What was the purpose of enfranchisement?
What was the purpose of enfranchisement?
Voluntary enfranchisement was introduced in the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and was based on the assumption that Aboriginal people would be willing to surrender their legal and ancestral identities for the “privilege” of gaining full Canadian citizenship and assimilating into Canadian society.
How did the Indian Act affect First Nations?
The oppression of First Nations women under the Indian Act resulted in long-term poverty, marginalization and violence, which they are still trying to overcome today. Inuit and Métis women were also oppressed and discriminated against, and prevented from: serving in the Canadian armed forces.
What is involuntary enfranchisement?
Enfranchisement meant gaining “citizenship” while losing treaty rights and Indian status. In many instances enfranchisement was involuntary, such as when First Nations women married non-First Nations men or if a First Nations person obtained a university degree.
How did Indian Act affect First Nations?
Who was responsible for the Indian Act?
The act was passed by the Parliament of Canada under the provisions of Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, which provides Canada’s federal government exclusive authority to govern in relation to “Indians and Lands Reserved for Indians”.
How did the Indian Act happen?
The Indian Act came to be developed over time through separate pieces of colonial legislation regarding Aboriginal peoples across Canada such as the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the. In 1876, these acts were consolidated as the Indian Act.
What is the impact of the Indian Act?
Ever since the Indian Act was assented to in 1876, the health of Indigenous Peoples in Canada has been tragically impacted. They were dispossessed of their lands, traditional economies, and the traditional foods that had sustained them since time immemorial, which compromised their immune systems.
What was the purpose of the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857?
The Gradual Civilization Act, passed in 1857, sought to assimilate Indian people into Canadian settler society by encouraging enfranchisement. In this sense the act was a failure, as only one person voluntarily enfranchised.
What is the double mother clause?
Indian status – gender discrimination. Section 12(I)(a)(iv) introduced the “double mother” clause, wherein an Indian child would lose status if both their mother and grandmother acquired Indian status as a result of marriage, regardless of whether their father or grandfather had status.
