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Indian Assimilation In Canada

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The Indian Act was constructed to reflect the Canadian government’s primary goal of assimilation. The government anticipated that the process of organized assimilation through legislation would reduce the number of status Indians in Canada, remove the government from the responsibility of First Nations affairs, and make available the land that was currently reserved for First Nations. Without the responsibility of the ‘Indian problem’, the Canadian government would no longer be required to spend limited federal funds on its burdensome inhabitants. However, the ‘Indian problem’ did not go away and instead produced gender-based discrimination towards the women of Canada’s First Nations communities, resulting in a loss of status, status rights, and identity for generations to come. …show more content…

The Indian Act of 1876 determined who was, and who was not, a legally-entitled Indian. According to the Act, the term “Indian” meant: first, any male person of Indian blood reputed to belong to a particular band; second, any child of such person; and third, any woman who is or was lawfully married to such person. Under this definition, it is evident that the foundation of the Act – the Indian status – blatantly discriminated on the basis of gender. According to the Act, Indian women, who may have had Indian ancestry dating back thousands of years, were suddenly only deemed an Indian because of their husbands or fathers, rather than in their own

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“The settler colonial logic of elimination in its crudest form, a violent rejection of all things Indian, was transformed into a paternalistic mode of governmentality which, though still sanctioned by state violence, came to focus on assimilation rather than rejection.” –Patrick Wolfe, After the Frontier: Separation and Absorption in US Indian Policy, 13 Wolfe’s statement illustrates how the US government put more emphasis on legalized absorption of Indians into the White society rather than using forceful and violent methods to acquire the Natives’ land. After the colonization of the westward land and the end of the Frontier era, the US government’s method of assimilation of the Indians started revolving around allotment and blood quanta. With no place to further push the Natives away, the established Bureau of Indian Affairs and the government took action to eliminate the Natives culturally and spiritually instead of physically.

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The criticism of the reservation system for Native Americans highlights a shift towards individualism and severalty advocated by some scholars and

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Socio-economic status (SES) is defined as when intentions toward Indigenous people are shown and perceived. MacDonald never provided Indigenous people with new food; it was always “rancid,” which made “the Plains First Nations population drop from 32,000 to 20,000” (Hooper, 2018, pg.3). To begin with, a counter-narrative has been to view Indigenous people as inferior and a danger to settler colonialism. This viewpoint is by institutionalized discrimination against Indigenous people by the government of Canada to unify settler groups and use this discrimination, such as the Indian Act in 1876 in Canada, which caused toll consequences. John A. Macdonald has played a role in perpetuating systemic oppression and violence against Indigenous peoples in Canada through policies such as the residential school system, the Indian Act, and the forced relocation of Indigenous communities.

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Ebrahim Radwan NBE3U Ms. Abunassar March 29, 2023 Stripping Identities: Trauma in "Indian Horse" Imagine a world where the innocent and vulnerable children are subjected to abuse, mistreatment, and even death, all because of who they are. This is the heartbreaking reality of Canadian Residential Schools. From 1831 to 1996, Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their homes and communities, and placed in these government-run schools, where they were stripped of their culture, language, and identity. The destruction these schools caused to Indigenous peoples is immeasurable. These schools are the cause of 6000 deaths out of 150000 victims, all of which are vulnerable children.

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442 Words | 2 Pages

Over the past few decades, there has been many distinct perspectives and conflicts surrounding the historical context between the Indigenous peoples in Canada and the Canadian Government. In source one, the author P.J Anderson is trying to convey that the absolute goal of the Indian Residential School system in Canada has been to assimilate the Indian nation and provide them with guidance to “ forget their Indian habits”, and become educated of the “ arts of civilized life”, in order to help them integrate into society and “become one” with their “White brethren”. It is clearly evident throughout the source that the author is supportive of the Indian residential school system and strongly believes that the Indian residential School System

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2314 Words | 10 Pages

Short Answer Questions – one typed page, approx. 250 words / 4 pages. Identify and briefly outline one case of Indigenous relocation. You should identify the group by name, where they were moved from and to, and how much choice they had in this relocation. Include an example of the resilience of the group after the fact.

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Critical Summary #3: First Nations Perspectives In Chapter eight of Byron Williston’s Environmental Ethics for Canadians First Nation’s perspectives are explored. The case study titled “Language, Land and the Residential Schools” begins by speaking of a public apology from former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He apologizes for the treatment of “Indians” in “Indian Residential Schools”. He highlights the initial agenda of these schools as he says that the “school system [was] to remove and isolate [Aboriginal] children from the influence of their homes, families, traditions and cultures, and to assimilate them[…]” (Williston 244).

