The Indian Act
Objective Statement #4
Indigenous people were forbidden from practising their religious ceremonies and had their religious artifacts taken away.
Objective Statement #3
Regimented criteria was developed for who could legally identify as an Indian.
Objective Statement #5
The government controlled the land of Indigenous peoples and set aside reserves for them to live on. It was also difficult for many Indigenous peoples to make land claims.
Objective Statement #2
Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools where they were taught European manners. It was disallowed for them to practice their own culture and traditions.
Objective Statement #1
The Act generalised and tried to assimilate a large population. Europeans created a set of laws that would aid them in colonising the Indigenous peoples.
Indigenous Perspective 1800s
Our lifestyle is not “uncivilised” just because it’s different. It’s not something that needs to be fixed, and we are not savages; we are different people with our own values. We welcomed the European immigrants to our land, unaware of the consequences that it would lead to. Now we’re being expected to give up our traditional ways of life and embrace the Europeans’ instead.
Modern Indigenous Person Perspective
The Indian Act was extremely regressive and paternalistic. Colonising us and attempting to erase and replace our culture with the settlers’, has caused us great trauma and led to trans-generational social & cultural disruption. The damage from the oppression that our ancestors went through is still potent today. We now must try to heal, recapture and revive what we have lost: what our culture stands for and what gives description, meaning and purpose to our lives.
European Perspective 1800s
We need to kill the Indian in the child as soon as possible. They are going to grow up misguided like their parents, so we need to teach them the right mannerisms and customs to survive in this world the right way. For their learning to be undisrupted, the children must be separated from their families so that they are not influenced by the pull of tradition and religion from home.
Indigenous Perspective 1800s
If our children are separated from us for years, they will not be able to learn our culture and language. Our spiritual and religious traditions are a huge part of our identities. They have been taught and followed for generations, yet our children are being forced to learn and participate in European conventions. If our children are being brainwashed to forget their background and traditional way of life, our culture will be lost over time.
European Perspective 1800s
There is an Indian Problem here that we must get rid of. We need to assimilate the savages in all respects so that they can catch up to our societal standards and live alongside their fellow citizens. We are rescuing them from barbarity, and as they are fit to change, they must all be absorbed into white habits and attitudes.
Modern European-Canadian Perspective
The consequences of residential schools are extensive and reflect very badly on Canada's history. As we were the immigrants on the Indigenous peoples' lands, it was very wrong of our ancestors to impose their values on the children and take them away from their families. Now we must do our best to bring light to what happened and reconcile with the Indigenous peoples and communities.
The Indian Act is a law created in 1876 by the Canadian Government. The law allowed the government to have more power and control over Indigenous peoples, including their Indian status, land, resources, wills, education, band administration, etc. It has been amended multiple times since its creation and is still in place to this day. The purpose of this law was to attempt to assimilate Indigenous peoples into the European settler population.
Indigenous Perspective 1800s
Our property was stolen, and while we showed the Europeans hospitality when they came, they did not return the same treatment. All they wanted to do was get rid of us and settle on our land. We were told that we would be protected and have freedom and access to the same things we did before, but instead we were confined to reserves on our own land. On top of this it was incredibly difficult for us to make land claims, and everything we did had to be under the consent of the government.
European Perspective 1800s
We need to clear the way for new settlers by getting the Indians to surrender their vast surpluses of land. The Indians have a lot of unused idle land, but with it in our possession, we will be able to utilise it more efficiently than them. For the Indians to coexist with us on these territories, they have to assimilate into our culture or else they will be removed. We will be gracious and give them reserves so that they can live on their own and not interfere with us.
Indigenous Perspective 1800s
The Europeans decided to create a status for us which affected our rights, services and benefits. By losing our status, we would become full Canadian citizens, helping the Europeans with their goal towards assimilating us while also losing our statutory and treaty rights and privilege to live on reserves. With enfranchisement, any of us who obtained a university degree, gained a professional career, served in the forces or (female) married a non-Indian man lost their Indian status.
European Perspective 1800s
Having a status system for Indians will allow us to keep track of them easier as they need to be taken care of and controlled. Then it will be easier to help them transform to become more civilised by teaching them to take responsibility for their Canadian citizenship and privileges.
Indigenous Perspective 1800s
Our ceremonies and rituals are a huge part of our culture and lifestyle. They hold symbolic value to us and are a time and place where we can communally share and appreciate our traditions and teachings. Our artifacts are repositories of cultural knowledge that display stories from our religion. By taking these away from us, the foundations for our religion and the things that reflect our ancient traditional and constitutional framework are being stolen from us.
Modern Indigenous Person Perspective
Our ancestors experienced a cultural genocide where they were jailed for practising their culture and expressing themselves freely. They were persecuted and had their cultural artifacts confiscated, and we are just now being returned our ancestral treasured belongings that hold great significance to us and our history.
European Perspective 1800s
These ceremonies such as the “Potlatch” and “Powwows” spread erroneous behaviour and represent non-Christian ideologies. It is necessary to ban these practices to get rid of this senseless drumming and dancing. Also, these artifacts must be removed from their possession so that they don’t further encourage the Indian’s misendemours. We can substitute these activities with something more reasonable that doesn’t evince the Indian’s recklessness and instability.