Eliminating the Indian Act, one step at a time
Transitional governance is needed now, write Frances Abele and Satsan.
Ottawa citizens understand that the job of governing is hard. Getting agreement, growing an economy, serving citizens’ needs, and dealing with the inevitable crises that arise require an endless well of dedication to the common good.
It’s a hard job when you have power, institutions and resources. Imagine trying to govern when these are absent, and worse, when your society’s values, capability and access to resources have been systematically stripped away for generations. No matter how hard you try, someone else decides what you can do and how you will do it.
This is the brutal legacy and current reality of the Indian Act. It is one of Canada’s oldest operating laws. It is supported by a massive bureaucracy designed to perpetuate its underlying tenet that Indian peoples are wards of the state — incapable of making their own decisions and doing what’s right for themselves. No other population in Canada is subject to such an oppressive legal and structural regime except, perhaps, people in prison.
So why not get rid of it? Because the inmates and their keepers have each been deeply institutionalized over many generations. It has produced a lack of trust and confidence within First Nations towards their own officials and other governments.
Self-governance must start one community at a time, engaging First Nations citizens and creating a dialogue about the Indian Act and their inherent right to govern themselves. First Nations people must develop a vision for change from their collective memory. This will give them hope, and hope is powerful medicine.
Across Canada, First Nations leaders are doing what they can to make a good life for their people within the straitjacket of the Indian Act. They are striving to put the “beast” of the Indian Act in its place, to carve out enough time and energy to work on restoring trust, language and culture in their communities, building economies, designing new structures of government and creating capacity for the next challenge. Their aim is to step out from under the Indian Act and into the realm of their inherent right to self-government. They are restoring their nations on the trust, hope and vision of their people.
We call this transitional governance. It is not the only path to self-government, but it is a practical and necessary one for many communities determined to exercise their rights. The challenge of governing is at least as challenging as securing the right and they need the support of other governments and the people of Canada to keep moving forward.
The Assembly of First Nations, royal commissions and the UN have provided declarations and guidance, but this will not work unless the people who hold the rights understand what to do with these grand statements.
That is why we launched the Transitional Governance Project. Our task is to work in several First Nations communities with the people who hold the inherent right. Our goal is to create a consensus for change, and after people decide to change, let them decide what they need for their government. We will create models for other First Nations to follow and advice on how Canada can support self-determination.
This country is in a time of opportunity, when the political and bureaucratic machine that perpetuates Indian Act thinking has begun to recognize that it has failed. But recognition — legal or otherwise — is not enough. We urge politicians and bureaucrats to support the hard work of transitional governance. They can start with a critical selfexamination of where policies and actions hinder progress for Indigenous peoples, and make the necessary changes to be supportive or get out of the way.
One of our project’s advisers told us, “Government is not just about administering programs. It’s the tool that a nation uses to build a future that the people want.” Let’s pick up that heavy tool together and get to work.
No other population is subject to such an oppressive regime except, perhaps, people in prison.