How did the Indian Act shape the Canada we know today? Explore three major provisions of the Act and articulate how these have shaped contemporary Canadian Society.

Subject and Section
Professor's Name
Date Submitted
Title
The 1969 White Paper of the country of Canada, was released under the governance of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. A "white paper" under Canadian legislation is an authoritative report or proposal of a policy (Kerr). In 1969, the white paper proposed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the Minister of Indian Affairs, Jean Chretien, was regarding the assimilation of the indigenous people in Canada. The proposal was very enticing because it was said that the government's goal was to eliminate any unique status previously established to address the discrimination and inequality felt by the indigenous people in their land. The 1969 white paper was also said to provide freedom to the Indians with developing their own culture in harmony with other Canadians and with economic, legal, and social equality.
The Indian Act is a Canadian law that deals with the bands, status, and reserves of the Indians in Canada (Kelm and Smith). It was considered as invasive and unfair to the indigenous people or also called as aboriginal people. This law encourages the enfranchisement of the Indian people into Canadians recognized by society, but this comes with a price. Officials are the one who determines what the rights and benefits of the person are entitled to, based on the judgement of his moral character. This judgement of character was the deciding factor even for cases like whether a widow could keep her children after the death of her spouse, or if they will be able to keep their status. There was intense gender discrimination, and women did not have the same rights and privileges compared to men in society, with minimal control over how they would live their lives. Structure of the indigenous communities was imposed, replacing their traditional style of governance, and dictating the rights of the indigenous people to practice the culture and traditions. The regulation done by the government had standards that cover the day-to-day activities or involvement of an indigenous individual. The government promised the indigenous people, through legal papers and treaties that their freedom and claims to their land will be respected. The Indian Act underwent a series of amendments due to a lot of oppressive practices that are in this law. The aboriginals had issues with the invasive, discriminatory, imposition of the regulations made by the Canadians, though the amendments made were still a lot similar to the original, defeating the purpose of the people's request for change (The Indian Act).
The indigenous people were undergoing socio-economic difficulties such as poverty, high infant mortality when compared to Canadians, lower life expectancy, reduced levels of education (Mann). Aside from those that were mentioned, there were also racism, inequality, and discrimination in society targeting the First Nations. Because of the problems that are faced by the indigenous people, many assimilation measures were advocated to try and reach out to the disadvantaged indigenous people, thinking that the differences in culture and government were the reason behind the problems that they are facing when in reality the programs that are being forced to be implemented to the people are one of the reasons that are giving more division to the groups of people in Canada.
The proposed resolution of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was intended to give a solution to these problems that are thought to be arising because of the differences of the First Nations or aboriginal people from the ones that they consider as Canadians in the country. The main point of the 1969 White Paper is to abolish the Indian Act for the aboriginals to attain the equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities that the Canadians are experiencing, producing a "just society" in Canada.
The 1969 White Paper aims to change the legal status given to aboriginal people from the Indian Act (Mann). This is promoting equality among aboriginal people and Canadians. This proposal aims to eliminate the Indian status that is usually decided by the authorities, end the Indian Act, dismiss the Department of Indian Affairs within five years, change the reserve land into private ownership sold by the band or band members, but the responsibility for Indian affairs from federal government to the province then combine the services into those of the Canadians, provide funds for the development of the economy, and assign a commissioner to handle existing land claims then gradually terminate current treaties. These things would change what the Indian Act has been doing, and this will treat the aboriginal people the same way as the Canadians and would also be considered as a "Canadian" just like most of the people in the society who do not belong to the indigenous group.
Although these proposed changes are auspicious in addressing the inequality and discrimination problems that are faced by the indigenous groups, additional to the part that the Department of Indian Affairs was already very problematic with a chaotic management system, the 1969 White Paper was faced with violent reactions from the aboriginal people and was rejected.
The Indians or aboriginal people found the 1969 White Paper as an act that would lead to cultural genocide because it is aiming to erase the rich culture, customs, system, and many more that are already present in the society of the First Nations, that was just interrupted and changed because of the colonization that occurred, forcing the people to change whatever system that is already working for them (Anderson). The 1969 White Paper is going to label them as "Canadians" and would erase ...