies only to status natives, despite Métis and Inuit both being indigenous to Canada. Also many other Natives who are not registered status due to conditions under the act. The act not being able to apply to all indigenous people of Canada shows the issues with the act since it was created to compensate for the taking of aboriginal …show more content…
First off, Status does not give free post secondary education to Native status holders. Education is given in treaties under section 35(1), but do not serve non-status natives, the Inuit or Métis people, education provided is through Native Bands who usually don’t receive the amount requested , leading to waiting lists and restricted access. The misconception that Natives have free university and college opportunities causes many Canadians believe that natives are well off and support the Native special status under the Indian Act. Secondly, Special status for natives does not relieve those given it of taxes. A status native living and working on the reserve does have to pay taxes, which is more than half of all status natives, paying federal and provincial taxes. Income, goods and services are only tax free on the reserve. Once again a common misconception among most Canadians is the idea that natives live tax free and this causes many Canadians to support the act believing it benefits Natives. Lastly, the current status system has many problems, therefore it should not be enshrined, but revisions of the act may correct the bills. Bill C-3l had revisions which separated band membership and created equal rights for women and since, slow revisions of the Act have happened. That fact that revisions of the Act have happened, specifically through Bill C-31, shows that through revisions the act
...n.p.). Soon the Canadian government amended Section 12 in 1985, and Bill C-31 was passed for those who lost their status and want to regain them (Hanson, n.p.). Unfortunately a fault existed in Bill C-31, which stated that the statuses of the aboriginals can only be passed on for one generation. Seeing as this was still unconstitutional, the government is now attempting to again retract its footsteps by amending the Indian Act altogether (Hanson, n.p.), but is still meeting difficulty in doing so.
Some of the positive effects of the act are that it still protects several Aboriginal rights: it provides protection for the Aboriginals, paid education (post-secondary), exempts them from paying taxes, having healthcare coverage and have cheaply priced housing. As well as, the Act protects and preserves the Aboriginals’ land and prohibits non-Native people from using or living on the reserves. Lastly, It helps us to understand how the federal government took away the Aboriginals’ rights and lands and also learn that you should not discriminate people, no matter their background. Some of the negative effects of the act are that Aboriginals have lost a lot of cultural aspects due to the Indian Act. Firstly, the law prevents Aboriginals living on a reserve from owning their own property and they need to rely on their chief and band councils to grant them housing and maintain their homes condition. Adding on, First Nation people are prohibited from getting a mortgage, a business loan or even leasing a car. They are also prohibited from selling meat or agricultural products cultivated from their land to anyone off the reserve without special government permission. Finally, as of today, some Aboriginal people are still disrespected because of the stereotypes that non-Aboriginal people still believe. For example, there are a number of myths and misconceptions about Aboriginal people that some non-Aboriginal people still think is
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
Until the 16th century, Aboriginal people were the only inhabitants of what is now Canada, hence, they were an independent and self-governing people till the Europeans had the capacity to dominate Canada's original inhabitants and possessors (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). This essay aims to explain how the Indian Act tried to destroy the Aboriginal culture through residential schools and unequal recognition of women, successive acts,
The history of Indian Child Welfare Act derived from the need to address the problems with the removal of Indian children from their communities. Native American tribes identified the problem of Native American children being raised by non-native families when there were alarming numbers of children being removed from their h...
In this proposal our team seeks to explore the injustices within the Indian Act. To achieve this our proposed research will examine the target population being the aboriginal woman. The paper will further explore the oppressions faced by the aboriginal women within the Indian Act. In conclusion, this proposal will sum up the negative impact that the Indian Act had on aboriginal women and how it continues to oppress this population within the Canadian National discourse.
