The Impact of the Indian Act on Canadian Society and First Nations Identity is massive. The Indian Act had a goal of assimilating the First Nations, therefore influencing their identity and culture and also influencing Canadian Society as a whole. There are many aspects of this which will be looked into. The first step is to understand the Indian Act, which will be paragraph one. The next step is to look at the challenges left behind from the Indian Act on both the European and First Nations sides, which will be paragraph two. The third step is to understand the impacts of those challenges on Canadian society, which will be paragraph three. Let's get started.
The Indian Act and various other treaties had a very large impact on the status and identity of First Nations
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The Indian Act was passed by In 1876 under the Government of Sir John A. Macdonald. The act was passed in Parliament with the First Nations people having very little or no consultation about the act. The primary purpose of the act was to control the First Nations people and assimilate them into Canada and Canadian Society. The Act originally was meant to be temporary and removed once the First Nations people were successfully integrated into Canadian Society. However, now the Act is seen as sacred among First Nations people, for giving them rights and status, and most likely will never be removed. The Indian Act introduced three new terms for First Nations. The first was the Reserve, which was land set aside by the Government for use by an First Nations group or Band, the second term. A band was imposed to be the governing unit of First Nations in Canada on a Reserve. It was also referred to as a body of Indians. The third was called status, which was to be of First Nations status and you would carry around a card to show that you were. The identity of First Nations people were also affected. The Indian Act declared the potlatch and other cultural ceremonies illegal along with