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Gendering the Indian Act
November
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Gendering the Indian Act Lecture Outline
Background to the Indian Act 2. Gender discrimination in the Indian Act - status & marriage - education - governance 3. Conclusion
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Numbered Treaties
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What is the Indian Act? 1876 Act – consolidation of previous Acts
1763 Royal Proclamation Ideas about ‘Britishness’
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Duncan Campbell Scott Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs ( ) Poet & author Goal: assimilation of aboriginal people
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Indian Act, 1876 Main goal: Assimilation of Aboriginal people through:
Paternalistic rules & regulations Marriage Education enfranchisement Governance
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Gender Discrimination in the Indian Act
Determining who is and isn’t legally an Indian Marriage: women could gain or lose status through marriage Ignored traditional matrilineal and matriarchal customs
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Gender & the Residential School System
Residential Schools: 1870s – 1980s Indian Act mandated enrollment & attendance Cornerstone of the drive to assimilate Curriculum – very gendered
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Gendered Curriculum - Boys
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Gendered Curriculum - Girls
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Christianity & Domesticity ?
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Governance Indian Affairs chose what positions could be filled
Only men over 21 could vote or run for a position on band council Indian Affairs controlled elections Band councils had minimal power
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Conclusions Women disempowered in many ways by the Indian Act
- Through marriage, and education & also politically Women resisted the Indian Act in formal & informal ways - participating in banned customs, advising band councils, challenging the Act in the court system & at the international level
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