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The Indian Act, introduced by the Canadian government in 1876, was a piece of legislation designed to “control and tame” Canada’s Indigenous population by outlining and defining “every aspect of life for an Indigenous person in Canada,” according to author Tanya Talaga. The Canadian Government used the Indian Act to create formal policy surrounding residential schools, restrict First Nations people from leaving their reserves, prohibit the formation of Indigenous political organizations, and ban religious or spiritual ceremonies. The Indian Act has, in contemporary times, been described as a form of apartheid (legalized racial segregation)—and white South African leaders actually modeled their system of apartheid on Canada’s Indian Act.
Indian Act Quotes in Seven Fallen Feathers
The Seven Fallen Feathers quotes below are all either spoken by Indian Act or refer to Indian Act. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2: Why Chanie Ran
Quotes
It is vital that people understand how the utter failure and betrayal of the treaties […] worked in conjunction with a paternalistic piece of legislation called the Indian Act to isolate Indigenous people on remote reservations and to keep them subservient to Ottawa for more than one hundred years.
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If every Indigenous child was absorbed into Canadian society, their ties to their language and their culture would be broken. They wouldn't live on reserve lands; they'd live and work among other Canadians and there would no longer be a need for treaties, reserves, or special rights given to Indigenous people. The single purpose, and simple truth, of the residential school system was that it was an act of cultural genocide. If the government of Canada managed to assimilate all Indigenous kids, it would no longer have any financial or legal obligations to Indigenous people.
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Indian Act Term Timeline in Seven Fallen Feathers
The timeline below shows where the term Indian Act appears in Seven Fallen Feathers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: Why Chanie Ran
In 1876, the Canadian government introduced the Indian Act , which created extensive rules meant to keep Indigenous people on their reserve land and...
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With the advent of the Indian Act , all children 16 and under were expected to attend and live in one of...
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Chapter 3: When the Wolf Comes
...students are egregiously underfunded and ill-maintained due to the lack of education standards in the Indian Act , DFC became a beacon of hope for many students who wanted to learn.
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