The Indian Act -General info -Goals of the Indian Act -Acts of Control 1. Status Indian 2. Reserves 3. Social / Behavior 4. Political / Governance 5. Economic 6. Cultural -Amendments -Understanding Assimilation

General Info: Who passed the Act and When? -DIA in 1876 What is the Indian Act? -a paternalistic act that gave legal power to the Canadian Gov’t to: CONTROL FIRST NATIONS Paternalism: Treating someone like a child / governing a group of people as a father treats a child Why was the Indian Act Created? “To solve the Indian Problem” -Fur Trade was over  FNs no longer had a role in Canada -FNs were seen as a BARRIER to DEVELOPING Canada

The Goal of the Indian Act the Federal Gov’t created the Indian Act for 2 main reasons: 1. CONTROL 2. ASSIMILATE “The happiest future for the Indian race is absorption into the general population, and this is the object of the policy of our government. The great forces of intermarriage and education will finally overcome the lingering traces of native custom and tradition” [Duncan C. Scott]

Assimilation over time…

Acts of Control: Status Indian Status: -defines who is considered a “Status Indian” -states what “Status Indians” can and cannot do - “Status Indians” have virtually NO RIGHTS  Cannot: own land, vote, own a business etc. -FNs could gain these rights but they would have to sacrifice their Aboriginal Identity [Enfranchise vs. Disenfranchise]

Enfranchisement Voting History Canada BC Disenfranchised: Denied basic rights (ex. Voting) Enfranchisement: legal process to terminate “indian status” -FNs gain all rights … but no longer “Status FN” Voting History Canada BC 1900: all minorities and women cannot vote 1918: women can vote 1948: minorities (except FNs) can vote 1950: Inuit Natives can vote 1960: FNs can vote 1917: women can vote 1947: Chinese can vote 1949: FN can vote

Acts of Control: Reserves Indian Lands / Reserves: -Land was set aside for FNs -FNs were forced to live on reserves Reserves acted as Jails: -needed a pass to leave reserves -needed permission to leave -had to indicate destination - had to indicate return date Indian Agents on Reserves: -gov’t appointed officials to “Watch” (administer) reserves -controlled money/resources going to reserves -ofter VERY corrupt

Acts of Control: Reserves Cont’d… Reserve Commissioners: -gov’t officials that decided: -where reserves would be created -how big reserves would be GM Sproat -sympathetic to FNs -favorable sized reserves -favorable locations Peter O’Reiley -Joseph Trutch’s brother in law -discriminatory policies -slashed reserve sizes -personal goal of ensuring All FNs were “on reserves”

Indian Agent cartoon….

Acts of Control: Social / Behavior Status Indians cannot: -vacate a bar / tavern / pub -gather in groups of more than 3 -play pool / billiards -own fire arms -wear “native costume” [Regalia] in public

Acts of Control: Political / Governance Controlling Political Organization: -foreign system of government imposed: -all reserves to have a Band Council with elected leaders (Euro-Canadian model) -this destroyed many traditional models of gov’t for BC FNs  loss of hereditary leaders  women not allowed in politics (Disenfranchised)  Traditional models of leadership / governance completely destroyed

Acts of Control: Economic -1880 Food Fishing Law  could not sell fish (only catch and consume)  FNs cannot operate motor boat  traditional fishing practices outlawed -FNs could not borrow money from banks  FNs to be Laborers exclusively -could not own land

Acts of Control: Cultural Laws to prevent cultural expression: -cannot dance in public -potlatch banned (1884) -cannot dress in traditional clothing [regalia] -children forced to attend residential schools  here they were forced to practice Christianity

How the Indian Act Controlled FNs cont’d.. 5. Education: -the most effective way of CONTROLLING and Assimiliating FN people -through education – the values and language of the colononizing culture could be taught to the youngest generation in the hopes that they would grow up to be non-natives More details to come…..

Amendments (changes) to the Indian Act -The Indian Act was changed several times from 1876-1950 -most changes were designed to make it HARSHER -the changes focused on: Control, Intrusion, ASSimilation ***many of the rules still exist today but are not enforced***

Understanding Assimilation Multiple definitions: -to take in and incorporate as one’s own; absorb -to bring into conformity with the customs, attitudes etc., of a group or nation -to convert -to cause to resemble Assimilation was the policy of the Canadian Gov’t with FNs from 1867-1950 The ultimate goal: The Canadian gov’t attempted to force FNs to forget their culture, customs, traditions, language etc. Savage / Civilized