Aboriginal Identity & Terminology
…“Aboriginal” became the mutually accepted term. In the Constitution, “Aboriginal” is used to include three groups previously defined by earlier categories: “Indian,” “Inuit,” and “Métis.” Each of these three predecessor…
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
…can be read online. The UN Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) responded to these findings by creating the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP), comprised of five independent experts as…
Indian Status
…such as band administration, education, and health care. The Indian Act has historically stated that those with Indian status have rights to live on reserves, share in band monies, vote…
Bill C-31
…major goals: to address gender discrimination of the Indian Act, to restore Indian status to those who had been forcibly enfranchised due to previous discriminatory provisions, and to allow bands…
Métis
…part because scrip had to be redeemed at Lands Title offices that were hundreds of kilometers apart, necessitating several days of travel by each grantee. Some people sent others to…
Aboriginal Rights
…Aboriginal political organizing and activism toward recognizing Aboriginal rights. Many Aboriginal peoples have since returned to the court system to address grievances related to infringements of their rights. How the…
Gustafsen Lake
…campaigns, and successful efforts to spread misinformation about the Sundancers. The media were strategically excluded from all but official RCMP accounts of events, resulting in highly skewed reporting. Supporters of…
Aboriginal Title
…claim processes, the B.C. government refused to cooperate, and issues of outstanding Aboriginal title in B.C. remained. The provincial government did not address these issues until the early 1990s, when…
Oral Traditions
…deaf ears, and while he accepted their oral history as evidence, Justice Allen McEachern concluded that it held no weight. In his now infamous ruling, he concluded that the Gitksan…
Totem Poles
…deceased wife and children. Starting in the early 1920s, the federal government adopted a policy of salvage anthropology and, fearing the decline of Indigenous art, began to buy out totem…
