Protecting Indian Lands by Defining Indian : 1850-76
In 1850, the government of the Province of Canada defined Indian for the first time. In the twentieth century, the legal provisions by which generations of status Indian women in Canada lost their status when they married non-status men became among the most controversial aspects of Canadian legisla...
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University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress)
2014
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 |
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crunivtoronpr:10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 2023-12-31T10:06:56+01:00 Protecting Indian Lands by Defining Indian : 1850-76 Binnema, Ted 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 en eng University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) Journal of Canadian Studies volume 48, issue 2, page 5-39 ISSN 0021-9495 1911-0251 History Cultural Studies journal-article 2014 crunivtoronpr https://doi.org/10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 2023-12-01T08:18:13Z In 1850, the government of the Province of Canada defined Indian for the first time. In the twentieth century, the legal provisions by which generations of status Indian women in Canada lost their status when they married non-status men became among the most controversial aspects of Canadian legislation relating to First Nations peoples. The government’s decision to define Indian, and its actual definitions, came to exemplify the coercive nature of Canadian Indian policy. This essay challenges many assumptions regarding the history of Canada’s definition of Indian. A close examination shows that officials only reluctantly decided to define Indian in law in 1850 in efforts to protect Indian land in Lower Canada. The evidence also shows that the first legal definition of Indian was intended to conform to the “ancient customs and traditions” of these Indigenous communities. Furthermore, government officials consulted meaningfully with Aboriginal leaders when they revised the definition between 1851 and 1876. During the entire period, the Aboriginal political elite were effective advocates for their own interests. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations University of Toronto Press (U Toronto Press - via Crossref) Journal of Canadian Studies 48 2 5 39 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Toronto Press (U Toronto Press - via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crunivtoronpr |
language |
English |
topic |
History Cultural Studies |
spellingShingle |
History Cultural Studies Binnema, Ted Protecting Indian Lands by Defining Indian : 1850-76 |
topic_facet |
History Cultural Studies |
description |
In 1850, the government of the Province of Canada defined Indian for the first time. In the twentieth century, the legal provisions by which generations of status Indian women in Canada lost their status when they married non-status men became among the most controversial aspects of Canadian legislation relating to First Nations peoples. The government’s decision to define Indian, and its actual definitions, came to exemplify the coercive nature of Canadian Indian policy. This essay challenges many assumptions regarding the history of Canada’s definition of Indian. A close examination shows that officials only reluctantly decided to define Indian in law in 1850 in efforts to protect Indian land in Lower Canada. The evidence also shows that the first legal definition of Indian was intended to conform to the “ancient customs and traditions” of these Indigenous communities. Furthermore, government officials consulted meaningfully with Aboriginal leaders when they revised the definition between 1851 and 1876. During the entire period, the Aboriginal political elite were effective advocates for their own interests. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Binnema, Ted |
author_facet |
Binnema, Ted |
author_sort |
Binnema, Ted |
title |
Protecting Indian Lands by Defining Indian : 1850-76 |
title_short |
Protecting Indian Lands by Defining Indian : 1850-76 |
title_full |
Protecting Indian Lands by Defining Indian : 1850-76 |
title_fullStr |
Protecting Indian Lands by Defining Indian : 1850-76 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Protecting Indian Lands by Defining Indian : 1850-76 |
title_sort |
protecting indian lands by defining indian : 1850-76 |
publisher |
University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
Journal of Canadian Studies volume 48, issue 2, page 5-39 ISSN 0021-9495 1911-0251 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3138/jcs.48.2.5 |
container_title |
Journal of Canadian Studies |
container_volume |
48 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
5 |
op_container_end_page |
39 |
_version_ |
1786839142950240256 |