Indigenous Perspectives Education Guide

Activity 07Worksheet Indian Act Amendments Use this worksheet to support Activity 7, Amendment Analysis: Cause and Consequence , located on page 10 of Historica Canada’s Indigenous Perspectives Education Guide. The 1876 Indian Act was amended several times, instituting policies that restricted the status of women, religious and cultural practices, and enforced attendance at Residential Schools. Choose one of the following four quotations and answer the questions below: 1880 Amendment: “Any Indian woman marrying any other than an Indian or a non-treaty Indian shall cease to be an Indian in any respect within the meaning of this Act, except that she shall be entitled to share equally with the members of the band to which she formerly belonged, in the annual or semi-annual distribution of their annuities, interest money and rents […]” 1884 Amendment: “Every Indian or other person who engages in or assists in celebrating the Indian festival known as the ‘Potlatch’ or in the Indian dance known as the ‘Tamanawas’ is guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable to imprisonment […] and any Indian or other person who encourages […] an Indian or Indians to get up such a festival or dance, or to celebrate the same […] is guilty of a like offence [...]” 1894 Amendment: “The Governor in Council may make regulations, which shall have the force of law, for the committal by justices or Indian agents of children of Indian blood under the age of sixteen years, to such industrial school or boarding school, there to be kept, cared for and educated for a period not extending beyond the time at which such children shall reach the age of eighteen years.” 1920 Amendment: “Every Indian child between the ages of seven and fifteen years who is physically able shall attend such day, industrial or boarding school as may be designated by the Superintendent General for the full periods during which such school is open each year. […] Any parent, guardian or person with whom an Indian child is residing who fails to cause such child, being between the ages aforesaid, to attend school as required by this section after having received three days notice so to do by a truant officer shall, on the complaint of the truant officer, be liable on summary conviction before a justice of the peace or Indian agent to a fine of not more than two dollars and costs, or imprisonment for a period not exceeding ten days or both, and such child may be arrested without a warrant and conveyed to school by the truant officer […]” 1) The Indian Act and its amendments are written using legal and technical language. Identify and define any words you are unfamiliar with. Work in pairs to summarize your chosen quotation in your own words. 2) Further analyze your quotation by addressing the following causes and/or consequences: • What does the amendment reveal about the goals of the Canadian government regarding Indigenous peoples? • What worldviews underlie these goals? • What were the short- and long-term consequences of this amendment?