More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Bob Joseph
Read between
August 2 - August 25, 2020
I think it is critical that non-Indigenous Canadians be aware of how deeply the Indian Act penetrated, controlled, and continues to control, most aspects of the lives of First Nations.
European-style elections for chief and council were introduced to Indigenous communities in 1869 under An Act for the Gradual Enfranchisement of Indians, the Better Management of Indian Affairs, and to Extend the Provisions of the Act. The imposed system was and still is similar to municipal-style government in which a leader and council members are elected, based on the terms and conditions of the government. The role of the elected chief is to administer the Indian Act, and in no meaningful way does this reflect their former self-government.
Only males over the age of 23 were allowed to vote and Indian women were not given the right to vote in band elections until the 1951 Indian Act.
The reality for the bands under the reserve system was they lost land, which constricted their ability to hunt, trap, fish, and harvest traditional foods to sustain themselves.
Some communities were removed altogether from their traditional lands,
ultimate purpose of enfranchisement (loss of status rights) was to encourage assimilation and to reduce the number of Indians the federal government was financially responsible for—to get “rid of the Indian problem.”
The Indian Act, 1876 took for granted that Indians’ land could be expropriated by any private group or level of government wanting a way through it. Ten years later, expropriation for such purposes required government consent, and it was still the government that negotiated settlements on Indians’ behalf.4 It would not be long before the government could also remove an Indian band from a reserve
In the early days of the Indian Act, one intent behind the alcohol ban was the belief that if Indians were able to access alcohol, they wouldn’t be diligently working their “farmland.” In other words, they should be on the reserve, working land that, in many cases, was not arable. They were expected to farm with rudimentary hand tools because they were denied access to modern farm tools, and if they did manage to grow anything, they weren’t allowed to sell it without a permit to leave the reserve or the permit required to sell their produce.
Indian veterans were banned from the Legions that their fellow, non-Indian soldiers frequented.
Indians would often consume their alcohol rapidly to avoid being arrested and fined. This led to the myth, which continues today, that Indians can’t tolerate alcohol.
Indian children were taught in the schools that everything about them, their language, and their cultures was wrong.
An additional injustice was that the community lost hundreds of priceless ceremonial items, including masks and regalia, which were confiscated and, over time, dispersed around the world to collectors and museums.
The educators were given the mandate that the children had to learn to read, write, understand, and speak English at all costs. Punishment for speaking their language ranged from the relatively mild practice of washing their mouths out with soap to the inconceivable punishment of piercing of their tongues with sewing needles.
Another outcome was that when residential school survivors became parents, they taught their children English so that they would not suffer the same punishments when they were taken off to residential schools.
Forbade western Indians from appearing in any public dance, show, exhibition, stampede, or pageant wearing traditional regalia
Prohibited anyone, Indian or non-Indian, from soliciting funds for Indians to hire legal counsel
By prohibiting Indians from going to pool rooms, the government was ensuring they did not amuse themselves in the same pursuits as non-Indians.
Forbade Indian students from practising their traditional religion
tragic reality is that what should have been a positive and respectful code of conduct degenerated over time into one in which government policies led to cultural genocide, assimilation, theft of land, denial of treaty and constitutional rights, racism, and increasingly punitive laws meant to control every aspect of the lives and deaths of the original inhabitants of what is now Canadian territory.
Just one year after reading the apology, Stephen Harper spoke at the g20 meeting in 2009 and said: “We also have no history of colonialism.
You can see why there may be a sense of cynicism on the part of some Indigenous Peoples when it comes to promises and apologies.
Most Indigenous Peoples recognize that self-government cannot serve as a panacea or silver bullet for the deep-rooted social, health, and economic problems that plague most Indigenous communities in Canada. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples heard considerable testimony from Indigenous women, many of whom stressed the need for healing in their communities.
To put it simply, the Indian Act was designed for a specific purpose that no longer exists in a country committed to reconciliation. The focus should now be on dismantling the Indian Act, moving towards self-government in an orderly and timely fashion, and creating a self-governing future for Indigenous Peoples outside of the Indian Act.
Self-determination is the right to decide who your people are.
Self-reliance means getting out of the perpetually underfunded arrangements currently offered by Canada.
