The Indian Act
Pages from the 1876 Indian Act. Library and Archives Canada, RG10, v2112, file 20804, p. 142
1876
The Canadian government passed the Indian Act in order to consolidate previous legislation relating to First Peoples into a national framework. The act provided the government with a wide range of powers affecting almost every aspect of the lives of First Peoples. It included the provision of certain rights based on First Peoples identity or “status,” management of reserve finances and lands, education, culture and political systems, replacing traditional Indigenous governance structures with band council elections that could be overridden by the government. The original 1876 act was coercive and paternalistic, and has been amended and updated numerous times.
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