Introduction to the Justice System in Canada

Indigenous peoples receiving treaty money, 1930 (Library and Archives Canada/PA-)

Indian Act The Indian Act is the principal statute through which the federal government controls key aspects of the lives of First Nations peoples in Canada, including their status, governments, land, and community finances. It was introduced in 1876 as a way to consolidate existing measures to eradicate First Nations communities and force them into Euro-Canadian society. The Act has been amended several times. Many of the initial amendments banned First Nations peoples and communities from expressing their cultural identities, and required their children to attend industrial or Residential Schools. Since the 1950s, many changes to the Act, which remains in force today, have focused on the removal of particularly discriminatory sections. Despite this evolution, it remains a paradoxical document that has enabled trauma, human rights violations, and social and cultural disruption for generations, while also outlining governmental obligations to First Nations peoples. The Act also determines “status” — a legal recognition of a person’s First Nations heritage. It is important to note that the Indian Act applies only to First Nations peoples, not the Inuit or Métis.

R.C. Residential School Study Time, [Fort] Resolution, N.W.T. (Library and Archives Canada/ PA-042133)