Relationship Between the Canadian State and Indigenous People

Relationship between the Canadian State and Indigenous People
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Relationship between the Canadian State and Indigenous People
During the pre WWI period, the Indian Act denied the indigenous people their cultural and civil rights. This changed during the post-WWII time in 1960 when the indigenous people were given federal franchise. The Constitution Act, 1982 classifies the Canadian indigenous people into three distinct groups: the Indians, Inuits, and Metis. The Indians, also known as the First Nations are legally classified as either “Status/registered Indians” or “non-Status Indians.” The Inuits comprise of 50,000 people who share several similarities in terms of cultural values and language. The Metis include a distinct cultural group made of people of mixed European and Aboriginal origin. This group has 390,000 people identifying as Metis according to the 2006 Census. From the Indians' classification, the relationship between the Canadian State and the Indigenous people reflects a particular view of citizenship as reflected in the Indian Act, with the “Status Indians” referring to individuals registered under the Indian Act. Apart from the Indians, other groups of Indigenous people such as the Metis and the Inuits have continued to suffer in modern Canada due to their identities. In particular, the rates of unemployment and high-school dropouts among the Aboriginals in Canada are higher compared to those of non-Aboriginals. This consequence of dropping out of high school is likely to account for their lower median income and the high percentage of poverty, especially among registered Indians that stands at 40.9%. Besides, life expectancy for First Nations is comparably lower compared to non-Aboriginals among both men and women. This paper argues that while the Aboriginal people have continued to grow in terms of their population and become self-sufficient and self-reliant people that form part of the Canadian social fabric, the relationship between the Canadian State and Indigenous people reflect a particular view of citizenship, reflected in the historical and contemporary experiences of settler colonialism, the Indian Act, and the 1969 White Paper.
The enforcement of the Indian Act of 1876 perpetrated colonial mentality among the Indigenous people, thus exposing Aboriginal Canadians into discrimination and indignities (Cochrane, Blidook & Dyck, 2017, p.72). The Act provided the federal government authority over almost all aspects of the Indians’ lives and encouraged Indians to give up their status as Indians to distinguish between the Status and non-Status Indians. In 19...