| The original Indian Act was adopted in 1876, and has been periodically amended since that time. It was originally used to expand the system of Aboriginal Reserves in Canada, and narrowed the land base of tribal groups. It was also used as a mechanism to control various aspects of tribal life and provided for ‘Indian Band governance on those reserves, determined who was and was not an Indian, determined the status of Band members, disenfranchised Indian women who married outside the Tribe, limited voting rights in Band matters to men, enabled the removal of Indian children to non-reserve boarding schools, enabled the regulation of traditional cultures by banning certain ceremonies, restricted Indian legal claims, instituted a pass system for travel on and off reserves and empowered the dislocation of many Tribes from their homelands to secure lands and resource access for non-Aboriginal settlers and interests’ (Nettheim et al, 83). |
