How Did The Indian Act Affect Canada

First Nations were one of the first people in Canada, but suffered horribly. Through the genocide from the European settlers to the residential schools for Indigenous children, many families were destroyed and in grief for their lost ones. As Canada became a country, the Indian Act was founded in 1867. This Act governs the matters relating to Indian status, reserves and bands. There are many parts to this Act. They are the “Potlatch Law” and Section 141, Bill C-31 and gender discrimination, White Paper, and the 1951 amendments. The Act was established to eliminate the cultural, social, political, and economic qualities of Aboriginals through assimilating them into the culture and lifestyle of Canadians. Some of these laws were unfair to Indigenous people. The Indian Act

It was proposed by Prime Minister Trudeau. The white paper’s purpose was to achieve a greater equality for First Nations. The policy was later abolished by the government. This hinders the First Nations’ identity because many people was against the white paper. If the people were not against it, the Indians would have better equality and would not be treated any worse. For the white paper, Pierre Trudeau’s idea was to: “... assimilate Aboriginal peoples into Canadian society, thereby eliminating any special status and treatment they received up to that point” (Henderson). Assimilating people into the Canadian culture prevents the child from seeing their traditions, and listening to their language. Their identity eventually disappears and they are now used to the Canadian lifestyle. The 1951 amendments is also another part of the Act. Although, the Indian Act was revised and that the Indigenous people were now allowed to practise their traditions, they still were not allowed to do some other things. For example, restrictions on alcohol. The Indians were not able to get as much alcohol as they want to unlike others, who could get as much as they