Implementation And Delivery Of The Indian Act (1951)

How did the implementation and delivery of the Indian Act and its subsequent amendments (until 1951) result in the Hawthorne report claim that Indigenous people were ‘citizens minus'.

Until the 16th century, Aboriginal people were the only inhabitants of what is now Canada, hence, they were an independent and self-governing people till the Europeans had the capacity to dominate Canada's original inhabitants and possessors (Elias 1). The European Invasion brought about The 1876 Indian Act, which was developed over time through separate pieces of colonial legislation regarding Aboriginal peoples across Canada such as the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869; in 1876, these acts were consolidated as the

Indian Act (Hanson). This essay argues that the Indian Act tried to destroy the Indian culture through residential schools and unequal recognition of women, successive acts, preserved the essential features of the 1876 legislation through sustained voluntary enfranchisement and by implementation of bans on cultural practices such as the potlatch, nevertheless the 1951 amendment to the Indian Act focused on changing the more oppressive sections of the act. In conclusion, it explains how the Hawthorne's report restores some form of equality to the Indigenous people.
The Indian Act was the principal statute through which the federal government administered and controlled Indian status, local First Nations governments and the management of reserve land (Henderson).

As Canada's first Prime Minister J. A. MacDonald denoted, it was the nation's duty to "annihilate the tribal system and assimilate the Indian peoples in all respects to the inhabitants of the dominion" (Milloy 3). The Indian Act pertained only to First Nation peoples, not to the Métis or Inuit. The Act’s main aim was assimilating Indians into the general society by encouraging enfranchisement and through it, the Government of Canada endorsed its extensive authority over Aboriginal people and communities. The Indian Act nullified orthodox forms of government and replaced them with an elective system supervised by the Indian agent. Hence, Chiefs and Councillors were to serve at the pleasure of the Crown (Milloy 6). Additionally, the Indian Department was to control the various elements of the reserve land such as resources and finance, and it was granted the authority to institute various systems of development such as "individualized land holding, education and resource and financial management" (Milloy 6). Hence, the act was meant to restrict and control the Indians at the very least and in the end, remake them into new members of the society that were fit to be called

