Table of Contents

Maps 1 to 7
Introduction

1. The 1876 Indian Act
1.1 Indian Act of 1876, Sections 1-3
1.2 Selections of House of Commons Debates on the Indian Act, 1876
1.3 Report of Proceedings of the Ojibway Grand Council Relative to the Indian Act, 1876
1.4 “Grand Indian Council of the Province of Ontario,” Wiarton Echo, 1876
1.5 Memorial from Chiefs and Warriors of the Six Nations to J.A. Macdonald, 1879
1.6 Interview with Vern Harper, 1983
1.7 Interview with Adam Solway, 1983

2. Governance
2.1 Indian Act of 1876, Sections 61-63, Council and Chiefs
2.2 Amendment to the Indian Act, 1880
2.3 Indian Advancement Act, 1884
2.4 Declaration of Crop Eared Wolf as Chief, 1900
2.5 Letter from Indian Agent R.N. Wilson to Indian Commissioner David Laird, 1908
2.6 “The New Story of the Iroquois by Chief Des-ka-heh,” 1925
2.7 Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1985

3. Enfranchisement
3.1 Indian Act of 1876, Sections 86-94
3.2 Selections from Minutes of Grand Council of Chippewas, 1874
3.3 Memo on Enfranchisement
3.4 Evidence of D.C. Scott to the Special Committee of the House of Commons, 1920
3.5 Indian Act Amendment, 1920
3.6 A.G. Chisholm, “The Case of the Six Nations,” London Free Press, 20 March 1920
3.7 Letter from F.O. Loft to James Lougheed, 9 February 1921

4. Gender
4.1 Indian Act of 1876, Section 3
4.2 Amendment to the Indian Act, 1985
4.3 “Commutation of Annuity of Rosalie Howse née Ermineskin,” 1891
4.4 Mavis Goeres, Enough is Enough
4.5 Manitoba Justice Inquiry, “Cultural Changes—the Impact upon Aboriginal Women”
4.6 Excerpts from the “Reasons for Judgement,” McIvor v. The Registrar, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
4.7 Indigenous Bar Association in Canada, “Position Pater on Bill C-3”

5. Land
5.1 The Indian Act of 1876, Sections 4-10, 25-28, and 59-60
5.2 An Act Respecting the Songhees Indian Reserve, 1911
5.3 “Last Chapter in Problem,” Daily Colonist, 17 March 1911
5.4 Memorandum for the Prime Minister on an Act to Amend the Indian Act
5.5 An Act to Amend the Indian Act (the Oliver Act), 1911
5.6 Letter from Chiefs Hill et al to Governor General Grey, May 1911
5.7 Letter from J.D. McLean to Chiefs Hill et al, May 1911
5.8 Lee Maracle, “Good-bye Snauq.”

Appendix A: Reading Historically
Appendix B: The Indian Act in Historical Context Timeline

About the Author

Mary-Ellen Kelm is Canada Research Chair and Professor in the Department of History at Simon Fraser University.
Keith D. Smith teaches in the Departments of Indigenous/Xwulmuxw Studies and History at Vancouver Island University.

Reviews

Finally, a book that critically engages the Indian Act in an accessible way. This book is an excellent resource for understanding what is wrong with Canada's Indigenous policies, and what needs to change.

- John Borrows, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law, University of Victoria Law School

Putting the Indian Act under the microscope, this is an outstanding resource for teaching historical thinking, critical reading skills and for learning about the legal structure of settler colonialism. At this time of Reconciliation every Canadian should know about the history and legacy of the Indian Act, the most important Canadian legislation affecting Indigenous people. Archaic as it is, it remains in force today.

- Sarah Carter, Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta

The Indian Act is the most profound piece of legislation affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada. While many Canadians are aware of its existence, few are aware of the profound destructive effect, it has had upon Indigenous peoples over the last 142 years. Kelm and Smith have produced an outstanding text on the historical development and analysis of the Indian Act, using both western and Indigenous criteria. Through a focus on four areas: governance, enfranchisement, gender, and land, they demonstrate the impact the Act has had upon Indigenous peoples over the last 142 years. Anyone who reads this text will never again ask the question 'why are Indigenous peoples poor and marginalized in their own lands?

- David Newhouse Director and Professor, Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies, Trent University