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  • A tract of land set aside under the Indian Act and treaty agreements for the exclusive use of an Indian band
  • Reserve lands are not strictly “owned” by bands but are held in trust for bands by the Crown.
  • The Indian Act lets the Minister of Indian Affairs authority over much of the activity on reserves.
  • There are more than 600 First Nations/Indian bands in Canada and 3,100 Indian reserves across Canada.
  • The Indian Act further sets out the degree of control and authority that the Minister of Indian Affairs has over the use of reserve lands.
  • Explorers to the modern reserve system existed in Canada prior to Confederation and the Indian Act as products of the colonial drive to “civilize”
  • As early as 1637, French missionaries had been entrusted by their church with lands to be set aside for their Indian charges.
  • Newcomers began occupying the traditional territories of Aboriginal peoples in increasing numbers (some with the financial assistance of their governments).
  • The first act of a reserve being used was in 1637 by French Missionaries.
  • Reserves prior to the Indian Act were just the land owned by the aboriginal peoples.
  • Reserves were never an official term until 1876 when the Indian Act took effect.

  • Reserves exist all over the country from coast to coast.
  • There are more than 3,100 reserves in Canada
  • 637,660 First Nations people reported being Registered Indians
  • The Aboriginal peoples aren't confined to their reserves.
  • Many First Nations have continued hunting, gathering, and fishing in off-reserve locations
  • important ceremonial sites may be located outside a reserve but continue to be significant

The largest impact is the extremely poor living standards and the harsh effects on Aboriginal culture that people living on reserves deal with.

Reserves divided up land, people and nations that had existed for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Families, houses, and clans who had hunted and gathered together for generations were joined up with other families.

This disrupted social networks, such as long established kinship systems that determined who could hunt, fish, and gather in particular areas.

Houses are often built poorly with not enough space for large, extensive Aboriginal families. They are built on a small government budget, with a Western family unit in mind.

Over time, Aboriginal people living on reserves have often come to struggle sustaining themselves and their families

The thought of leaving can arise, however leaving the reserve could lead to discrimination in urban communities, relinquishing ones Aboriginal rights, and losing/jeopardizing ones connections to family and territory.

Reserves have essentially prohibited Aboriginal culture from spreading beyond reserve confines.

Reserves can be seen as a form of segregation and a way to keep Aboriginal culture suppressed.

Aboriginal culture struggles to flourish in the tight quarters that are available, which is largely due to reserves and the prohibiting rights and laws put in place by the government through the Indian Act.

· Like in Canada, poverty is also widespread throughout American Indian Reserves in the US

·However, there are a few more noteworthy examples of American Reserves that have not only transcended poverty, but actually prosper, due to strategic planning.

Origins of poverty

·Loss of traditional lifestyle

·Confinement

·Lack of planning, infrastructure, or, economy

·Trauma from residential schools

·Poor healthcare

·Low education rate

·Employment barrier (racism)

Current situation for many Reserves

·“Third world conditions”

·Lack of clean drinking water

·Lack of plumbing

·Inadequate housing (overcrowded homes, mold, etc.)

·Poor healthcare and education systems

·Rampant infectious diseases

·Addiction

·High suicide rate

·Crime

Entrepreneurial solutions:

·US Senator Nighthorse-Campbell: “Indians (First Nations) now see private enterprise as the best way out of poverty.”

·Control of natural resources (i.e. coal, oil, gas, forest management, hydroelectric dams)

·Operation of casinos, factories, etc. on Reserve land (creates jobs, brings in revenue)

·Proven entrepreneurial formulas for Aboriginal communities, based on notable instances: vet every opportunity, disrupt industries, be prepared for opposition, work around limitations

  • Currently, there are 905,053 registered Aboriginals, this includes the Metis, Inuits and First Nations
  • 47.7% of these First Nations people live off reserve; the other 56.6% live on reserves and in communities on Crown land.
  • Only a registered Aboriginal status may "own" the land on a reserve.
  • According to the Indian Act, the reserves are held by the Crown.

The Crown Land

  • Within Canada, Crown Land is a designated territorial area belonging to the Canadian Crown
  • Governance of the reserve is legally entrusted to the local band council, by the Crown.

Special Rights

  • Most reserves still receive some sort of regular treaty payment from the federal government.
  • Money is used by the band council to provide residents with basic services ex housing, education, roads, police and employment
  • Living on the reserve also exempts natives from having to pay federal or provincial taxes, and, entitles them to special grants to help pay for health care, post-secondary education, public transportation and other social services.

First Nations Reserves

The Indian Act

The Current Canadian Reserves System

  • The Indian Act , is a Canadian legislation that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves.
  • This Act gives greater authority to the federal Department of Indian Affairs
  • Under this Act, the Department would also manage Indian lands, resources and moneys.
  • The Act states that the Crown is responsible to take care and protect interests of the First Nations.

The signing of the Indian Act

Thanks for listening

The White Paper and Abolishing Reserves

The Importance of Aboriginal Reserves

  • The 1969 White Paper was a proposal made by Trudeau and Chrétien
  • The goal of the policy was to break apart the special legal relationship between the Aboriginal people and the Government of Canada
  • This was justified by "equality"
  • The paper was badly received by many First Nations bands across Canada
  • The special rights given to the Aboriginal people would have been stripped
  • Reserves would have been given to bands as "private property" so they could sell
  • The Indian Act would be dissolved

Above is a famous photo of Harold Cardinal, the Indian Chief of Alberta in a conference with the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. He greatly criticized and was responsible for writing the "Red Paper" a response to the the White Paper.

  • The existence of Aboriginal Reserves is not necessarily a problem anymore
  • The creation of the reserves in the past had the intention of assimilation
  • In modern times, it has created isolated strongholds of cultural identity
  • A reserve provides a place for Aboriginal people to practice their culture and customs and maintain it with their family
  • The reserves represent their relationship of Aboriginal peoples and the Government; a problematic yet integral part of their rights.

From Rags to Riches: Canadian vs. American Reserves

Potlatches like this one in Alert Bay, British Columbia were once banned. The potlaches were traditional feasts that took place on First Nations lands and reserves. However, in attempts of assimilation the Government of Canada banned them from 1885 to 1951.

Example: Pikangikum First Nation, Ontario

·Suicide capital of the world by far (250 per 100 000 people)

·Gas sniffing epidemic

·Lack of running water

·Poor infrastructure

·People on welfare

·Frequent violence

·School destroyed by arson, education system in shambles

The red dots indicate an "Indian Reserve"

An Introduction to First Nations Reserves

Example: Shakopee Mdewakanton Tribe, Minnesota

·Owns luxury casinos and resorts which it built on its land

·Each tribal member receives over $1 million a year from revenue

·99.2% unemployment because of no need for work

·Extravagant lifestyles (luxury cars, multiple homes, expensive hobbies, long vacations, etc.)

·All children attend private schools

·Donated over $243 million and lent $478 million since 1996

·Biggest community concern is becoming too complacent due to wealth

The Northern Ontario reserve of Kaschechewan

Carolyn Bennett

Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs

Impact of Reserves

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