Over the past few days we are diving into the book, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph. It’s very informative book to learn about our present landscape today and get a better understanding of the relationship between Indigenous & Canadians.
We previously talked about the imposed system of government that the Indian act forced onto tribes, now we will talk about how Indigenous Women were effected from the act.
Denied Women Indian Status 1869-1985
Any Indigenous women who married anyone that is not an Indian man would lose their status as an Indian within the meaning of this act, and also the children from this marriage will not be considered Indian within the meaning of this act.
If an Indian woman married outside of her tribe, she would ceased to be a member of her tribe from then on and become a member of a tribe that her husband is a member of. If there are kids from this marriage, the kids will become a member of the father’s tribe only.
This is for the gradual enfranchisement of the Indian – 1869.
Women were always an important part of Indigenous culture and heritage and central to the family.
Many Indigenous societies were matriarchal societies.
Women in the Iroqious tribe were the soul of the councils, arranged the marriages, they had authority of the home, and were a huge foundation of the success of a tribe.
The woman had superiority within the tribe and the lands belonged to them.
The Indian act made women unequal to Indian men. They disrespected and undermined the role of Indian women in many ways.
Indian men did not lose status when marrying non-Indian women. A non-Indian women could acquire Indian status if they married and Indian.
Women have had difficulties being classified as an Indian and simply just being an Indigenous Woman in Canada.
Indian men did not lose their status as an Indian when they married non Indigenous people.
Basically your classification for being an Indian came solely on the Paternal Lineage.
Under Section 12 of the 1951 Indian Act
If an Indian Women married a non-Indian man, she would lose her status of being an Indian.
Also if the mother or grandmother were not classified as Indian Status before their marriages, would make you lose your status as an Indian.
Between 1958-1968 more than 100,000 women and children lost their Indian Status as a result of the provisions made.
Contents
Bill C-31 Was Made in 1985 to Remove the Discrimination Against Women
Women who lost status prior to 1985 because of marrying out to a non-Indigenous man could pass their status onto their children but not to their children’s’ children.
This is known as the The Second Generation Cut Off
If the family of the Indigenous woman and non-indigenous man had a son. That son was able to pass his status down two more generations while the daughter would not be able to do this.
This was an amendment where women can apply back for her Indian Status. They had to navigate a very complex documentation system through the Indian Affairs. There is a lot of red tape involved, had to travel to very distant office, and a lot of loops to go through to get status back.
There was so much applications with such little staff, it took forever for just one application to get processed.
March 2010 – Bill C-3 Was Suppose to Be The Remedy to Discrimination to Indigenous Women
It continued the discrimination.
Grandchildren born before September. 4th 1951 who traced their Indigenous lineage through their mothers are still denied status. While those who traced their lineage through their father’s are not.
“Indian Act Regulations Devalue Indigenous Women and are the Primary cause of the vulnerability of Indigenous women today.” – Bob Joseph
The Indian Act directly caused:
- Poor mental health
- economic instability
- homelessness
- lack of justice
- addictions
- low educational attainment
For Indigenous women and girls.
This places our women in places and situations that have greater risks for violence.
1-3 of Aboriginal women is abused by her partner, while other women the rate is 1-10.
If an Indigenous women wanted to leave her reserve because of domestic violence, she could lose her home. With the low housing problems already on reserve, it makes it nearly impossible for her to come back to her reserve and have a home again.
Many Indigenous women who do want to live on reserve can’t do so because of the lack of housing.
Human Rights for Women
At present, Indigenous women do not have the same rights or protection of her rights as other Canadian Women.
Takeaways:
The Indian act imposes such an opposite worldview and belief system that Indigenous people had for themselves.
Women were always apart of the forefront of things and the foundation for many tribes.
It has caused even our own men to, at times, look down on the Indigenous women and treat them not as the way we originally have since time immemorial….with honour, respect, reverence, and humility.
Resources:
- 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act – Click Here
- Foundational Knowledge Weekly Teachings – Click Here
- Support Powwow Times – Click Here