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 explicit recognition of First Nations rights to their traditional lands, which have a deep societal meaning for aboriginal groups. Several issues must be discussed to understand the complex and intimate relationship all aboriginal societies have with the earth. Exploration into the effects that the absence of these rights has had the Cree of the Eastern James Bay area, will provide a more thorough understanding of the depth of the issue. Overall, the unique cultural relationship First Nations people of Canada have with Mother Earth needs to be incorporated into the documents of the Canadian Constitution to ensure the preservation and protection of Canadian First Nations cultural and heritage rights.s
Generations of native people in Canada have faced suffering and cultural loss as a result of European colonization of their land. Government legislation has impacted the lives of five generations of First Nations people and as a result the fifth generation (from 1980 to present) is working to recover from their crippled cultural identity (Deiter-McArthur 379-380). This current generation is living with the fallout of previous government policies and societal prejudices that linger from four generations previous. Unrepentant, Canada’s ‘Genocide’, and Saskatchewan’s Indian People – Five Generations highlight issues that negatively influence First Nations people. The fifth generation of native people struggle against tremendous adversity in regard to assimilation, integration, separation, and recovering their cultural identity with inadequate assistance from our great nation.
Our Indian legislation generally rests on the principle, that the aborigines are to be kept in a condition of tutelage and treated as wards or children of the State. …the true interests of the aborigines and of the State alike require...
celebration among the First Nations an the Pacific Coast) for they believe it was a corrupt
The Indian Residential schools and the assimilating of First Nations people are more than a dark spot in Canada’s history. It was a time of racist leaders, bigoted white men who saw no point in working towards a lasting relationship with ingenious people. Recognition of these past mistakes, denunciation, and prevention steps must be taking intensively. They must be held to the same standard that we hold our current government to today. Without that standard, there is no moving forward. There is no bright future for Canada if we allow these injustices to be swept aside, leaving room for similar mistakes to be made again. We must apply our standards whatever century it was, is, or will be to rebuild trust between peoples, to never allow the abuse to be repeated, and to become the great nation we dream ourselves to be,
“In about half of the Dominion, the aboriginal rights of Indians have arguably been extinguished by treaty” (Sanders, 13). The traditions and culture of Aboriginals are vanishing at a quick pace, and along it is their wealth. If the Canadian Government restore Native rights over resource development once again, Aboriginals would be able to gain back wealth and help with the poverty in their societies. “An influential lobby group with close ties to the federal Conservatives is recommending that Ottawa ditch the Indian Act and give First Nations more control over their land in order to end aboriginal poverty once and for all” (End First). This recommendation would increase the income within Native communities, helping them jump out of
Canada likes to paint an image of peace, justice and equality for all, when, in reality, the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in our country has been anything but. Laden with incomprehensible assimilation and destruction, the history of Canada is a shameful story of dismantlement of Indian rights, of blatant lies and mistrust, and of complete lack of interest in the well-being of First Nations peoples. Though some breakthroughs were made over the years, the overall arching story fits into Cardinal’s description exactly. “Clearly something must be done,” states Murray Sinclair (p. 184, 1994). And that ‘something’ he refers to is drastic change. It is evident, therefore, that Harold Cardinal’s statement is an accurate summarization of the Indigenous/non-Indigenous relationship in
Hawthorn attributed this situation to years of failed government policy, particularly the residential school system, which left students unprepared for participation in the contemporary economy. In content, the report was firmly rooted in a philosophy of enhancing special status or "citizen plus" status for First Nations (Dyck 79). This meant that in addition to the normal rights and duties, Indians had additional rights. The report sought ways to give "practical meaning" to the citizens plus status, at the same time rejecting the notion that special legal status prevented the delivery of provincial services to the Indians. Instead, it proposed increased provincial involvement in Indian affairs and cautioned government against confusing legal equality with socio-economic equality, fearing serious hardship to First Nations if such occurred (79).Central to the report was the position that goals such as integration were not in the domain of the government, and hence such decisions could only be taken by Indians for Indians (79). "Choice" was a key value in forming the report (79).The Indians needed to be allowed to start making decisions about their welfare. It concluded that the policy of enfranchisement is a complete failure and that it has no effect in attracting Indians into Canadian
Imagine being taken from your family at the age of six. Being referred to as a number rather than a name. Receiving brutal and cruel punishments for speaking the only language you were taught. How would it impact your life? Unfortunately, this is the reality for millions of Canada's Indigenous population. The nation of Canada is known to the world for being a country of peace, love and equality. Individuals originating from different nationalities immigrate to Canada, in hopes to improve their standard of living and escape the horrors of their country. Moreover, Canadians have not always been as supportive and welcoming of new ethnicities populating Canadian territory as they portray themselves to be today. Indian Horse is known to be an insightful