Curtain call for Indian Act

In an impassioned speech delivered July 20, Assembly of First Nations head Shawn Atleo insisted that the time has come for the aboriginal community to take an active role in determining its status within Canada.

Speaking at the AFN’s annual assembly, Atleo said the time has come for the aboriginal community to craft a more autonomous relationship with the federal government. He insists this project should include rejecting both the Indian Act and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, governmental structures he charges as condemning the aboriginal population to one of the lowest qualities of life of any Canadian population.

Mr. Atleo’s concerns are well-founded. The Indian Act—which determines who has aboriginal status, as well as regulating taxation, band membership, and land management—has a long and checkered history. After coming into law in 1876, the Indian Act became a government tool to encourage assimilation of Canada’s aboriginal population throughout the first half of the twentieth century.

This assimilation included interfering in aboriginal cultural affairs, and the forced enfranchisement of aboriginal peoples.

While some of the major shortcomings of the Indian Act have been addressed, it is no longer practical to amend and re-amend a document created nearly 150 years ago. The time has come to create a new approach to negotiating aboriginal affairs, especially as the aboriginal community faces widespread poverty and horrific living conditions on reservations.

The Department of Indian and Northern Affairs is equally tainted, reminding many Canadians of the residential schools in which many First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were subjected to physical and sexual abuse.  

Debate concerning removing the Indian Act will be fiercely divided within aboriginal communities and on the political stage. Some will accuse aboriginal leaders of attempting to expand current entitlements beyond what is equitable. Others will insist that those who support the Indian Act are the relics of a paternalistic era where the aboriginal community is concerned. Regardless, the current living conditions and abuses suffered by the aboriginal community are strong evidence to support Mr. Atleo’s goals. The time has clearly come for a change. 

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