Rights and Freedom
The Indian Act
• What is the Indian Act?
The Indian Act is a legal document and a set of
laws that was first passed by the Canadian
Government in 1876 and is still enforced
today. This set of laws gave the government
complete control over the lives of Aboriginal
peoples.
• Why was the Indian Act created?
Historically, control over Aboriginals had been
a British responsibility, which was then passed
to Canada. Once the fur trade ended,
Aboriginal peoples had no role to play, and
they became a barrier to government plans
for the settlement of western Canada. The
Government called it the Indian problem. The
government responded to this “problem” by
creating the Indian Act.
The Indian Act had to objectives:
1. Control over Aboriginal peoples. Aboriginal
peoples couldn’t leave reserves, own land, or
do business without permission.
2. Assimilation. Eventually Aboriginal peoples
were to enfranchise and receive all the
benefits of any other Canadian).
What did the Indian Act do?
• placed complete control over Aboriginal politics,
culture, education, and personal lives in the
hands of the federal government
• established rules that dictated who was Indian
and who was not (status/non-status)
• located all financial control of Aboriginal peoples
with the federal government
• did not allow Aboriginal people to own land
• forced a new form of education on Aboriginal
peoples
• did not allow aboriginal people to vote in a
federal election until 1960
Charter of Rights and Freedom
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of
Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution
Act, 1982. The Charter guarantees certain political
rights to Canadian citizens and civil rights of
everyone in Canada from the policies and actions of
all levels of government. It is designed to unify
Canadians around a set of principles that embody
those rights.
Section 1 guarantees and limits the rights and freedoms
set out in the Charter. The rights and freedoms include:
• fundamental freedoms (freedom of religion, freedom
of expression, freedom of association)
• democratic rights (the right to vote and hold office)
• the right to live or work anywhere in Canada
• the right to life, liberty and personal security
• equality rights
• the official languages of Canada
• minority language education rights
• multiculturalism, and
• Aboriginal rights.
Assignment
• Look over the two handouts on the Indian Act
and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, then:
– On the handout, complete the Venn Diagram to
compare the Indian Act with the Charter. List on
each side what each one does and if there are any
similarities.