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On October 7, 1763, King George III issued a Royal Proclamation regarding the governance of British territories in North America. This proclamation delineated the fundamental aspects of the relationship between the Crown and First Nations, affirmed the acknowledgment of First Nation rights in Canada, and provided the framework for the treaty-making process and the territorial development of Canada.
For over a century, Indigenous children were forcibly taken from their families to attend residential schools funded and operated by the Government of Canada and various religious organizations. These schools aimed to assimilate children into mainstream culture, resulting in the separation of approximately 150,000 children from their families and communities. Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a historic apology on June 11, 2008, acknowledging the suffering caused by these schools. The ongoing implementation of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement is crucial in efforts to reconcile relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.
Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce, the chief medical officer for Canada's Department of the Interior and Indian Affairs from 1904 to 1921, conducted inspections of 35 residential schools. His findings were alarming, revealing that Indigenous children were dying at high rates, with a mortality rate of up to 25 percent among enrolled students. After leaving school, this rate skyrocketed to 69 percent.
Under the direction of Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, Duncan Campbell Scott, residential school attendance becomes compulsory for all First Nations children aged 7 to 16. Although inconsistently applied, this policy also affected Métis and Inuit children.
While many Canadian women gained the right to vote in federal elections, First Nations women could only do so by relinquishing their status and treaty rights.
An amendment to the Indian Act permitted the forced enfranchisement of Status Indians deemed suitable for removal from band lists. Enfranchisement, a prevalent legal procedure, resulted in the loss of Indian Status for many First Nations individuals under the Indian Act.
Following the closure of residential schools, a phenomenon known as the Sixties Scoop emerged. During this period, provincial and federal social workers removed thousands of Indigenous children from their families, placing them in foster care or adoptive homes, often non-Indigenous. Some children were even sent abroad
The Voice of Alberta Native Women's Society (VANWS) was established by Indigenous activists, including Métis war veteran Bertha Clark Jones, to advocate for Status and Non-Status women before the enactment of Bill C-31, which allowed those who lost their status through marriage to reclaim it. VANWS later transformed into the Native Women's Association of Canada, operating since 1974.
The Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) was established by Indigenous women and their allies, which included non-Indigenous feminists engaged in the women’s movement. Its members were dedicated to preserving and perpetuating Indigenous culture at the local level, while also advocating nationally to address the disparities in status conditions for women under the Indian Act. Bertha Clark Jones, a Métis war veteran and activist, served as NWAC's inaugural president
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) emerges from the National Indian Brotherhood with the aim of advancing the interests of First Nations communities. It focuses on advocating for self-government, upholding treaty rights, improving education and healthcare, and safeguarding land and resources.
Bill C-31, an amendment to the Indian Act, addresses gender discrimination by eliminating the requirement for women to follow their husbands into or out of status. This legislation allows women who previously "married out" to apply for the reinstatement of their status rights. The efforts of First Nations women such as Jeannette Corbiere Lavell and Sandra Lovelace Nicholas were instrumental in bringing about these changes. However, Bill C-31 imposes limitations on the ability to transfer status to one's children. It introduces new categories of Status Indian registration – 6(1) and 6(2) – and specifies that status cannot be transferred if one parent is registered under section 6(2). This leads to the implementation of the "Second-Generation Cut-Off rule," which renders children ineligible for status after two generations of intermarriage with non-status partners.
The Canadian government commissions the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada to document the experiences of survivors, families, and communities affected by residential schools, aiming to inform all Canadians about the truth of what occurred. This initiative is funded through the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.
The RCMP published the National Operational Review on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women, revealing research findings that identified 1,181 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canadian police databases. Among these cases, 164 were reported missing dating back to 1952, while 1,017 were recorded as murdered between 1980 and 2012.
The conclusive report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls unveils that systemic and intentional human rights violations are at the root of Canada's alarming rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and LGBTQ2S individuals. The report issues 231 calls for justice directed towards governments, police forces, and institutions.
At a hospital in Joliette, Quebec, Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman and mother of seven, tragically passed away shortly after she live-streamed a nurse and an orderly refusing to attend to her while making racist and derogatory remarks. On October 5th, coroner Gehane Kamel reported that hospital staff failed to adequately assess Echaquan's symptoms of heart palpitations, incorrectly assuming she was experiencing opioid withdrawal. Instead of receiving proper care, Echaquan was labelled as "theatrical" when she became distressed, leading to her being restrained to a bed. Kamel unequivocally described the incident as a manifestation of systemic racism. A lawyer representing Echaquan's family intended to file a human rights complaint and a civil suit against the hospital.