In 1879, the Indian Act was invoked to create peace in the country, which gave Amerindians a special status as Amerindians and they had land to call their own which was often land that was far from the municipalities. The White Paper proposed retracting the Indian Act and many other passed treaties in return for a land act and equal status in Canada. This would mean that instead of their Indian status and benefits, they would be subject to the same taxes as Canadians and their reserves would switch hands from the government to the tribe leaders and would soon become a municipality rather than a community. This caused tension and separation because through this White Paper, the government was trying to assimilate the Amerindian population into the rest of Canadian society by making them "equal" to citizens and they would have to give up everything they knew to be able to be considered equals in law, etc. In the book, DISCovering Multicultural America, it is stated, "the 'liberal' ideology of the White Paper had very little appeal for Aboriginal Canadians... The White Paper had also echoed the expectation dating from colonial times that aboriginal peoples would eventually be assimilated into larger Canadian
In 1879, the Indian Act was invoked to create peace in the country, which gave Amerindians a special status as Amerindians and they had land to call their own which was often land that was far from the municipalities. The White Paper proposed retracting the Indian Act and many other passed treaties in return for a land act and equal status in Canada. This would mean that instead of their Indian status and benefits, they would be subject to the same taxes as Canadians and their reserves would switch hands from the government to the tribe leaders and would soon become a municipality rather than a community. This caused tension and separation because through this White Paper, the government was trying to assimilate the Amerindian population into the rest of Canadian society by making them "equal" to citizens and they would have to give up everything they knew to be able to be considered equals in law, etc. In the book, DISCovering Multicultural America, it is stated, "the 'liberal' ideology of the White Paper had very little appeal for Aboriginal Canadians... The White Paper had also echoed the expectation dating from colonial times that aboriginal peoples would eventually be assimilated into larger Canadian