The Indian Act: Our Shameful Legacy

Canada as a nation has a dismal history with respect to its relations with

Aboriginal peoples living within what came to be its borders. One of the more striking

examples of this is the Indian Act.

The Indian Act is a piece of legislation intended to eradicate the cultures of

Aboriginal peoples.

By looking at the experiences of the registered Indians of Saskatchewan from the

period of the Rebellion of 1885 to the 1950s; then at the roles of women in pre-contact

Iroquois society; and finally by reviewing some of the amendments to the Indian Act in

the first quarter of the twentieth century, we’ll see clearly that the intent of the Act was

the decimation of the cultures of Aboriginal peoples.

We begin by surveying the ramifications of the Indian Act on registered Indians in

Saskatchewan from the Rebellion of 1885 to the 1950s.

Reading accounts of the forced way of life endured by these peoples, it would be

understandable if the reader were to mistaken it for an account of South Africa during the

apartheid era. In the words of H. B. Hawthorn,

The (Indian Affairs) Branch was a quasi-colonial government dealing

with almost the entire life of a culturally different people who were
systematically deprived of opportunities to influence government, a
people who were isolated on special pockets of land and who were
subject to different laws (Hawthorn 1966: 368).

The document the Indian Affairs Branch used as its modus operandi was the Indian Act.
 The Act was that piece of legislation by which the livelihood and lifestyle of those

who came to be registered Indians in what came to be Saskatchewan was totally and

irrevocably wiped out. Indeed, for the indigenous peoples living on the prairies it was

“the final nail in the coffin”, as it were; with its passing and implementation these people

went from nomadic and/or semi-nomadic lifestyles on the open prairies - hunting, fishing

and foraging freely (Getty & Lussier 2000: 204) to a life where much of their existence,

socially/culturally and daily, was heavily regulated and supervised. They were gathered

onto reserves where,

…they were not allowed to leave without obtaining a pass from the
Indian agent (a government agent placed in authority over the reserve)
which specified the destination, purpose, and period of their travel;
they were unable to purchase or to sell stock, personal possessions or
any other commodity without the written permission of the agent; and,
they were forbidden to possess or to consume alcohol (Dyck 1980:
38).

In addition to these proscriptions, registered Indians no longer had final say in

either their economic activities or how their leadership structure would be determined. In

the cases of both, the agent would review and either grant or deny the wishes of the

people: with regards to how band moneys were spent, and who could stand as candidate

for band chiefs and councillors (Dyck 1980: 38). Again, these colonial measures were

legislated in the Act.

This situation continued for the most part through to the 1950s, when

amendments came that finally started to change all this (Dyck 1980: 38).

It should be clear from the material presented that, in the case of the registered

Indians in Saskatchewan from the period of the 1880s to the 1950s, the Indian Act served

as the European colonizer’s tool for eradicating the cultures of these Aboriginal peoples.
As we shall see however, it wasn’t only in the Prairies that actions like this took place.

The Iroquois lived in the area of what would become Ontario and Quebec, and for

many centuries enjoyed a rich cultural and social heritage quite different from those of

the European settlers. Especially with respect to the role of women, the two worldviews

were perfect opposites of one another:

… Iroquois society was matrifocal, matrilineal, and matrilocal. That is,

descent was traced through women and after marriage the husband went to
live with his wife’s family. Each dwelling was owned by a senior woman.
In the political sphere the senior matrons elected and deposed the elder of
the highest ruling political body; hereditary eligibility to this council was
trough the female. The matrons are also said to have had veto powers in
questions of war and peace (Jamieson 1978: 113).

Here in this instance as well, the Indian Act served simply to wipe out what had been

these people’s social organization for many centuries (Jamieson 1978: 113). European

settlers, through a commission of inquiry in 1841, knew that this was the way Iroquois

society was established and operated (Jamieson 1978: 116), yet the Indian Act contained

stipulations such as:

…on the death of an Indian his goods and land rights were to be passed
to his children; the wife was excluded as her maintenance was seen as
the responsibility of the children. A council was to be elected by adult
males of each Indian settlement. If an Indian became enfranchised, his
wife and minor children were automatically enfranchised, and …an
Indian woman marrying an Indian from another band became (along
with their children) member only of the husband’s/father’s band
(Jamieson 1978: 117).

