There are many myths, misconceptions, and stereotypes of Indigenous people in Canada. Following are a few of the more common ones, along with some explanations, and the truth.
Indigenous people don't pay taxes
It’s a common misconception that Indigenous people in Canada don't have to pay federal or provincial taxes.
While Status Indians do receive tax exemption under certain circumstances, these exemptions don't apply to Non-status First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. Section 87 of the Indian Act provides Status Indians with certain benefits to reduce the amount of taxes they have to pay. Status Indians avoid being liable for taxes on personal and real property if it is located on a reserve, including income, which the government considers personal property if the person earns the income on the reserve. Status Indians are also exempt from paying taxes on goods and services purchased on reserve lands.
Please refer to the linked resources for more information.
Indigenous people are all the same
It's a misconception that Indigenous people are all the same - that Indigenous people share the same histories, culture, traditions, worldviews, language, etc. That Indigenous people all look the same - dark skin, dark eyes, long dark hair.
Firstly, there are three distinct groups within the term Indigenous (in Canada): First Nations, Inuit, and Metis. Within each distinct group there are more distinctions. For example, for First Nations people, there are over 600 bands each with distinct traditions, languages, regalia, economies, strengths, and challenges. And in BC there are over 200 bands (1/3 of the total for Canada).
Secondly, due to colonization, Indigenous people have many different skin tones, different eye colours, different hair colours and textures, different features. There is no one look for Indigenous people in Canada.
Recognition of the unique history, culture and traditions of each Indigenous community is a necessary first step Canadians may take in respecting Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous students get a free education
All Indigenous people do not receive free post-secondary funding however Status Indians living on-reserve are eligible for education assistance. Métis and non-status Indians are not eligible. In addition, Inuit, Métis and First Nation students living off-reserve are not eligible.
Some First Nations communities set aside funding within their budgets to help more of their members obtain a post-secondary education. These programs are similar to scholarship programs with extensive application processes, minimum grade requirements, additional community work, reporting requirements, etc. In many communities the waitlist for education funding is too long to fund all who apply.
Indigenous people were primitive at time of contact
A widely held belief about Indigenous People in Canada is that they were primitive cultures and lived in undeveloped, simple, and unsophisticated societies at the time of the arrival of Christopher Columbus back in 1492. This belief was carried forward into laws, constitutions, the Indian Act, etc. and resulted in programs designed to take the "Indian" out of the child. Here's a few examples:
In 1879, Canada's first Prime Minister, John A MacDonald said “When the school is on the reserve, the child lives with its parents, who are savages, and though he may learn to read and write, his habits and training mode of thought are Indian. He is simply a savage who can read and write. It has been strongly impressed upon myself, as head of the Department, that Indian children should be withdrawn as much as possible from the parental influence, and the only way to do that would be to put them in central training industrial schools where they will acquire the habits and modes of thought of white men."
Prior to the 1951 version of the Indian Act it included the following text: “The term “person” means an individual other than an Indian unless the context clearly requires another construction.”
The 1969 white paper introduced by then Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau essentially called for the complete assimilation of Indigenous people into Canadian society for the purpose of allowing Canada to put aside its responsibilities. He is famously quoted as saying "If you no longer speak your language and no longer practice your culture, then you have no right to demand aboriginal rights from us, because you are assimilated with the ruling power.”
In 1991, Chief Justice Allan McEachern in his judgement in Delgamuukw v. British Columbia in which he dismissed the role of oral history in establishing Indigenous title, said “Similarly, it would not be accurate to assume that even pre-contact existence in the territory was in the least bit idyllic. The plaintiffs' ancestors had no written language, no horses or wheeled vehicles, slavery and starvation was not uncommon, wars with neighbouring peoples were common, and there is no doubt, to quote Hobbs, that aboriginal life in the territory was, at best, nasty, brutish and short."
The truth is that Indigenous people were progressive and sophisticated in their governance, family systems, spirituality, health and food systems, travel, and arts, etc. They were deemed to be primitive, savages, uncivilized because they didn't follow Christianity and didn't observe many of the European formalities. They were very spiritual and connected to nature and Spirit. They had no need for things like dishes, brick homes, or wheels as they had ways and means that suited their needs more adequately.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was greatly influenced by the six weeks Abraham Maslow spent with the Blackfoot people in 1938: “Naamitapiikoan” was the name given to Maslow during his six-week stay at Siksika (Blackfoot Reserve) in the summer of 1938. This visit completely changed his perspective on human motivation, resulting within a decade in the development of his hierarchy of needs, his notion of self-actualization, and his theories of organizational synergy. His knowledge gathered from Siksika has shaped the disciplines of psychology, education, business, and management as we know them today.”
Indigenous people get free housing
Indigenous People can apply for social housing programs offered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). CMHC offers many programs to assist Indigenous and non-Indigenous People to meet their housing needs. For Indigenous people, the CMHC assistance programs only apply to dwellings on reserves.
The housing programs for Indigenous People are mainly designed to give low-income families access to rental housing. First Nation communities that meet CMHC lending criteria apply to a bank for conventional mortgage funds to finance the social housing construction, usually with CMHC providing loan insurance. The band rents the housing units to its members and maintains the mortgage.
Please refer to the linked resources below for more information.