Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger
That’s not it at all.
Indigenous people need the Indian act. It’s very important to establish their autonomy.
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Ah, there's not going to be agreement on any of the Indian Act. There could be arguments that it favours their autonomy (didn't get 'assimilated' by Europeans by giving specific lands) and those against it (like literally having to go to the minister for approval of anything on the reserve, who has pretty much absolute power but also replacing their council with democracy instead of their established hereditary chiefs in some cases).
But to BoLevi's point about these things being "historical", prior to Bill C-3 in 2011, the Indian Act was gender-based (and much more prior to 1985). Indian-status favoured male lineage, someone with an status-grandfather would continue to pass on status, but someone who got their status from their grandmother with status would not.
And before 1985, a woman marrying a non-Indian man or non-status Indian would lose her Indian-status (losing basic rights like the ability to live on the reserve etc.).
It was actually 2019 when Bill S-3 took place and, I believe, finally got rid of all the gender-based discrimination in the Indian Act. I know that's more systemic sexism, but to a specific status of people.
But as mentioned earlier, the Indian Act pretty much gives control to the minister. Virtually anything built on the reserve needed minister approval (because reserve land is owned by the Government), even if often times it meant rubber stamping, but now some of the reserves are opting for land management framework agreements to give them more autonomy. But none of the reserves in Alberta have got it yet, these are ongoing changes occurring today. Right now status-Indians on reserve don't own land, they aren't allowed to thanks to the Indian Act.
But I think regardless of how you look at the Indian Act, the fact that there's a separate law for specific people based partially on their race has to show some form of systemic racism.
We are, in my opinion, heading in the right direction but these things have been changing because of the racism that they were based on.