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Royal Proclamation
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III to establish a basis of government administration in the North American territories. It established the constitutional framework for the negotiation of treaties with the Aboriginal inhabitants of large sections of Canada. It legally defined the North American interior west of the Appalachian Mountains as a vast Aboriginal reserve, thus angering inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies who desired western expansion. -
Reserve System
Reserves are governed by the Indian Act, and residence on a reserve is governed by band councils as well as the minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Under the Indian Act, reserves that serve as residences are referred to as Indian Bands. Reserves may serve as spiritual and physical homelands for their people, but they are also tangible representations of colonial governance. -
Indian Act
The Indian Act is the principal statute through which the federal government administers Indian status, local First Nations governments and the management of reserve land and communal monies. It was first introduced in 1876 as a consolidation of previous colonial ordinances that aimed to eradicate First Nations culture in favor of assimilation into Euro-Canadian society. -
Aboriginal Right to Universal Suffrage
In March 1960, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker pushed the voting rights legislation through Parliament. It came into effect July 1 that year. First Nations people were given a conditional right to vote status at the time of Confederation in 1867. To do so, they had to give up their treaty rights and Indian status. -
Aboriginal Right to Universal Suffrage
In March 1960, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker pushed the voting rights legislation through Parliament. It came into effect July 1 that year. First Nations people were given a conditional right to vote status at the time of Confederation in 1867. To do so, they had to give up their treaty rights and Indian status. -
National Indian Brotherhood & Native Council of Canada Formed
The NIB was formed to represent status Indians. -
White Paper
The 1969 White Paper (formally known as the “Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy, 1969”) was a Canadian government policy paper that attempted to abolish previous legal documents pertaining to Indigenous peoples in Canada, including the Indian Act and treaties, and assimilate all “Indian” peoples under the Canadian state. Incorporate First Nations under provincial government responsibilities, and impose land decisions, notions of private property and economic agendas. -
Residential School System Abolished but not all closed
By the 1940s it was obvious to both the government and most missionary bodies that the schools were ineffective, and Indigenous protests helped to secure a change in policy. In 1969, the system was taken over by the Department of Indian Affairs, ending church involvement. The government decided to phase out the schools, but this met with resistance from the Catholic Church, which felt that segregated education was the best approach for Indigenous children. -
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Movement toward Self Government
Indigenous peoples saw their rights to self-government affirmed in the Constitution Act, 1982, and in international documents. The right to self-government is far from being enshrined in law. At the end of the 20th century, Canadian courts made several rulings on matters regarding Indigenous rights. Matters closely related to the concept of self-government, such as jurisdiction over lands and peoples and regulation of traditional activities, have emerged through these cases. -
The Assembly of First Nations
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is a political organization representing approximately 900,000 First Nations citizens in Canada. The AFN advocates on behalf of First Nations on issues such as treaties, Indigenous rights, and land and resources. The AFN's Chief's assemblies are held at least twice a year, where chiefs from each First Nation pass resolutions to direct the organization’s work. There are over 600 First Nations in Canada. -
Passing of Bill C-31
Bill C-31, was to bring the Indian Act into line with gender equality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It made significant changes to Indian status and band membership, with three major goals: to address gender discrimination of the Indian Act, to restore Indian status to those who had been forcibly enfranchised due to previous discriminatory provisions, and to allow bands to control their own band membership as a step towards self-government. -
The Meech Lack Accord
The Meech lake accord was an attempt by Prime Minister Mulroney to amend the constitution do the province of Quebec would agree to be apart of it. However, in 1990 Elijah Harper, an aboriginal leader from Manitoba openly critisized the accord for not including abrigional people, whom he believed also deserved a distinct special status that was offered to Quebec. -
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Oka Standoff
The Oka Crisis was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada, which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted 78 days until September 26, 1990 with one fatality. The dispute was the first well-publicized violent conflict between First Nations and the Canadian government in the late 20th century. -
Gustafasen Lake BC
A stand-off in 1995 between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and sundancers and their helpers (Sundancers) conducting a religious ceremony that lasted more than thirty days. Gustafsen Lake has been called the “largest paramilitary operation in Canadian history.” The Gustafsen Lake Stand-off stemmed from the longstanding conflict over Aboriginal land occupied by non-Aboriginal settlers without having first signed treaties. -
The Delgamuukw case
The Delgamuukw case concerned the definition, the content and the extent of the Aboriginal title (i.e., ownership of traditional lands). The Supreme Court of Canada observed that Aboriginal title constituted an ancestral right protected by Section 35(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982. Influenced by the Calder case (1973), the ruling in the Delgamuukw case had an impact on other court cases about Aboriginal rights and title, including in the Tsilhqot’in case. -
Nisgas's treaty
The Nisga's people of BC signed a unique treaty with both the provincial and federal government. They were given wide powers of self-government pertaining to issues of culture, language, and family life. They also received (got back their rightful) ownership of 1922 square kilometers of land, including its resources. -
Statement of reconciliation
The Canadian government issued a "Statement of Reconciliation" contained within a document entitled Gathering Strength – Canada's Aboriginal Action Plan. This addresses the assimilation inside of residential schools, and the oppression of the aboriginal people -
The creation of Nunavut
This new Canadian territory was created in 1999, and the aboriginal people in this territory received the right to self-government (aboriginal self-government) over natural resources, education and justice systems.
