Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is ready to reform or abolish the Indian Act; controversial and divisive legislation that’s been around for more than 150 years.
The Indian Act dictates nearly all aspects of First Nations governance and many individual rights of those considered "status Indians."
Over its lifetime the act has undergone several amendments but still mostly gives the federal government in Ottawa exclusive authority over First Nations people and their lands. It was designed to push First Nations people into white European-Canadian society.
Today across Canada many Indigenous people view the act as a sad relic of the oppression they suffered under British colonialism. Some want it dismantled or replaced; others say doing that could chip away at legally recognized treaty rights, health benefits and tax exemptions.
"I don’t know how many people in Canada have seen one of these before, but this is a status card," said Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who is also First Nations, while holding up his own ID. "And it says your friend Wab Kinew is an Indian within the meaning of the Indian Act. I’m not sure if that lines up with your vision of Canada that we still have a race-based form of identification in this country, but this is the reality."
Kinew said the Indian Act went into effect in 1876 and was forced upon Native people.
"I think it’s time to abolish the Indian Act," Kinew said. "It needs to be done with First Nations people and First Nations governments, of course. I think it’s long overdue that we have a relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada that reflects who we are as Canadians today."
Carney said reforming or abolishing the Indian Act is a process he remains very open to.
"It’s not in a straight line, but as we make directional progress together, nation to nation, government to government, that creates some of the conditions for this to happen," he said.
Carney said it’s important to note this is something many First Nations are asking for — it’s not a government initiative.
The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, said it’s an issue that’s come up before, and it will be up to First Nations to decide how to move forward.
"There is a diversity of First Nations from coast to coast to coast and from every province and territory in this beautiful country that we all share," she said. "That question is going to be up to them to decide."
The first meeting in 20 years between between premiers, the prime minister and Indigenous leaders comes as Ottawa aims to speed up what it describes as nation-building project approvals. Some Native leaders have warned that speeding up approvals for mines and pipelines would diminish their rights and lead to court challenges. But others are in favor of the increased economic activity within their territories.
