Indian Act Lecture Provided to Boost Awareness

On Thursday night, at the Snye Recreation hall, Dr. Neil MacDonald gave a lecture on the Indian Act, which was sponsored by the Entewatatha:wi Program. A dinner, including desert, was served preceding the lecture. Healthy conversation amongst the community members present was had around the tables before the lecture started.

Dr. MacDonald, a leading Canadian Educator in the field of Aboriginal awareness, spoke on a variety of matters, all having to do with the Indian Act. The main subjects were as follows: What is the Indian Act, what does it do, what is its purpose, and how does affect you?

Ann Barnes, who works with the Entewatatha:wi program, explained that the purpose of Thursday’s event was to increase knowledge of the Indian Act ahead of bringing two agreements before the community. The lecture by Dr. MacDonald marks the beginning of this process, and in a month they hope to have a focus meeting specifically on the agreements planned.

The lecture began with Dr. MacDonald explaining the history behind the act.

So what is the Indian Act? The Federal government assumed responsibility for Indians and their lands, and in order to make it official, passed the Indian Act as the way by which the Federal Government of Canada set out to “manage” Status Indians and their land.

What the act does is set standards for who has status, and also required that “Indians” carried a registration card anytime they left the reservation, much like a passport. The Indian Act is also responsible for dictating how “Indians” can self-govern, and to what extent.

MacDonald mentioned the big contradiction, first by detailing how King George III recognized that “Indians” had rights inherent, and then later explaining that the Indian Act and the Gradual Assimilation Act, and Enfranchisement acts before and after the Indian Act, sought to remove those inherent rights.

The lecture was full of interaction from the crowd and MacDonald was tremendously informative. With luck Dr. MacDonald will speak in Akwesasne again.

In all it was a fascinating lecture which is certainly worth a listen or at the very least one should take time to read the Indian Act, which can be found here: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-5/FullText.html