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1763 Royal Proclamation
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III to establish a basis of government administration in british North America. It established the constitutional framework for the negotiation of treaties with the Aboriginals in Canada. -
1830 Reserve System
Aboriginals were seen as blocking the future settlements of British North America and were pushed onto reservations. Which is land set aside by the government where aboriginals can reside. -
1876 Indian Act
The Indian Act of 1876 gave the government control of most aspects of aboriginal life such as Indian status, land, resources, wills, education, band administration and so on. The Indian Act clearly aimed to assimilate First Nations as First Nation Children were placed into residential schools where they were taught about european culture and forbidden from practising their own culture. First Nations who earned a university degree would automatically lose their Indian status -
1960 Aboriginal Right to Universal Suffrage
In 1960 Aboriginals were finally given the right to vote in the Canadian Federal Election. -
1968 National Indian Brotherhood & Native Council of Canada Formed
Created in 1961 to represent the indigenous people of Canada, which included status Indians, non-status Indians, and the Métis people. This organization, however, collapsed in 1967 as the three groups failed to act as one, so the non-status and Métis groups formed the Native Council of Canada and the treaty/status groups formed the National Indian Brotherhood -
1969 White Paper
In 1969 a White Paper (An Official Statement of Policy) was Proposed by Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien. The change in policy aimed to the change the reservation system and many other issues facing the aboriginal community. The plan was to remove the special status given to Aboriginals and treat them as “Citizens like any other” with the hopes that by treating aboriginals like normal citizens they would assimilate into mainstream culture. -
1969 Residential School System Abolished but Not all Closed
In 1951 aboriginal children were no longer forced into residential schools and were allowed to attend schools within the public school system. The schools did however remain open until they were finally closed down in 1980. -
1980’s Movement Toward Self Government
During the 1980’s the Assembly of First Nations stepped up its efforts in demanding better conditions for the Aboriginals. The new office of Native Land Claims that was created in 1974 dealt with the issue of land rights. -
Assembly of the First Nations
The Assembly of the First Nations (Founded April 1982) was an organization based off of the United Nations General Assembly. The goal of the Assembly is to protect first nations rights as well as preserve their culture. -
1985 Passing of Bill C-13
June 28, 1985, the Parliament of Canada passed Bill C-31 amending status, membership and other provisions of the Indian Act. The major point of the bill is that the Federal Government retained the right to determine who is and who is not a status Indian. -
Meech Lake
In 1987, a series of changes were proposed by several provincial and federal leaders to persuade Quebec’s endorsement and approval of the passing of the 1982 constitutional amendments. However, concerns arose when the the lack of citizen participation came into question and several provincial governments quickly changed their stance to disapprovement. Former president Pierre Trudeau, feminists, and aboriginal rights group -
OKA Standoff
The Oka Standoff (AKA Oka Crisis) was a land dispute between the Mohawk people and the Canadian Government that started on the 11th of July 1990. Originally owned by the Mohawk people who settled in Quebec, the Club de golf d'Oka decided to expand onto the First Nation’s land. The supreme court later approved of the golf clubs expansion. -
Nisga’a Treaty 1992-1998
The Nisga’a treaty was a treaty signed between the Nisga’a Nation and the British Columbia provincial government. A 2000 square kilometer land was set aside to be given to the First Nation as well as a 300000 cubic meter water reservoir. However, before the treaty, the government made it illegal for First Nations to pursue any land claims. -
Gustafasen Lake BC
On August 18th, 1995, a standoff would begin between the RCMP and the Ts’peten people over “grazing rights privilege”. The Ts’peten people were unhappy of the actions of farmers on their sacred land and the standoff would last until September 17th, 1995. -
Ipperwash Ontario
The Ipperwash Regional Park was a region that was claimed by the Stoney Point First Nation. However, the land was used by the military as training grounds. On September 4th, 1995, protesters occupied the camp and refused eviction. Tension rose as the standoff continued and on september 6th, confrontation between the RCMP and protesters led to the death of one aboriginal. -
1998 Delgamuluukw Case
In 1984, First Nations Chiefs filed a land title action with the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The suit claimed title to over 58,000 km2 of land in northwestern BC. Following an abandoned attempt at negotiations the case was taken to the Supreme Court of Canada, which heard their case on 16 and 17 June 1997. Six months later, on 11 December 1997, the court ruled that the provincial government had no right to extinguish the Indigenous people's rights to their ancestral territories -
Statement of Reconciliation Issues in 1998
On January 7, 1998, the Canadian government issued a Statement of Reconciliation The statement was the government of Canada acknowledging the role it played in the development and administration of residential schools. Particularly to those individuals who experienced the sexual and physical abuse at residential schools. A strategy was developed to begin the reconciliation. A $350m healing fund was proposed and on March 31, 1998, the Aboriginal Healing Foundation was created to manage this fund -
1999 Creation of Nunavut
On April 1, 1999, Nunavut separated from the Northwest Territories to become Canada's newest territory. The creation of Nunavut was the outcome of the largest aboriginal land claims between the Canadian government and the native Inuit people. The Inuit people made up 83% of Nunavut's residents. The Inuits will be one of the first indigenous peoples in North America to achieve self-government. In Inuktitut, Nunavut means "our land"
