Indian Act
Canadian federal legislation first passed the Indian Act in 1876 and amended several times since. It sets out certain federal government obligations and regulates the management of Indian reserve lands, Indian money, and other resources (Government of Canada, 2020). The Indian act was used as a way to control the majority of the First Nation population, and it had significant impacts. The policy isolated the aboriginals from other Canadian citizens. As a result, they could not access basic needs like food, as compared to their non-aboriginals counterparts. What is more, their living conditions had continuously deteriorated since they could not access critical social services like healthcare (Government of Canada, 2020). The Aboriginal populations were forced out of their ancestral land for urbanization, and they were forced out of their properties. The challenges that the First population is currently facing in Canada are due to the outcomes of the Indian Act. Now, the Indian Act is still significant since it requires the Aboriginal Union minister to manage funds and lands of the indigenous population in line with the law.
Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples
This commission is very significant since it was established to address the full range of challenges that were faced by the aboriginal population. Especially after the Oka crisis back in the early 1990s. The commission’s official document was published later in 1996. It was four thousand pages. It was to be implemented in twenty years. That aside, the Royal Commission of aboriginal people was fighting for self-government leadership system, which enabled them to have their inherent form of government operating under the federal government of Canada. The Royal Commission of Aboriginal People was to foster a political environment that enhances the coordination between the federal government and the indigenous population. Also, it transformed relationships with the federal government to solve the wide range of social, healthcare, and political challenges. Besides, just like other Canadian citizens, Aboriginals felt they should have been included in political participation. Lastly, the Royal Commission of Aboriginal People was significant since it led to the recognition of indigenous language, which was on the verge of extinction.
Bill C-31:
Bill C-31 is the pre-legislation name of the 1985 Act to Amend the Indian Act. This act was significant for the aboriginals because it eliminated specific discriminatory provisions of the Indian Act, including the section that resulted in Indian women losing their Indian status when they married non-Status men (Government of Canada, 2020). What is more, the policy ensured that Indian status and citizenship was restored. Bill C-31 was to improve the condition of all Aboriginal peoples by covering the structures of lawmaking power and agreements that could readily provide services to the whole population. What is more, the policy was to ensure healthcare is diversified and is available to all citizens from the indigenous people, just like the majority of Canadians. All in all, this act was significant for the nation’s development. And this is significant because the Aboriginals needed to participate in making decisions and policies that impact their lives.
The Royal proclamation
Created in 1763, and approved by King Gorge Three, The Royal Proclamation is a document that set out guidelines for European settlement of Aboriginal territories in what is now North America (Government of Canada, 2020). The indigenous did not have sustainable employment opportunities, and they were dependent on their farms, livestock, and other traditional forms of food production. Since they kicked out of their homes and primary source of basic needs taken by the Europeans after the royal proclamation, the living conditions of the aboriginals became deplorable, and this presented a high risk to their health status. Also, the Royal proclamations aimed at eliminating the aboriginals’ cultural practices and make them follow Canadian ideologies. Maybe it was good for the whole nation; however, the mode of implementation indicated otherwise. In that, during the creation of the territories, there were forceful evictions and discrimination.
Reference
Government of Canada (2020, March 11). Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canda. https://web.archive.org/web/20170505183803/http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100014642/1100100014643
The original contact with the Europeans had significant impacts on the Aboriginal people and their politics. For over millennia, before the arrival of the Europeans in Canada, the Aboriginal populations were self-governing. What is more, they incorporated a wide range of traditional ideologies and social values combined with wisdom, training, and development from the elderly. And that is why the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples insists that by social rights, aboriginals should freely determine their political, social, and cultural frameworks to ensure they can independently develop and access social resources, which the government of Canada has failed to, deliver efficiently. All in all, the challenges that the First population is facing in Canada are the outcomes of the discriminatory acts of the early European Indian Act. As a result, the Aboriginals have been demanding a Self-governing leadership system, to counter the effects of the European Act and foster their well-being.
Before the Europeans invaded Canada, the Aboriginals practiced their forms of leadership guided by a wide range of cultural practices. However, it was destroyed by the Europeans. The visitors aimed at eliminating the traditions of the First Nations to ensure they followed modern leadership and social practices like the other citizens. What is more, they came with plans for urbanization and development; therefore, they forcefully evicted the Aboriginals to other regions to give the space for expansion. On the contrary, the indigenous population wanted their self-government, which was to work around reconstructing and restoring the powers and freedom that the Aboriginals previously had. It was about the reconciliation of the pre-existence of aboriginal societies with the sovereignty of the Crown (Little Bear, Boldt, and Long, 1984). As a result, the idea required that policy-makers, Aboriginals, and non-aboriginals unite in restructuring the government system to make it more efficient for the Aboriginals to practice their rights, including an inherent form of self-government
The Europeans came into the land of the Aboriginals and took over their lands and primary resources. And this impacted the lives of the First Nation significantly. To be more precise, the indigenous did not have sustainable employment opportunities, and they were dependent on their firms, livestock, and other traditional forms of food production. Since they kicked out of their homes and the primary source of basic needs taken by the Europeans, the living conditions of the aboriginals became deplorable, and this presented a high risk to their health status. Traditionally, the indigenous populations in Canada holistically view healthcare and medical requirements; that is through various spiritual and emotional dimensions. On the same note, the social determinants of Indigenous health are generally interconnected; for instance, collective health behaviors, relationships to their motherland, and political ideologies such as indigenous world views. In a bid to understand the threatening social determinants of healthcare among indigenous populations, it is appropriate to analyze from a political, social, social, and historical perspective.
Due to the new discriminatory colonial structure in Canada, the indigenous populations have been assimilated into the dominant Euro-Canadian culture (Napoleon, Cameron, Arcand and Scott, 2008). After the implementation of various policies that worked against the aboriginals, there were multiple challenges; that is the forceful displacement of the First Nation groups into rural under-developed regions. Also, there was construction and forceful enrollment into residential schools. Lastly, aboriginal populations had inadequate social and economic development. These are some of the main colonial factors that have led to the prevalent threatening social determinants of health amongst the indigenous populations in Canada. Today, the problems that the aboriginals are facing are results of the early Europeans discriminatory acts. As a result, the indigenous communities in Canada face a wide range of challenges. However, one of the most prevalent problems is inadequate access to vital social services.
Theoretically, the Canadian government supports the United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but practically there is a vast social disparity between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. And this had led to various challenges, including a lack of participation in the development and implementation of healthcare policies, a prohibition from using traditional forms of treatment and cultural ideologies and beliefs of well-being. As a result, there has been a wide range of international initiatives aimed at ensuring the rights of the Aboriginals are met. To be more precise, some of these efforts include: fostering equality and improving rights, guaranteeing the First Nation communities participate in the development of various policies; and this is important because it provides the first-hand perspective of the changes that are supposed to be made in a bid to improve the lives of the indigenous population (Napoleon, Cameron, Arcand, and Scott, 2008). Despite the adverse impacts of the European invasion, the government should foster equality in Canada, irrespective of their backgrounds.
References
Little Bear, L., M. Boldt, and J. A. Long. (1984). “Federal Government Policies and Indian Goals of Self–Government.” In Pathways to Self– Determination: Canadian Indians and the Canadian State, edited by L. Little Bear, M. Boldt, and J. A. Long. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Napoleon, V., A. Cameron, C. Arcand, and D. Scott. 2008. “Where Is the Law in RestorativeJustice?” Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada: Current Trends and Issues, 3rd ed. edited byYale Belanger, pp. 348–372. Saskatoon: Purich Publishing.