With the understanding that legislators knew of the cultural dynamics of the Iroquois, we

can see by contrasting these cultural dynamics with the provisions of the Indian Act that

the role of the latter was to eradicate the presence of the former.
 How about in this past Century? As Canada came into the 20th Century, shouldn’t

we be able to start to see a change in the Indian Act? As for the first twenty five years,

the answer is a disappointing “no”. The truth is that amendments made to the Act from

1906-1927 were more of the same.

Teaching the next generation in the knowledge of the ways of the past is a key factor in

the proliferation of culture. In light of this, it is worth noting that in 1920 several

regulations regarding education were incorporated into the Act. Form this time on, the

Superintendent-General could enforce school attendance, by means of truant officers and

penalties, of all Indian children aged seven to fifteen (Leslie & Maguire 1978).

Reading through the amendments, we see a clause to make Indian participation in dances,

rodeos, and exhibitions subject to Agent approval (Leslie & Maguire 1978), and one

piece proposed in 1908, but not enacted, to prohibit “licentious” tribal marriage practices

in British Columbia (Leslie & Maguire 1978).

Some of the amendments to the Act include particularly blunt and startling quotes

from legislators and other governmental officials. Take, for example this quote by

Deputy Superintendent-General Duncan Campbell Scott, in 1920:

…after one hundred years, after being in close contact with civilization it
is enervating to the individual or to a band to continue in that state of
tutelage, when he or they are able to take their position as British citizens
or Canadian citizens, to support themselves, and stand alone. That has
been the whole purpose of Indian education and advancement since the
earliest times. One of the very earliest enactments was to provide for the
enfranchisement of the Indian. So it is written in our law that the Indian
was eventually to become enfranchised.
…Our object is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that
has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question,
and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill (Leslie &
Maguire 1978).
Or finally, this poignant remark by Conservative Senator Fowler in 1922:

This Indian question is apparently becoming somewhat acute, and it is

rather important. The Indians, particularly those belonging to the Six
Nations, have an idea that they are not subjects of the country at all…
Now, the sooner they are taught that they are not allies of Canada, but
subjects of Canada, and that they are Canadian citizens so far as the
moderate kind of citizenship they have, without the franchise, is
concerned, the better, because we do not want any such anomaly in this
country. We have troubles enough about our immigration, without having
contention with our aboriginal inhabitants. It seems to me that the Indian
Department has not handles those people with sufficient firmness… This
is the condition now, and …any legislation tending toward easing upon
those people makes them think that they are master of the situation (Leslie
& Maguire 1978)…

Perhaps some of the most salient examples of the intent of the Act to eradicate the

cultures of Aboriginal peoples can be found in this time period.

In conclusion: from examining the experiences of the registered Indians in

Saskatchewan from 1885 to 1950, to looking at the Indian Act as it affected the social

structure of the Iroquois peoples in Ontario and Quebec, to looking at some of the areas

of amendment and the quotes and remarks of some of the government officials in the first

quarter of the Twentieth Century, it is clear that the intent of the Indian Act was the

eradication of Aboriginal cultures.

As a contemporary scholar in Native Studies clear put it,

For the original people there was to be no partnership, no degree of home

rule to protect and encourage the development of a valued and variant
culture, as was the case with French Canada. Not only were the Indians
not a necessary element in the creation of Confederation as French
Canadians were, but their cultural aspiration … was rejected (Getty &
Lussier 2000: 63).
References

Hawthorne, H.B. A Survey of the Contemporary Indian of Canada: A Report on

Economic, Political and Educational Nered and Policies, Volume One. Ottawa: The
Queen’s Printer, 1966.

Dyck, Noel Indian, Metis, Native: Some Implications of Spectial Status. Canadian Ethnic
Studies/Etudes Ethniques au Canada, 1980.

Getty, A. L. & Lussier, Antoine S. As Long as the Sun Shines and Water Flows: A Reader
in Canadian Native Studies. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press,
2000.

Jamieson, Kathleen Indian Women and the Law in Canada: Citizens Minus. Ottawa:
Advisory Council on the Status of Women, 1978

Leslie, J. & Maguire, R. The Historical Development of the Indian Act. Ottawa: Indian
and Northern Affairs Canada, 1978