The Proclamation guaranteed certain rights and protections for First Nations peoples, and established the process by which the governmentĬould acquire their lands. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 laid down the basis for how colonial administration would interact with First Nations peoples in the centuries that followed. Historical Context: Before the Indian Act, 1763–1876 For a plain language summary, please see Indian Act (Plain Language Summary). This is the full-length entry about the Indian Act. It is an evolving, paradoxical document that has enabled trauma, human rights violations and social and cultural disruption for

A new version of the Act was passed in 1951, and since then, has beenĪmended several times, most significantly in 1985, with changes mainly focusing on the removal of discriminatory sections. First introduced in 1876, the Act subsumed a number of colonial laws that aimed to eliminate First Nations culture in favour of assimilation into Euro-Canadian society. The Indian Act pertains to people with Indian Status it does not directly reference non-status First Nations people, the Métis or Local First Nations governments and the management of reserve land. The Indian Act is the primary law the federal government uses to administer Indian status,

Subsume under legislation