The Indian Act 1876

The Indian Act

 April 1755: Sir William Johnson appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs

 1796 Responsibility for Indian Affairs in Upper Canada given to the Lieutenant-
Governor.
 1800 Responsibility for Indian Affairs in Lower Canada given to the Governor-
General.
 1816 Jurisdiction over Indian Affairs in Upper & Lower Canada transferred to the
Commander of the Forces/Military.
 1828 Created the position of Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs. 1841
Department amalgamated and placed under the authority of Governor General.
 1867 At Confederation “Indian” matters were given to the federal government.
 The Indian Act

 1873 The Department of the Interior was created and Indian Lands Branch within
that Department.
 1875 System of superintendents and agents established.
 1876 Indian Act passed by Parliament which consolidated and revised all previous
legislation dealing with Indians in all existing provinces and territories.
 1880 Independent Department of Indian Affairs established.
 1885 four new branches established within the Department - Statistics and School
Branch, Correspondence Branch, a Registry Branch, and a Technical Branch. These
joined the older Lands Sales Branch & Accountant Branch.
 The Indian Act

 1886 Department empowered to prepare and register letters patent conveying Indian
lands to purchasers. This created the position of Registrar of Patents.
 1889 Two new branches were created. These were the Land & Timber Branch and the
Statistical, Supply and School Branch.
 1893 Hayter Reed was appointed Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
 1894 In an effort to improve educational facilities for First Nations children a School
Branch was established.
 1896 James Smart was appointed Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
 Re-organized the Department – established a Deputy Minister.
 Moved office from Regina to Winnipeg.
 1904 Bryce has hired by the Department.
 The Indian Act

 1905 Chief Surveyor was created.

 Distinct branches established with the Department.
 Secretary’s Branch, Accountant’s Branch, Superintendent of Education, Land & Timber Branch,
Survey Branch, Records Branch, and School Branch.
 1912 Royal Commission on Indian Affairs for the Province of British Columbia appointed.
 D.C. Scott appointed Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
 1915 Architect’s Branch established.
 1924 Amendment to the Indian Act and Inuit people now under the responsibility of the
Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs.
 1929 Agreement concluded respecting reserve lands in Manitoba & Alberta stipulating
they remain under federal control.
 The Indian Act

 1936 Department of Indian Affairs was made a branch of the Department of Mines & resources. Included: Field
Administration (4 inspectors, one Commissioner, and 115 agents); Medical Welfare & Training Services –
responsible for schools, employment & agriculture); Reserves & Trust Service; records Service for files and
historical material.
 Indian Health Services transferred to the Department of National Health & Welfare.
 1949 Indian Affairs transferred to the Department of Citizenship & Immigration.
 1951 new Indian Act past.
 1959 Welfare Division was split into Economic Development Division & the Welfare Division.
 1962 Indian Affairs reorganized – Education; Operations – economic development, trusts and annuities, reserve
lands & resources, welfare; Support Services responsible for band councils, membership estates, engineering &
construction.
 1964 Eight regional offices established. Departments “raised” now get Education Directorate, Administration
Directorate – lands, estates, membership, records.
 1966 the Department of Indian & Northern Affairs was established.
 Post Confederation Period

 Legislative changes reflected the prime interests of “white” society, rather than those
of First Nations peoples.
 All laws affecting First Nations people established in the Indian Act.
 Canada – focus on expanding the frontier society.
 Emphasis on enfranchisement as a kind of reward for Indian acceptance of civic
responsibility as serious citizens typified in the 19th century. White society regarded
local government as a mark of progress.
 Continued focus on agriculture – ‘good farmers’.
 1885 men in Canada given right to vote – initially consider male First Nations but
that squashed because “Indians were not property owners and did not pay taxes.”
 Post Confederation

 “The Enfranchisement Act of 1869 intended to free Indians from their state of
wardship under the Federal government.”
 The Indian Acts of Canada from 1876 through 1927 contained some reference to
“Indian blood similar to the 1859 statue and to American Indian legislation”.
 1870 one million four hundred thousand acres of ungranted lands to be appropriated
for the benefit of Manitoba’s Metis population.
 1871 British Columbia enters Confederation but did allocate its Indian land polices
on any written code – henceforth must allot 80 acres for each Indigenous family. BC
policies were less than what given in Manitoba and North West Territories.
 1876 Indian Act

 The Indian Act remains “fundamentally” the same today.

 Bill introduced on March 2, 1876.
 Purpose/principal of Bill “to consolidate the several laws relating to Indians now on the
statue books of the Dominion and the old provinces of Upper & Lower Canada.
 Indian Act agreed to on April 12, 1876.
 Definition:
 Any male person of Indian blood reputed to belong to a particular band;
 Any Indian having for five years continuously resided in a foreign country shall…cease to be a
member.
 Any woman who marries a non-treaty person shall cease to be an “Indian”.
 Location ticket – to be allowed to leave the reserve for business, etc.
 Indian Act

 Empowered the Superintendent-General to act as the Indian’s representative in

obtaining compensation for expropriation of any Indian lands. If land sold, money
went to Indian Affairs for use of the “band of Indians.”
 No land shall be sold, alienated or leased until it has been released or surrendered to
the Crown.
 Implies that First Nations “were like children to a very great extent” and “required a
great deal more protection than the white man” (Federal Statute).
 Any funds for timber, hay, stone, minerals o other valuables…shall be paid to the
Receiver General” (Statue).
 Indian Act 1876

 Power of the Chiefs:

 The care of the public health
 The observance of order & decorum at assemblies of the Indians in general council;
 The repression of intemperance
 The prevention of trespass of cattle
 The maintenance of roads, bridges, ditches and fences
 Construction and repair of school houses, council houses, and other Indian public buildings
 The locating of the land in their reserve and establishment of a registry,
 Indian Act

 The 1876 Act formalized the duties and position in the Canadian Cabinet of the
Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs.
 The 1876 Act diminished the Governor-in-Council’s authority respecting Indian
legislation and gave more discretionary power to the Superintendent General.
 Macdonald’s plan across Canada to support a nation from sea to sea had dire effects
on First Nations people – “You should by every means in your power endeavor to
persuade the Indians within your district to pursue industrial employment by
cultivating the soil etc. for living; and no encouragement should be given by you to
idleness by gratuitous aid being furnished to able-bodied Indians” (1874 Report of the
Privy Council).
 The Indian Act has been amended over the last 150 years, however, it is still in effect
today.