-
The Indian Act
The Indian Act is established and controls many aspects of First Nations person's lives from birth to death. Until 1951, laws defined a person as "an individual other than an Indian". Indians could obtain the right to vote by renouncing their Indian status, and were not considered to have the same rights as citizens until 1960. -
Period: to
Social and Cultural Injustices in Canada 1876-1908
-
Period: to
Residential Schools
The Indian Act is amended to give responsibility for the education of children to mostly church-run residential schools. The law required compulsory attendance for those status Indians under the age of 16 until they reached 18 years of age in Indian schools. There were 130 residential schools in Canada. Most residential schools ceased to operate by the mid-1970s; the last federally run residential school in Canada closed in 1996. -
Aboriginal Potlach Celebrations
Aboriginal potlach celebrations are made illegal under the Indian Act. -
Chinese Head Tax
As Chinese labourers are no longer needed to work on building the railways, the Chinese Immigration Act sets a head tax of $50 on every Chinese person entering Canada. -
Official Language Act
The Manitoba Legislature passes the Official Language Act to abolish the official status of French language that is used in the Legislature, laws, records, journals, and courts. This was a violation of the Manitoba Act of 1870 which declared English and French as official languages in Manitoba. The Act also removed the right to French education in Manitoba schools; however, a compromise was reached in the 1896 Manitoba Schools Question to allow some French instruction. -
Assimilation of Indians
Duncan Campbell Scott becomes Deputy Superintendent General of the Department of Indian Affairs. His stated objective was the assimilation of all Indians into British culture. He ruled the department until 1932. -
Chinese Head Tax Increased
The Head Tax on Chinese Immigrants is increased to $500 per person. -
Hindus Denied Right to Vote
The right to vote in provincial elections is denied to Hindus in B.C. -
Japanese Immigrants decreased
A crowd at an anti-Asian rally turned into a mob and marched through Vancouver’s Chinatown and Japanese town, breaking store windows along the way. The government reacted by reducing the number of Japanese immigrants allowed into Canada from a total of 400 in 1908, to only 150 immigrants in 1923. -
Asian Immigrants
All Asian immigrants must be in possession of $200 in order to enter Canada. No Chinese, Japanese, or other Asian or Indian person is entitled to vote in any municipal election in B.C.
