The Indian Act: A Summary | Historica Canada (2:46)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.
Tanya Talaga on the Indian Act (7:20)"Belonging is not the government's right to give." Tanya Talaga is a journalist, Massey lecturer, and author of the RBC Taylor Prize-winning book Seven Fallen Feathers. From Concordia University Presents The Walrus Talks Disruption in Toronto, on November 6, 2018.
AGES 14-18 Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again (34:00) 2021Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again shares the powerful story of Mary Two-Axe Earley, who fought for more than two decades to challenge sex discrimination against First Nations women embedded in Canada’s Indian Act and became a key figure in Canada’s women’s rights movement.
Using never-before-seen archival footage and audio recordings, Mohawk filmmaker Courtney Montour engages in a deeply personal conversation with the late Mohawk woman who challenged sexist and genocidal government policies that stripped First Nations women and children of their Indian status when they married non-Indian men.
Montour speaks with Cree activist Nellie Carlson, Mary’s lifelong friend and co-founder of Indian Rights for Indian Women, and meets with three generations in Mary’s kitchen in Kahnawà:ke to honour the legacy of a woman who galvanized a national network of allies to help restore Indian status to thousands of First Nations women and children.
AGES 14-18 Yuxweluptun: Man of Masks (21:00) 1998This short documentary serves as a portrait of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, one of Canada's most important painters. We meet him at the Bisley Rifle Range in Surrey, England, where he's literally shooting the Indian Act in a performance piece called "An Indian Shooting the Indian Act." It's in protest of the ongoing effects of the Act's legislation on Indigenous people. We then follow him back to Canada, for interviews with the artist and a closer look at his work.
The Indian Act Explained | TVO Today (May 7, 2018)Since 1876, the Indian Act has structured the relationship between Canada and Indigenous Peoples with profound repercussions. And though the act is well known, its detailed contents may not be. The Agenda welcomes Bob Joseph, founder of Indigenous Corporate Training, a firm specializing in cultural relations instruction, to discuss his book, "21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality."
Legal fictions of the Indian Act | Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (May 27, 2016)Legal fictions used to contain indigenous peoples in colonial Canada for 140 years through the Indian Act.
The 1876 Indian Act legislation was used as a tool to assimilate First Nations, defining an 'Indian' without any input from First Nations. The misinterpretation is that the Status Indian attributes certain rights, but history shows it actually eliminates the Indian person and rights over time. It is time to step away from the Indian Act and define First Nations based on our own traditions, heritage and culture.
Indian Act and Elected Chief and Council System | ICTInc.(2015)An explanation of how the Indian Act changed traditional ways of governing in First Nations communities.
The first thing to know about the Indian Act electoral process is that if you are chief or council, you are elected by your people, but you are accountable to Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.
Racial Segregation of Indigenous Peoples in CanadaRacial segregation is the enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community or establishment. Historically, the racial segregation of Indigenous peoples in Canada has been enforced by the Indian Act, reserve system, residential schools, and Indian hospitals, among other programs. These policies interfered with the social, economic, cultural and political systems of Indigenous peoples, while also paving the way for European settlement across the country.