Canadians.
One of the worst aspects of the Act was that it brought about the creation of Residential schools and according to Theodore Fontaine, these schools were responsible for ‘killing the Indian in the child' (Cariou and Sinclair 176).The removal and separation of young children from their families and the manipulation of their minds to hate their Indian culture was an act of mass cultural genocide that is characteristic of the western attitude of ethnocentricity.
More so, the Act also discriminated against Canada's Indian women on grounds of race, sex, and marital status. It states that "Provided that any Indian woman marrying any other than an Indian or non-treaty Indian shall cease to be an Indian" (Jamieson 45).The effects of this legislation on the Indian woman and her children were material, cultural and psychological. Indian children were being denied access to their own culture which resulted in a lack of identity and little knowledge about their culture.
The Indian Advancement Act of 1884 tried to give vast powers out to the local government, yet it took away said powers by the local Indian Agent as chairman of the Council (Finlay and Sajecki). In 1884, the Federal Government banned potlatches under the Indian Act, with other ceremonies such as the sun dance to follow (Hanson). The potlatch was one of the most important ceremonies of Indians in the west and marked important occasions as well as served a crucial role in the distribution of wealth (Hanson). After the ban, the Indians became resistant and took these ceremonies underground, however, these movements' worried officials, because they strengthened the people's inner resources to withstand intensifying attacks on their culture (Dickason and Newbigging 199). So many people were jailed for participating in these ceremonies and their sentences only reduced if they were willing to give up their cultural values; their ‘Indianness'. More so the Advancement Act outlawed the hiring of lawyers and legal counsel by Indians, effectively barring Aboriginal peoples from fighting for their rights through the legal system (Hanson). Eventually, these laws expanded to such a point that virtually any gathering was strictly prohibited and would result in a jail term. These amendments presented a significant barrier to Aboriginal political organizations, many of which had to disband (Hanson).
The main amendments to the Indian Act came after the Second World War. Canadian citizens were shocked by the atrocities of the war and became more aware of the concept of human rights. Many Canadians recognized that Aboriginal people in Canada were among the most disadvantaged in the country (Hanson). This was particularly troubling for Canadians after the participation of First Nations soldiers in the war highlighted Aboriginal peoples' contributions to Canada as a nation (Hanson). This recognition, along with Canada's commitment to the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, led to the revision of the Indian Act in 1951. The more oppressive sections of the Indian Act were amended and taken out (Hanson). It was no longer illegal for Indians to practice cultural customs such as the potlatch. They were now allowed to enter pool halls and to gamble, although restrictions on alcohol were reinforced. Indians were also now allowed to appear off-reserve in a ceremonial dress without permission of the Indian Agent, to organize and hire legal counsel, and Indian women were now allowed to vote in band councils (Hanson). Although enfranchisement was kept, it was now voluntary. The federal government's general purpose for the amendments at that time was to move away from casting Indians as wards of the state and instead facilitate their becoming contributing citizens of Canada (Hanson).
As the 20th century approached, First Nations were beginning to express their disillusionment with government administration and their marginal position in the society. The Hawthorne report was thus commissioned in 1963 to assess the Indian condition. In 1963, "the Indian Problem" was just beginning to take shape in the Indian community (Dyck 76). There was a greater awareness among the public of the existence of First Nations People and it assembled a stunning indictment of the living conditions of the Indian people in parts of Canada; low incomes, low levels of education, high levels of incarceration, weak civil institutions, inadequate housing, and negligible access to capital funds (Elias 4). The report explicitly rejects racial arguments about Indian inferiority in favour of an interpretive model based on cultural conflict and change. Hawthorn and his colleagues rejected assimilation as a solution to these problems branding it a view that could only appeal to the dominant society but not to the Indians (Dyck 76).
The report made it overwhelmingly clear that the Indians were among the most disadvantaged in the Canadian population which led Hawthorne to declare Indigenous people as "citizens minus".

Hawthorn attributed this situation to years of failed government policy, particularly the residential school system, which left students unprepared for participation in the contemporary economy. In content, the report was firmly rooted in a philosophy of enhancing special status or "citizen plus" status for First Nations (Dyck 79). This meant that in addition to the normal rights and duties, Indians had additional rights. The report sought ways to give "practical meaning" to the citizens plus status, at the same time rejecting the notion that special legal status prevented the delivery of provincial services to the Indians. Instead, it proposed increased provincial involvement in Indian affairs and cautioned government against confusing legal equality with socio-economic equality, fearing serious hardship to First Nations if such occurred (79).Central to the report was the position that goals such as integration were not in the domain of the government, and hence such decisions could only be taken by Indians for Indians (79). "Choice" was a key value in forming the report (79).The Indians needed to be allowed to start making decisions about their welfare. It concluded that the policy of enfranchisement is a complete failure and that it has no effect in attracting Indians into Canadian

society at large.
The effects of the Indian Act were detrimental to the Indian culture.The Indian Acts main aim was to the kill the Indian spirit and despite its numerous subsequent amendments, its essential assimilation doctrines remained significantly integral for more than a century. The endurance of such legislation for more than a century effectively demonstrates the values of Canadian mainstream society and the impact of not only the original but also the amended Indian act was unquestionably profound. An essential dualism was established as the basis of Canadian Federalism and two paths were constructed: one for the non-Aboriginal Canadians to easily participate in activities of their community and the other for Aboriginal people to be stripped of their self-determining power and separated from their national life (Shahinaj). Then came the Hawthorne report, which served to greatly alleviate the plight of Indians and its impact can still be felt today. Today the Indian act still exists and the Indian chiefs say it's to remind the government of the atrocities they committed. The message by Hawthorne is being executed, Indigenous peoples are now "citizens plus" in their own land, the Indians have come to adapt to the society but they still live with the memories and the scars of the evils perpetrated by the Indian Act.