The Indian Act and Its Effect on Modern Society
The Indian Act and its Effect on Modern Society The Indian Act is one of the most outdated and irrelevant pieces of legislature ever written. In 1876, the Crown consolidated all existing laws pertaining to Indians, and called this new document the Indian Act. They did not solicit input from Aboriginal people and in fact, at that time, Aboriginal people were not even allowed to vote for or against the politicians who were creating this Act. If this Act was written in 1876, what effect could it possibly have on anyone today? The answer to this is complex and requires an analysis of what is contained within the Act.
Many Aboriginal people have lost all they had and have been disadvantaged because of the Indian Act and the theories of why it was written are weak at best. One theory is that the policies were will-intentioned but misdirected. Many of the scholars who believe this look at the policies as a measure to protect "Indians and Indian lands" from exploitation and encroachment by other new settlers. They also contend that Canadian government policy was supposed to help Aboriginal people to "progress" and transform from wards of the state into citizens. However, what the Crown refused to acknowledge is that Aboriginals did not want to be citizens. They had a very different culture and way of looking at things and the Canadian government's way of doing things was contrary to their belief systems. Over time, the measures originally intended to protect the land base were progressively loosened to open up reserve lands for farming, settlement and other purposes (as the Crown saw fit). There were also treaty provisions created which permitted the federal government to take up reserve lands for public works of Canada. When Aboriginals complained that their rights were being ignored, they tried to make land claims so the Canadian government simply made it illegal for them to get a lawyer or legal advice.
Other people argue that reserves were created simply to
Many Aboriginal people have lost all they had and have been disadvantaged because of the Indian Act and the theories of why it was written are weak at best. One theory is that the policies were will-intentioned but misdirected. Many of the scholars who believe this look at the policies as a measure to protect "Indians and Indian lands" from exploitation and encroachment by other new settlers. They also contend that Canadian government policy was supposed to help Aboriginal people to "progress" and transform from wards of the state into citizens. However, what the Crown refused to acknowledge is that Aboriginals did not want to be citizens. They had a very different culture and way of looking at things and the Canadian government's way of doing things was contrary to their belief systems. Over time, the measures originally intended to protect the land base were progressively loosened to open up reserve lands for farming, settlement and other purposes (as the Crown saw fit). There were also treaty provisions created which permitted the federal government to take up reserve lands for public works of Canada. When Aboriginals complained that their rights were being ignored, they tried to make land claims so the Canadian government simply made it illegal for them to get a lawyer or legal advice.
Other people argue that reserves were created simply to
Bibliography: Cassidy, F., and B. Kavanagh. 1998, Political Science 311: Aboriginal Politics and Governments – Study Guide. Athabasca, ON: Athabasca University . Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. 1996, "The Indian Act and Indians: Children of the State" and "The Indian Act: Oppressive measures." In Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, Volume 1, Looking Forward, Looking Back, pp. 276-300. Ottawa: The Commission.