The Road to Political Organizing and Activism For First Nations

July 23, 2021

Terence is a Research Coordinator for the Foundation of HKPLTW with interests in history & traditions, social organization & inter-group relations, culture & religion, and economics & politics of Canadian Indigenous People and Visible Minorities. Follow him on Twitter: @hkpltw

How Did it start?

In the mid 20th century, the efforts to organize politically drove the diverse Indigenous people to combine. These political bodies might differ on specific issues, were desired to assert more control over their affairs. Their political and social campaigns resulted in policies that mattered greatly to them. On the one hand, they were concerned about everyday problems such as inadequate education and housing and health care that prevented them from succeeding in the contemporary world. On the other hand, they were motivated to pursue self-determination, land, and aboriginal rights.

The Emerging Political Organization and Activism

Aboriginal peoples were motivated by a common desire to fight for their control over their affairs and fight against the politics of the Canadian government, which have been oppressively and systemically denying their rights.

The Indian Act has been paternalistic, as it overarched political control and imposed governing structure on communities in the form of band councils to control their traditions and culture. For example, discriminatory legislation in the act made it illegal for Aboriginal people to organize politically or to hire legal counsel to further land claims.

It enabled the government to determine the land base of the Aboriginal peoples in the form of reserves, defining who qualified as Indian in Indian status. The act treated the Aboriginal peoples as second-class citizens or children, with the government being the adult to administer in their day-to-day lives and affairs.

1951 Amendment

There were revisions made to the Indian Act by the 1951 amendments. However, these changes, such as allowing the Aboriginal peoples to practice their traditions, were just PR moves in response to Canadians and the world becoming more aware of the concept of human rights after the Second World War. As the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples notes that taking away some of the more oppressive and ultimately unsuccessful amendments, the government rendered the act similar to the original Indian Act (RCAP, 310).

The White Paper

Aboriginal Peoples’ concerns have frequently been taken a back seat to other issues on Ottawa’s plan. The White Paper Policy in 1969 was proposed to abolish the problematic Indian Act.

This policy sounded great on paper, as it stated that it would give Aboriginal peoples equalities that other Canadians have. However, it was a lazy political move by the federal government. It did not recognize the Aboriginal Peoples’ special rights, deal with grievances like the title to lands, and facilitate Indigenous participation in policymaking. In other words, the White Paper’s elimination of the “Indians status” was not the means to archive equality but was the cumulation of the federal government’s policy to assimilate Aboriginal peoples into mainstream society.

The White Paper failed to meet any promises made to the First Nation, as the government was absolving itself from previous injustices suffered by the Aboriginal Peoples. It, like Indian Act, was still an attempt at assimilation to avoid dealing with past wrongs and unsettled land claims, as it implied that the Aboriginal peoples would be part of the Canadian society and would own land as individuals.

Thus, it argued that there would be no more land claims entitled to people with “Indian status.” Instead of amending the Indian Act or provide compensation, the government disregarded Aboriginal peoples’ status concerns, land claims, and the proposal for Aboriginal participation in policymaking expressed during the consultation process.

Conclusion

Throughout the mid 20th century, for aboriginal peoples in Canada, the Aboriginal political organizing started as a combined effort to abolish the paternalistic policies of the federal government. After the 1951 Amendment and the White Paper, we see that interest in politics and activism has grown in the First Nation communities. The White Paper, especially, could be considered as a decisive milestone when the federal government finally abandoned their policy of assimilation for a policy geared toward establishing constitutionally protected rights for Aboriginal peoples (Milloy).

Although there were still many unsettled issues, the growth in Aboriginal politics contributed to a surge of political organizing and movements toward recognizing Aboriginal rights.

This is an opinion article; the views expressed by me.

Bibliography

RCAP. Report on the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples, Volume 1: Looking Forward, Looking Back, 1996.

Milloy, John. “Indian Act Colonialism: A Century of Dishonour. 1869-1969.” National Centre for First Nations Governance, 2008. http://fngovernance.org/ncfng_research/milloy.pdf

Lagace, Naithan and Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair. “The White Paper, 1969”. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 10 June 2020, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-white-paper-1969. Accessed 23 July 2021.

“Indian Act”. The Canadian Encyclopedia, 16 December 2020, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-act. Accessed 23 July 2021.

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. “Chapter 9: The Indian Act,” in Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: Looking Forward, Looking Back. Volume 1. Ottawa: the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1996. 235-308.