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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.

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In the essay, “Federalism, Nationalism, and Reason”, Pierre Trudeau addresses the history and origins of self-determination and nationalism and its central role in federal statehood, he then discusses the interactions of federalism and nationalism in a Canadian context. Trudeau posits major arguments that will be assessed in this review. First, he postures that that the federal state is driven by self-determination and nationalism, which ultimately makes it unstable due to its foundation in emotionalism rather than reason. Second, Trudeau outlines the historical factors that resulted in the separatist narrative in Quebec and claims that Canadian nationalism cannot combat Quebec’s regional nationalism. Trudeau begins the essay with a historical

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The Indian Act is a key law used by the federal government to manage Indian status, First Nations governments, reserve lands, and communal funds. Enacted on April 12, 1876, it does not apply to Métis or Inuit peoples. This Act merged various older colonial laws aimed at controlling and assimilating Indigenous peoples into Euro-Canadian culture. Although it has been amended many times to remove restrictive and oppressive laws, the Indian Act has had significant and lasting effects on First Nations cultures, economies, politics, and communities, contributing to inter-generational trauma, especially related to residential schools (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2024). The Doctrine of Discovery is a concept described by Métis lawyer Bruce McIvor as

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Intimate Colonialism is when the government tried to set up a policy that would encourage Indian Service staff members to intermarry with Native Americans. During the late 19th century, immigration was rising and the big thing in this era was assimilation. Assimilation is integrating people to be accustomed to the United States culture, behavior, value and norms. Though Native Americans have lived in America longer than anyone, the federal government thought that instead of ostracizing them for wanting to value their traditional culture, they created an assimilation policy for Native Americans. “The government’s assimilation policy sought to destroy Native nations’ cultural and political identities by replacing them with Anglo – American norms of behavior (108).”

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Native Americans’ social structure was very different from the way Anglo-American’s believed was the correct way for men and women to live. This created a major conflict as the Anglo’s begin to press on the Natives’ land. Anglo-American’s believed that the best thing for the Natives’ was to be assimilated and transformed into their way of life. The Anglo’s intervened into the Natives’ life with a Civilization Program, removal and reservations, and boarding schools. The ramifications had lasting negative effects on the Natives’ gender roles.

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One way that the Indigenous studies requirement would aid in combating racism is through diminishing harmful stereotypes that surround Indigenous peoples. According to Maclean’s, “one in three prairie residents believe that many racial stereotypes are accurate” and that 52% of prairie residents also agree that “Aboriginals’ economic problems are mainly their fault” (Macdonald, 2015) in a poll conducted by the Canadian Institute for Identities and Migration. Canada has had a long history of racism against and the dehumanization of Indigenous peoples, including but not limited to the residential school system and the more recent issue of the high rates of Indigenous children in Child and Family Services (CFS). It is estimated that 150,000 Indigenous children were placed into residential schools from 1874 to 1996 (Fee, 2012) and it is believed 6,000 of these children died while attending, although this number is difficult to determine due to the government ceasing recordings of deaths in residential schools around 1920. Indigenous children were taken from their homes, from their parents and from their way of life to be put into schools that were meant to rid them of their Indigenous culture and assimilate

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951 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the 19th century Native Americans were treated far less than respectful by the United States’ government. This was the time when the United States wanted to expand and grow rapidly as a land, and to achieve this goal, the Native Americans were “pushed” westward. It was a memorable and tricky time in the Natives’ history, and the US government made many treatments with the Native Americans, making big changes on the Indian nation. Native Americans wanted to live peacefully with the white men, but the result of treatments and agreements was not quite peaceful. This precedent of mistreatment of minorities began with Andrew Jackson’s indian removal policies to the tribes of Oklahoma (specifically the Cherokee indians) in 1829 because of the lack of respect given to the indians during the removal laws.

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502 Words | 3 Pages

Imagine being ripped apart from family members, culture, tradition, and labelled a savage that needs to be educated. Imagine constantly facing punishment at school for being one’s self. Unfortunately, these events were faced head on for many First Nations people living in Canada in the late 20th century. These First Nations people were the victims of an extensive school system set up by the government to eradicate Aboriginal culture across Canada and to assimilate them into what was considered a mainstream society.

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