The name of the Indian Act itself indicates how old and outdated the legislation is. While using the term Indian for indigenous North Americans fell into common disuse decades ago, governments didn’t dare take the chance of putting the act to Parliament to revise the name. The act has become sacred, and while it has been amended many times since its creation, it has rarely been for the better and it was usually quietly done.Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew uttered the blasphemous words that must be said. He stated that it’s time to abolish the Indian Act. He can do so of course because he himself is indigenous thus immune from the immediate accusations of racism which would be leveled at anybody else daring to question the act, much less call for its abolition. The problem is though, Kinew likely wants to replace it with something worse.The act fills the void left with indigenous people not bound by a treaty by conferring rights and status upon them based on bloodline rather than signed agreements. The result has been to create a catastrophic hybrid of people living in dysfunctional reserve situations without having defined reserve boundaries.This leads to the entitled pap we saw from Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief Na'moks who said in Parliament Hill "We are the government on our 22,000 square kilometres of unceded, non-treaty, undefeated lands." before launching into a tirade and threatening to “declare war” on B.C. if the racist DRIPA was repealed.Let’s break this down. Na’moks is a “hereditary chief”. That means he was elected by nobody and there is no formal structure that put him into his role. Many “hereditary chiefs” are self-appointed and some many not even be indigenous. Governments still lavish funds and false authority upon these self-styled leaders as they are too cowardly to call them out. We saw these as a ragtag bunch of them hindered the construction of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline for years despite the project being approved by the elected chiefs from nearby bands. Na’moks wouldn’t have had the budget to fly to Ottawa nor the platform to stand upon and offer his thoughts without taxpayer funded indulgence.If indeed the lands he speaks of were not ceded and aren’t treaty, then what claim does he really have? He can potentially trace his ancestry to the area, but so can a rabbit or an elk for that matter. It doesn’t mean he has a “nation” to speak of nor is there a form of government on those lands beyond the established Canadian governments at different levels. The Indian Act confers a de facto authority upon pretty much anybody who can claim indigenous heritage.Canada’s indigenous system is a failure on every level. Rampant poverty, high crime, low educational levels, reduced lifespans and addiction are ravaging nearly every indigenous community. Yet fools insist on maintaining this status quo.We may not be able to renegotiate the treaties, but we can get rid of the act that facilitates the disaster. The bottom line is that race-based policy is always wrong. We must begin by being aware of that.Race-based policies once hampered indigenous people through containing them on reserves and blocking them from entering modern society. That was wrong and damaged the entire culture. To try and right that wrong through more race-based policy is only compounding the problem.Japanese Canadians were robbed of their possessions and dumped into internment camps across the country during World War II. It was a blot on Canadian history. The descendants of those people are thriving today, however and why is this so? It’s because they didn’t wear a historical injustice as a crutch and didn’t have continued racial policies applied to them. They worked hard and integrated into modern society. The same can be said for Chinese Canadians whose ancestors dealt with veritable slave labour conditions, then head taxes and deportations. These people were treated terribly yet overcame it and now are among the most stable and prosperous identifiable groups in Canada. They should thank their lucky stars there was no Japanese or Chinese Acts created to “help” them.Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chretien released the White Paper in 1969. It would have ended all separate status for indigenous people and the preamble written for it was brilliant and well worth a read. Unfortunately, chiefs and activists were horrified that they may lose their ticket to the gravy train and vigorously opposed the changes. Trudeau and Chretien backed off and their lack of will cost Canada its best chance to end the misery of native people across the country.With discussion opening up about the Indian Act, now is the time for Canadians to have a look at the act. Let citizens learn what is really keeping indigenous people separated from the prosperous modern world and in declining conditions. This is an opportunity to change the country for the better if only enough people would understand how destructive race-based policies are.Unfortunately, if the act is repealed it very likely will be replaced by something even worse. But we must try all the same. The politicians know that race-based policies are wrong. But they lack the courage to say it out loud. If Canadians would stand up and show support for ending the policies, some prominent figures could discover their backbones. Of course, pigs may fly too.
