Indigenous People Assimilation

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There were many acts made for Indigenous people in the long list of ways European’s tried to assimilate Indigenous people. The Constitution Act, 1867 was assigned to Parlament Legislative jurisdiction over “Indians and lands reserved for Indians”. Just like other acts this also promoted assimilation. Other commonly know acts were the Gradual Civilizations Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement of 1869 which also aimed towards taking away differences between settlers and Aboriginals through assimilation. At first, enfranchisement was meant to be done through volunteering, however, with only one person volunteering to do so, the government started to unilaterally enfranchise First Nations people. In 1867, with the creation of the Indian Act the Gradual Civilizations Act of 1857 and the Gradual Enfranchisement of 1869 were added to it. The Indian Act was a combination of various laws, that created a set of regulations that controlled First Nations. …show more content…
MacDonald who said, “The great aim of our legislative has been to do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the other inhabitants of the Dominion as speedily as they are fit to change.” This Act gave the government extensive power regarding First Nations identity, political structures, governance, cultural practice, and

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