'A better citizen than lots of white men': First Nations Enfranchisement - an Ontario Case Study, 1918-1940

• Published in: The Canadian Historical Review
• Main Author: Brownlie, Robin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Project MUSE 2006
• Subjects: Religious studies; History; Canada; Indian; First Nations; Premières Nations
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/can.2006.0007

Between 1918 and 1939, about 2400 First Nations people in Canada became enfranchised, gaining full Canadian citizenship and renouncing Indian status. To do so, they had to prove themselves worthy of attain- ing 'white' status in the eyes of the law, a requirement that makes enfranchisement records a rich source for discursive analysis of racial constructions of 'whiteness' and 'Indianness' in the period. Using enfranchisement case files from two Georgian Bay Indian agencies, this article also explores the nascent processes of reserve departure and Aboriginal urbanization occurring in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as the acculturative choices of enfranchisement applicants – their occupations, places of residence, and mobility patterns. Although enfranchisees might seem to have lost rights and benefits attached to Indian status and band membership, in practice virtually all of these rights and benefits were restricted to people living on the reserves, while most people who enfranchised had lived off-reserve for years. The few who chose enfranchisement (approximately 8 per cent of the population in these two agencies) were primarily making an economic choice to obtain their portion of band-owned monies in a lump sum, having already abandoned the reserves in response to the lack of economic opportunities there. The case files contain more than the usual complement of Aboriginal-authored letters, permitting insight into the plans and beliefs of these individuals and some observations about their self-representation vis-à-vis the Department of Indian Affairs. Entre 1918 et 1939, environ 2 400 membres des Premières nations du Canada sont devenus affranchis, obtenant ainsi la citoyenneté canadienne et renonçant à leur statut d'Indien. Pour ce faire, ils devaient démontrer qu'ils étaient dignes d'atteindre le statut de blanc aux yeux de la loi, une exigence qui fait des dossiers d'affranchissement une riche source d'analyses et de débats sur les conceptions raciales à l'égard des blancs et des Indiens à cette époque. À la ...