The Indian Act: A Summary |
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First introduced in 1876, the Indian Act is an evolving, paradoxical document that has enabled trauma, human rights violations and social and cultural disruption for generations of Indigenous peoples.
The Indian Act is the primary law the federal government uses to administer Indian status, local First Nations governments and the management of reserve land. It also outlines governmental obligations to First Nations peoples. First introduced in 1876, the Act subsumed a number of colonial laws that aimed to eliminate First Nations culture in favour of assimilation into Euro-Canadian society. The Act has been amended several times, most significantly in 1951 and 1985, with changes mainly focusing on the removal of discriminatory sections. It is an evolving, paradoxical document that has enabled trauma, human rights violations and social and cultural disruption for generations of Indigenous peoples. Version française: https://youtu.be/v9FZ4NK1xdw FOLLOW HISTORICA CANADA! Instagram: https://instagram.com/historicacanada/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistoricaCanada TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@historicacanada Facebook: https://facebook.com/Historica.Canada/ Pinterest: https://pinterest.ca/historicac/_saved/ FOLLOW THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA! Facebook: https://facebook.com/TheCanadianEncyclopedia/ Further reading/resources: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-act https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-act-plain-language-summary https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/the-indian-act https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-status https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/women-and-the-indian-act https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bill-c-31 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mcivor-case https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bedard-case https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lavell-case https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/drybones-case-1970 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-rights More educational content at: https://historicacanada.ca https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada. |