An Exploration of the Colonial Impacts of the Indian Act on Indigenous Women in Canada

This dissertation explores the impacts of the Indian Act on Indigenous women in Canada.Indigenous women saw their identities as leaders and matriarchs mediated through colonial legislation that deemed them "less Indian" than their male counterparts.Paternalistic policies against Indigenous women were internalized by Indigenous communities, resulting in high rates of abuse and inequality today.Indigenous women are reclaiming their rights through Court cases that challenge gender-discriminatory Indian Act provisions, including the Descheneaux case, which challenged Canada to address the discrimination and sexism disproportionately affecting Indigenous women.However, Canada continues to define Indian Status based on historic colonial legislation such as the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869.Individuals with ancestors that lost status before 1869 are not recognized as Indians in Canada.Indigenous peoples continue to be imprisoned by colonial policies regarding their identity, disproportionately affecting Indigenous women as they have never had equal status provisions under the Indian Act.v Notes on TerminologyThis dissertation recognizes that different Indigenous groups have their own terms to identify their nations, communities and peoples, and where possible, these have been respectfully included.1 Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part 1 of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. 2 Canada, Parliament, Senate, How Did We Get Here?A Concise, Unvarnished Account of the History of the Relationship Between Indigenous Peoples and Canada (2019) Interim Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples at 4. 3 Tonina Simeone, "Indigenous Peoples: Terminology and Identity" (14 December 2015), online: Library of Parliament 4 Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development), 2016 SCC 12, [2016] 1 S.C.R. 99 at 18. vi grants and/or scrip.5 However, a broader definition of Métis includes all persons of mixed Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ancestry who identify themselves as a Métis person and have ancestral connections.Inuit: The Inuit people are typically referred to as a, "Circumpolar people who live primarily in four regions of Canada: the Nunavut territory, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, collectively known as Inuit Nunangat."6 5 Canada, supra note 2, at 4. 6 Tonina Simeone, supra note 3.

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