Canadians Have Been Breaking Their Promises To Indigenous People Summary

The video by Tasha Hubbard titled “Canadians have been breaking their promises to Indigenous people” displays the multitude of ways in which Canada and its government have failed to fulfill the promises it made to the Indigenous people. These promises that were made almost a century ago before 1945 are yet to be satisfied. In this video, the speaker, Tasha Hubbard details the historical and currently ongoing impact of settler colonialism and the Indian Act on the Indigenous peoples of Canada. In this essay, I will be deconstructing the Indian Act and its role in perpetuating the wrongful treatment of Canada’s original inhibitors.

In 1876, the Canadian government enacted The Indian Act as a mean to colonize, control, and assimilate the Indigenous people. The Indian act created a system of reserves where Indigenous peoples were forced to live. It also created a new role for an Indian agent. These Indian agents had significant control over the lives of all the Indigenous people living on the reserves. These agents were tasked with ensuring Indigenous peoples were "civilized" and assimilated into Canadian society, often resulting in the suppression of cultural practices and loss of land and resources. The act also created the concept of "status Indians," which further divided Indigenous

Although the treaties were supposed to be bilateral accords, they have frequently been disregarded by the Canadian government. The speaker emphasizes that the treaties encompassed more than just land arrangements and included promises to treat and respect Indigenous peoples. The failure to keep these promises has led to catastrophic outcomes, such as loss of land and resources and the ongoing marginalization of Indigenous peoples. The breach of these treaties has sustained the systemic oppression and disempowerment of Indigenous peoples in Canada.