Indian Act History & Impact PDF

What is Indian Act? Ninaabinootaan owe dibaajimowin. Gaawiin niin nindoodaya'iimisiin. By Jenni Makahnouk  Who is this Story About? Evelyn Makahnouk Ojibwe / Anishinaabe Obishikokaang (Lac Seul FN) Loon Clan My Grandma!  Anishinaabe? Culturally connected Indigenous pe...

What is Indian Act? Ninaabinootaan owe dibaajimowin. Gaawiin niin nindoodaya'iimisiin. By Jenni Makahnouk  Who is this Story About? Evelyn Makahnouk Ojibwe / Anishinaabe Obishikokaang (Lac Seul FN) Loon Clan My Grandma!  Anishinaabe? Culturally connected Indigenous peoples living around the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada I identify more as ojibwe than anishinaabe (cause that’s what my grandma tells to do do)  Obishikokaang Lac Seul First Nation Northern Ontario Treaty 3 Traditional manoomin (wild rice) field  Loon Clan? The clan system is an Anishinaabe governance and kinship structure Clans are a way of organizing community and governance How does this relate to the Indian Act? Also what is the Indian Act….. What is the Indian Act? It is Canadian federal law that governs all matters regarding to: ➔ Indian status ➔ bands ➔ Indian reserves It passed as law in 1876 and still remains as Canadian law today. The Canadian Encyclopedia What is the Indian Act? Indians ARE: property of the government unable to handle their own affairs subject to measures meant to help them, even if Indians themselves didn't agree that these measures were really helpful for them. EXAMPLES OF PROTECTIVE MEASURES prohibited Indigenous Peoples from hiring legal counsel from entering a pool halls from 1927 onwards from forming political organizations Banning of potlatch and powwows and more……. EXAMPLES OF PROTECTIVE MEASURES Destruction of dogs The Inuit refer to this as the qimmiijaqtauniq (Inuit Dog Slaughter) Qikiqtani Truth Commission 2005 For the Inuit, “the practical uses for qimmiit were enormous: They pulled sleds in winter, carried packs in summer, sniffed out seal holes, avoided ice cracks in fog and darkness, and warded off polar bears or surrounded them and held them for the hunter’s harpoon or rifle.” Qikiqtani Truth Commission 2005 However, the enforced settlement of Inuit into permanent communities, and the dog slaughter during the 1950s and 1960s, resulted in a massive decline in the dog population. Over a span of 20 years, the RCMP and Quebec Provincial Police slaughtered thousands of Inuit sled dogs, using public safety as a pretext and exploiting a loophole in a law originally intended for agricultural purposes. Qikiqtani Truth Commission 2005 Although it has been acknowledged in many ways, it has never been legally proven that there was a government and/or police policy to kill dogs, in an attempt to oust the Inuit from their traditional lands or way of life. In August 2011, the Quebec government offered an official apology for the negative effects on Inuit society of the mass slaughter of sled dogs in Nunavik (northern Quebec) but the damage has been done. Dog Slaughters on Indigenous Reservations Destruction of dogs My Grandma’s dog was shot by the RCMP on our reserve. She was visiting her sister and let her dog out for a bathroom break. RCMP drove by and shot her dog. Indigenous rumours are that the dog slaughter wasn’t just in inuit communities, but again, the only proof is indigenous stories which aren’t “valid” in the face of the State So then, what are treaties?  What are Treaties are an Indigenous creation Indigenous Various Indigenous groups had treaties for various ongoing issues treaties? such as hunting in the winter or summer foraging Agreements between various Indigenous treaties changed from indigenous peoples year to year but always were agreed upon by both parties (agreement could take a long time)  British settlers did not understand that treaties were not a one and What are done agreement. British viewed treaties as a Canadian divorce treaties? Indigenous people saw treaties as a marriage Historical agreements between Indigenous people saw treaties Canada and various indigenous peoples who occupied the land as on-going continually relationship that could change as needed  What are Canadian treaties? Historical agreements between Canada and various indigenous peoples who occupied the land  Treaty non-compliance by British Changed the agreed location of my reserve, away from the town, railway, and there was no road access until 2008. It was a 2 hour boat ride, double portage to get access the town and services How does this relate to your Grandma? Indian Act created residential schools My grandma was forced to attend at Pelican Lake Residential School until age 20  Under the Indian Act, because my grandma married a white man, she was denied the rights to live on- reserve and to access services such as treaty and health benefits.  This is my Auntie, Elder Whabagoon. She was Sixtie’s Scooped from my family. Amendments to the Indian Act allowed provinces authority over Indigenous child welfare  So what do I think of the Indian Act? It’s Complicated It should stay until the Canadian government provides a better solution that includes land back, indigenous and reparations for hundreds of years of discrimination.  Want to Indigenous Initiatives around learn more? McGill Take the Indigenous Minor First People’s House Take Indigenous Critical Campus Tour Content courses McGill 52 Calls to Encourage McGill to Action hire Indigenous faculty  Pocasts Unreserved The Secret Life of Canada Two Crees in a Pod All my Relations (American) Inuit Unikkaangit The Henceforward Google Indigenous Podcasts and find a selection that you might enjoy  Books Non-Fiction 21 Things You May Not Know about the Indian Act Indigenous Writes This Place Braiding Sweetgrass Fiction Never Whistle at Night Split Tooth Bad Cree Moon of the Crusted Snow  Indigenous Movies / TV Shows Movies Beans The Fast Runner Imajuik Akornatsinniittut Akornatsinniittut - Kiinappalik TV Shows Rutherford Falls Reservation Dogs QUESTIONS?