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Indigenous Studies Essay #2

First Assignment - Part 2
Course

Foundations of Aboriginal Peoplehood (INDG-1116EL)

16 Documents
Students shared 16 documents in this course
Academic year: 2018/2019
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Laurentian University

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Melanie Verreault Brigham 1 Cloey Brigham INDG 1116EL- September, 6, 2018 Aboriginal Identity In Canada In Canada, identifying aboriginal people is not an easy thing to accomplish. People in Canada identify in ways given by the state but they also have their own self identification that they can chose. Thus making Indigenous identity a truly complex and somewhat controversial topic. There is little agreement on precisely what constitutes an indigenous identity, how to measure it, and who truly has it. Most things are a matter of opinion and preference unless they are actual laws passed by the authorities. Aboriginal identification is up to state based organizations as well as government organizations and Universities of Canada. It is a sad reality that most times, identity is formed by assumptions and highly outdated stereotypes. A major group is the Indian Registrar in Canada which was created in 1951. The Registrar identifies all status Indians in Canada for the purposes of determining eligibility for government programs, services, and treaty benefits. The Register amalgamated all previous records of individuals who were recognized by the federal government as members of the Indian Band. It is maintained by the Office of the Indian Registrar as well as Northern Affairs in Canada. On a broad spectrum, all of the words associated with giving a name to an indigenous person seem the same. Truly, that is not the case as they all have different meanings and some are even found offensive to some people. All terms involved in the naming of these people are used interchangeably and are usually popular in both native as well as non-native contexts. First off, the term Indian. Indian is not preferred by many people due to the confusion that may Brigham 2 come from the country of India but is not disregarded completely as the government continues

to use it in some cases. Next, there is Native, which seems to be accepted throughout Canada as a polite term of recognition and has been used for several decades. Another one, which is in place to help specify the area in which they live, is the term Amerindian. This has been given to the Indians of North America which is easy to understand by simply reading the name. This term is preferred by some because it avoids ambiguities of “Indian” as well as “Native.” More recently, Indigenous is a term that is becoming increasingly common. It is commonly used in the naming of programs, for example the Indigenous Learning Program at Lakehead University. It seems to appeal majorly to non-native people who are working among the research of indigenous people rather the the people using it to actually refer to themselves. And, last but not least, the term Aboriginal. There are some native people who disregard this word because they feel as if it implies that they are abnormal. The root word “ab” has a tendency to make the meaning of the word change and Native people sometimes take offence to it solely because of that coincidental problem with the term. This problem was never intended to make Native people feel abnormal at all, but this is the sad reality that Canadian Natives do experience today. Not all people who identify as “Indian” have an actual status. The Indian Act has many roles in identifying native people. Infact, before 1961 an “Indian” who acquired an education could be forcibly “enfranchised,” becoming a Canadian citizen, but losing status as an “Indian.” For example, before 1985 a woman who married a man who wasn’t native would lose her status. So, when these women had children, they were also forced to be called non-native as they only had half inheritance from one parent and not both. On the other side of things, if the situation was the opposite, the man would gain status when marrying a woman of full status and so would their children. In the 20th century there was many people who knew very well that they Brigham 3 had native ancestory but they didn’t know how to demonstrate their background and gain status. People that struggle in this situation often pass on the same issue to their children until

Aboriginal Identity.” The Conversation, The Conversation, 2 Oct. 2018, theconversation/culture-not-colour-is-the-heart-of-aboriginal-identity-30102.

“Aboriginal Identity & Terminology.” Indigenousfoundations, indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc/aboriginal_identity__terminology/.

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Indigenous Studies Essay #2

Course: Foundations of Aboriginal Peoplehood (INDG-1116EL)

16 Documents
Students shared 16 documents in this course

University: Laurentian University

Was this document helpful?
Melanie Verreault Brigham 1
Cloey Brigham
INDG 1116EL-13
September, 6, 2018
Aboriginal Identity In Canada
In Canada, identifying aboriginal people is not an easy thing to accomplish. People in
Canada identify in ways given by the state but they also have their own self identification that
they can chose. Thus making Indigenous identity a truly complex and somewhat controversial
topic. There is little agreement on precisely what constitutes an indigenous identity, how to
measure it, and who truly has it. Most things are a matter of opinion and preference unless they
are actual laws passed by the authorities.
Aboriginal identification is up to state based organizations as well as government
organizations and Universities of Canada. It is a sad reality that most times, identity is formed by
assumptions and highly outdated stereotypes. A major group is the Indian Registrar in Canada
which was created in 1951. The Registrar identifies all status Indians in Canada for the
purposes of determining eligibility for government programs, services, and treaty benefits. The
Register amalgamated all previous records of individuals who were recognized by the federal
government as members of the Indian Band. It is maintained by the Office of the Indian
Registrar as well as Northern Affairs in Canada.
On a broad spectrum, all of the words associated with giving a name to an indigenous
person seem the same. Truly, that is not the case as they all have different meanings and some
are even found offensive to some people. All terms involved in the naming of these people are
used interchangeably and are usually popular in both native as well as non-native contexts.
First off, the term Indian. Indian is not preferred by many people due to the confusion that may
Brigham 2
come from the country of India but is not disregarded completely as the government continues

Students also viewed

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