How did the Indian Act affect the people of Aboriginal Ancestry?
These “aborigines” are Canadians, not Australians: The Indian Act (“An Act respecting Indians”), R.S., 1985, c. I-5, is a Canadian statute that concerns registered Indians (that is, First Nations peoples of Canada), their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. The Indian Act was enacted in 1876 by the Parliament of Canada under the provisions of Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867, which provides Canada’s federal government exclusive authority to legislate in relation to “Indians and Lands Reserved for Indians”. The Indian Act is administered by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. The Act defines who is an “Indian” and contains certain legal rights and legal disabilities for registered Indians. The rights exclusive to Indians in the Indian Act are beyond legal challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
