Native Studies 30: Governance The Indian Act (LP

18)
Date:
April 2, 2016
Subject:
Native Studies 30
Author:
Nicki Marquis
Grade Level:
12
Time Duration: 50 mins
Overview of Lesson:
In this lesson students will explore the impact of the Indian Act on
several areas of life for Aboriginal peoples. Students will assess the
Indian Act in depth, contemplating and evaluating which parts have
most greatly impacted Canadas First Nations peoples. They will need
to consider First Nations perspectives and worldviews in order to
assess this material. Using a jigsaw, students will use print and
electronic resources to research a particular area in groups. Each
expert group will narrow down the five most important clauses of the
Act pertaining to their area then will rejoin their home groups to share
their findings. After sharing their findings, each home group will
choose their top five final collaborate choices complete with
explanations, then will create a poster/chart together to express their
learning. Lists and explanations will be added to their portfolios.
Professional Growth Guide Goal(s):
1.4-Professional 4 - Demonstrates a commitment to service and the
capacity to be reflective, lifelong learners, and inquirers.
2.3- Demonstrates knowledge of First Nations, Metis & Inuit culture and
History (e.g. Treaties, Residential School, Script, and Worldview)
3.2- Instructional 2 - Demonstrates the ability to use a wide variety of
responsive instructional strategies and methodologies to accommodate
learning styles of individual learners and support their growth as social,
intellectual, physical and spiritual beings
4.1- Curricular 1 - Demonstrates knowledge of Saskatchewan
curriculum and policy documents and applies this understanding to
plan lessons, units of study and year plans using curriculum outcomes
as outlined by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.
Outcomes/Foundational Objectives
-Understand the comprehensive effects of The Indian Act.
- Understand the impact of colonial rule on authority and sovereignty
of traditional Aboriginal governments.
Indicators/Learning Objectives

-Examine ways in which colonial rule disrupted the authority and

sovereignty of traditional Aboriginal governments
-Identify how Aboriginal societies influenced the newcomers
- Develop empathy for the Aboriginal peoples of Canada affected by
the results of colonialism
- View issues from many perspectives through the dialectical process
- Describe how the Indian Act affected and continues to affect cultural,
educational, personal, economic, and political aspects of Indian life
- Synthesize the historical and contemporary impact of the Indian Act
- Appreciate the comprehensiveness of the Indian Act
- Interpret and use language of government documents
Cross Curricular Competencies:
Students will think contextually, creatively, and critically by engaging
in perspective taking of First Nations peoples affected by the Indian
Act. They will think critically about what parts of the act create the
most obstacles for First Nations people in the past and present, and
how assimilation, marginalization and oppression are perpetuated
through the Act. Students will develop literacies through reading,
writing, and summarizing, while learning the legalistic language of
legislative documents. They will develop a social responsibility as they
become aware of the unique situations and challenges among First
Nations in Canada, and how various models of government have
shaped their identity and world views over history.
Materials:
PowerPoint Unit 2 (slides 70)
The Indian Act online- http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-5/
The White Paper online- http://www.aadncaandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100010189/1100100010191
Poster
Markers
Activities and Procedures:
Overview/Agenda/Review/Introduction:
o Jigsaw strategy- research the Indian Act, the following
topics:
Status and Membership
Land
Governance
Education
o List the five most important clauses and explain
choices
o Each home group prepares a chart/poster listing
final choices with explanations.
o Add their lists and explanations to their portfolios.

Take home reading/research: The White Paper -to discuss

next class

Subject Content and Teaching Strategies:

Interactive discussion will take place through collaborating with
the jigsaw groups in partnering, brainstorming, and discussion.
Independent learning will occur as students research their topic
areas, individually log their findings in learning logs, and when
they record their final lists and explanations into their portfolios.
Indirect instruction will come through reading and viewing
information, as they reflect on what the other jigsaw groups
share, and through concept formation as they make connections
to prior knowledge.
Key questions:
1) What impact did the Indian Act have on the autonomy of First
Nations?
2) How has First Nations traditional government structures
changed due to European influence?
3) How do First Nations view the Indian Act?
4) How has the Indian Act affected the social, political, spiritual,
cultural, and economic life of First Nations?
I will introduce the lesson first by introducing the rules and
expectations of the jigsaw and pose key questions to students. I
will divide students among home groups, then number then for
their expert groups. Students will then gather in their expert
groups and I will explain the directions for the activity and
provide them with their random topic (1 of 4: Status and
Membership (Sections 5-17), Land (Sections 18-41, 53-60),
Governance (Sections 74-79, 80-86), Education (Sections 109122)), complimentary materials, and an IPad and/or print copy of
their part of the Indian Act (8 mins). Students will begin their
research using the provided print and any other electronic
resources for the activity while charting what they consider
important clauses in their learning logs. They will also discuss
and negotiate which five points they agree are the most
important and why (20 mins). Students will return to their home
groups where they will explain their top five choices for their
topic area of the Indian Act along with brief explanations. After
all four expert groups have shared, home groups will narrow
down a further top five points from their shared areas and create
a poster/chart representing their learning (22 mins). If there is
class time, students will share and explain their posters,

otherwise they will share them next day at the beginning of

class.

