LE3 .A278 2017

2017

Henderson, Stephen

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Canadian Studies

Canadian Studies

Throughout Canada’s history, many documents, laws, treaties, and proclamations have been made regarding the lives of Canada’s First Nations peoples, often without their knowledge or consent. Many Indigenous people, for example, were unaware of the effects the Indian Act of 1876 would have on their lives. As the consequences of these injustices presented themselves, Indigenous communities began to fight against the discriminatory rules of the Indian Act. After 1970, the provision in Section 12.1.b, which removed the status of First Nations women when they married non-Indigenous men, became a point of contention and a foundation for Indigenous women to organize for their rights. For at least fifteen years’ Indigenous women fought against the patriarchal laws that had been created to assimilate them and their communities. Those women and their stories are the center of this publication, as their voices are the only ones which can truly tell the story of Bill C-31. In order to assist in decolonizing the information surrounding the Indian Act and Bill C-31, it was vital that this work contain personal testimony from women who experienced its effects.

The author retains copyright in this thesis. Any substantial copying or any other actions that exceed fair dealing or other exceptions in the Copyright Act require the permission of the author.

https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2110