Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy, 1969

The 1969 White paper that proposed abolishing the Indian Act and integrating aboriginals into mainstream Canadian society

To be an Indian is to be a man, with all a man’s needs and abilities. To be an Indian is also to be different. It is to speak different languages, draw different pictures, tell different tales and to rely on a set of values developed in a different world.

Canada is richer for its Indian component, although there have been times when diversity seemed of little value to many Canadians.

But to be a Canadian Indian today is to be someone different in another way. It is to be someone apart – apart in law, apart in the provision of government services and, too often apart in social contacts.

To be an Indian is to lack power – the power to act as owner of your lands, the power to spend your own money and, too often, the power to change your own condition.

 

Read the original white paper . . .

R32-2469-eng

Featured News

MORE NEWS

Should we continue with affirmative action?

Should we continue with affirmative action?

Over the last few decades, Canada has made a strong effort to encourage inclusivity through the use of "equity" hiring, where women and visible minorities are given priority, with similar structures being undertaken in universities and professions. The idea is that we...

What NB’s Premier Is Saying With His Motion On Land Claims

What NB’s Premier Is Saying With His Motion On Land Claims

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is essentially saying “We don’t trust you” in the motion he introduced to protect New Brunswick property owners from a massive indigenous land claim. He is saying it to the indigenous politicians who are bringing the claim, to the...