Consolidation:
Students will add their expert lists and explanations and their
home group final lists and explanations to their portfolios. As
homework, they will be asked to skim over a reading on the
White Paper online (http://www.aadncaandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100010189/1100100010191 ) or
alternatively research the major key parts of it to prepare them
for class discussion next day.

Assessment:
Learning logs- record their independent and group work research
points
Portfolios- Five collaborative points and explanations agreed to in their
home groups
Adaptations:
For Lucy- give a section of the Indian Act highlighted or another version
of the same material simplified/printed resource at her comprehension
level; the EA and peers can also help her with words she might not
understand. Alternatively, she can use an IPad and a website like The
Indian Act in Plain English (http://noraloreto.ca/the-indian-act-in-plainenglish/) which breaks down the Act in simpler, less-legalistic terms.
Reflections on the lesson:
1) How was this lesson effective/not effective?
-The students worked well in their jigsaw groups- both in their
expert groups and home groups. They worked together to try to
understand what the wording said through discussion.
-Due to the complexity of the language, students needed a bit
more time to finish their research and share their findings in their
home groups. We ran out of time to finish up the posters, so
students will be given 15 mins to finish them up and present
them next class.
2) Suggestions for a future lesson of this type
-have more easy-to-read materials/versions of the Indian Act
3) Changes made to the lesson while teaching
-I let other students use other sources and websites to help them
understand their topic due to the legalistic language of the Act.
4) What strategies could I use to reinforce this lesson?

-Inquiry could be used to allow students to choose an area of the

Indian Act and compare/contrast the 1876 version to the 1985
version.
-Interactive concept map/charts could be used to compare the
changes over time and to reinforce concepts, especially how
changes came about as our worldviews evolved.

Lucy- Handout

21 Things You May Not Have Known About The Indian Act
Posted by Bob Joseph http://www.ictinc.ca/blog/21-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-indian-act-

"The great aim of our legislation has been to do away with the tribal system and
assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the other inhabitants of the Dominion
as speedily as they are fit to change. - John A Macdonald, 1887
Many laws affecting Aboriginal Peoples were combined in 1876 to become the Indian
Act. The Actgave Canada a coordinated approach to Indian policy rather than the preConfederation piece-meal approach.
Here is a permission slip that would have be required to leave the reserve.

The Indian agent, acting under the authority of the Indian Act, played a key role in the
distribution of land, replacing traditional names for easier identification and altering
traditional and hereditary forms of government, among other actions and restrictions.
The Indian Act has been a lightning rod for criticism and controversy over the years, widely
attacked by First Nations people and communities for its regressive and paternalistic
excesses. For example, Indians living on reserves dont own the land they live on; assets on
reserve are not subject to seizure under legal process making it extremely difficult to borrow
money to purchase assets; and, matrimonial property laws dont apply to assets on reserve.
On the other hand, it has also been widely attacked by non-Aboriginal Peoples and
politicians as being too paternalistic and creating an unjust system with excessive costs that
are considered uneconomical.

Here are some of the restrictions and impacts imposed on First Nations (some have since
been removed in revisions of the Act). The Indian Act:
1. denied women status;
2. introduced residential schools;
3. created reserves;
4. renamed individuals with European names
5. restricted First Nations from leaving reserve without permission from Indian Agent - see
picture above
6. enforced enfranchisement of any First Nation admitted to university [1];
7. could expropriate portions of reserves for roads, railways and other public works, as well
as to move an entire reserve away from a municipality if it was deemed expedient;
8. could lease out uncultivated reserve lands to non-First Nations if the new leaseholder
would use it for farming or pasture;
9. forbade First Nations from forming political organizations;
10. prohibited anyone, First Nation or non-First Nation, from soliciting funds for First Nation
legal claims without special license from the Superintendent General. (this 1927
amendment granted the government control over the ability of First Nations to pursue
land claims);[2]
11. prohibited the sale of alcohol to First Nations;
12. prohibited sale of ammunition to First Nations;
13. prohibited pool hall owners from allowing First Nations entrance;
14. imposed the band council system;
15. forbade First Nations from speaking their native language;
16. forbade First Nations from practicing their traditional religion;
17. forbade western First Nations from appearing in any public dance, show, exhibition,
stampede or pageant wearing traditional regalia; [3]
18. declared potlatch and other cultural ceremonies illegal; [4]
19. denied First Nations the right to vote
20. created permit system to control First Nations ability to sell products from farms;
21. is a piece of legislation created under the British rule for the purpose of subjugating one
race - Aboriginal people.

Lucy- Jigsaw Learning Log Work Example:

Status and Membership:
-women did not have status (1876)
This is important because it means women are not equal to men.
-she only had status if she married an Indian man with status
This means that if she falls in love with a white person or a Metis
person, she has to give up her status and rights if she wants to
marry that person.
-if they went to college or university they lost their status
This means that if you try hard to learn and go to school then
you have to give up your First Nations rights. That means you
get no money from the government and no health care.
-at any time they can be deleted from the list
This means that you might not even be doing anything wrong
and the government can take away your rights.
-they have to belong to a Band List
This means the government knows were all the status Indians
are and can control them, but it also means they cannot go live
in the city or somewhere else.